Each fellow applies a cycle of inquiry that involves five steps to address a site-determined problem of practice while embedding learning science research.
Cycle of Inquiry Process:
- Step one consists of launching an inquiry process in which fellows, the program core leadership, and school leaders identify a problem of practice and develop an approved data collection plan, in collaboration with school leaders, to study the problem and subsequently develop an instructional plan to address it.
- Step two focuses on studying the ability of fellows to collect qualitative and quantitative data, which is approved by school leaders and related to the framing of the problem of practice.
- Step three involves interpreting the data. Fellows, school members, core leadership team members, and mentors will analyze and discuss data to achieve a common understanding of the problem and identify gaps between current, relevant practices and practices designed to impact the targeted problem of practice.
- Step four involves teachers testing the ideas of change in their classrooms and, along with fellows and school leaders, collecting data on the effectiveness of the plan of change.
- Step five involves analyzing and discussing the outcomes and impacts of the overall data collected in Steps one through four to determine whether the protocols for each step of the Inquiry Cycle were effective. Case study results consist of a conceptual analysis of the summaries of each step provided by the fellows.
The Fellow's Experience with Problems of Practice
Dr. Pallavi Aggarwal's Problem of Practice (PoP)
From 2023 to 2024, Dr. Aggarwal's PoP was based on developing a classroom management plan and a social-emotional curriculum. so that students can manage their emotions effectively. Teachers can create a conducive learning environment using engaging lessons. Due to observations and data analysis, in 2024-2025, the problem of practice was narrowed down to focus on the effective implementation of instructional practices to increase student engagement and academic achievement while using an instructional design cycle.
Successes:
Collecting and analyzing data, as per the schools’ needs, successfully narrowed down the problem of practice from classroom management plans and social-emotional curricula to developing and implementing instructional practices in schools to support teaching practices and increase student outcomes.
Challenges:
Coaching teachers to align the content with the learning objectives using the lesson template and school-wide implementation of specific learning by scientific design principle is a challenge.
Products:
In 2023-2024, a tool that connects the various classroom management strategies with the zone of regulation strategy was developed, which was further expanded to a classroom management tool that measured student engagement and tracked various teachers’ instructional and classroom routines.
In 2024-2025, to provide instructional support to the teachers, in collaboration with the school site, the fellow developed an instructional framework in which the teachers are observed and provided feedback on their lesson plans by using observational rubrics that measure the effective implementation of the Learning by Scientific Design principles and student engagement.
Dr. Debra Cole's Problem of Practice
Throughout 2023 and 2024, Dr. Debra Cole and school leadership worked through a cycle of inquiry to invigorate co-teaching and accelerate learning after COVID shutdowns greatly diminished opportunities for co-teaching. After analyzing initial observational data, leaders set goals for co-teachers to co-plan and utilize multiple co-teaching approaches to improve student engagement and achievement.
Successes
While the school fell short in its co-planning goal (5 out of 8 teams co-planned co-teaching approaches), 6 out of 8 teams were successfully utilizing multiple co-teaching approaches by April 2024. Student engagement increased in classrooms where various small-group approaches were observed. Students in those classrooms grew more than 1.3 grade level equivalents in Literacy and Math, which was another success.
Products
Over the summer of 2024, the UMSL fellow and leadership team developed a Co-teaching Handbook with Expectations to sustain success from Year 1 and to replicate effective co-teaching with four new co-teaching teams during 2024-2025. Adapted lesson planning templates included a section called "co-teaching" to remind teachers to discuss and implement a variety of co-teaching approaches in every lesson to maximize student engagement and differentiation. This emphasized the use of the Parallel Co-teaching Approach for 50% of Tier 1 instruction in Math and Literacy.
Strategies Utilized:
Strategies for meeting the partnership goals include (1) providing professional development on research-based co-teaching approaches and the importance of co-planning, (2) cognitive coaching around the indicators of quality co-teaching partnerships as described in Are We Really Co-teachers? (Villa et al., 2004), and (3) ongoing assessment of on-task behavior using an “ Assessment of % On-Task ” tool (Knight, 2013) during full-lesson and walk-through observations.
Dr. Debra Cole's Year 1 Summaries: One School's Journey to Collaborative Planning and Co-Teaching Excellence
Dr. Debra Cole's Year 2 Summary: Co-Teaching Excellence For Achievement and Full Inclusion
Dr. Paula Miller's Problem of Practice
Dr. Paula Miller's PoP focuses on the feedback methods used by UMSL's clinical educators during Practicum I and II, which are not fully aligned with Missouri Educator Evaluation System (MEES) indicators. The lack of alignment hampers the development of teacher-candidate’s foundational skills, making it difficult for them to support PreK-12 students effectively.
Successes:
Publishing articles, presenting at the Society for Information Technology and Teacher Education (SITE) conferences and the Adult Education Research Conference (AERC), and facilitating professional development on Cognitive Coaching using tools like GoReact, SPSS, Canva, and other emerging software programs were all successes of Dr. Paula Miller.
Challenges:
Navigating the Teacher Preparation Program (TPP) networks and aligning the POP with the Cognitive Coaching framework were challenging for her. To address this, she co-facilitated Cognitive Coaching workshops for clinical educators, introducing the framework through interactive activities like “Jeoparty” and focusing on data-specific, self-directed, and reflective feedback principles. The goal was to improve clinical educators’ feedback skills, empowering them to enhance their professional learning and meet the academic needs of PreK-12 students.
Dr. Taylor Lawson-Smith's Problem of Practice (PoP)
Dr. Taylor Lawson-Smith's PoP focuses on systems fidelity. By creating data collection tools that track specific factors of various systems and completing data analysis, data-based decisions are made to improve systems fidelity across the district.
Successes:
Teachers have successfully increased fidelity in using a target language by 26%. The administration actively follows up with individual teachers for support and accountability using a Kanban board (a visual work tool) which is another success.
Challenges:
Recieving teacher buy-in for implementing new systems is a challenge.
Products:
A data dashboard was created showing various factors being measured for each teacher in the district. This serves as a snapshot of multiple parts of the CSIP while also allowing leadership to identify exemplars and those needing support. Examples of factors on the dashboard are attendance, standardized testing averages, positive behavior intervention data, pacing of curriculum, SEL lesson completion, etc.
A Kanban board was created to visualize work for the leadership team. The items of work are identified by data-based decision-making. Examples of these items include following up with individual teachers to provide support on classroom environment and/or instructional coaching and collecting teacher feedback on the systems being implemented."
Dr. Lawson- Smith Year 1 Summary
Dr. Jamie Martin's Problem of Practice (PoP)
Dr. Jamie Martin's PoP focuses on the school’s commitment to preparing students for a future workforce. They highly value culturally responsive practices and are seeking to implement instructional activities that (1) continue to elevate student voice and choice and (2) provide practice in real-world, durable skills. The site has asked for support in adopting a Project-Based teaching/learning model (PBL), starting in 2024-2025 with capstone projects.
Successes:
Dr. Martin works closely with site leaders to create and carry out a strategic plan for staff development. She led initial trainings that were successful in creating buy-in and providing a clear vision for the path ahead, then brought in expert trainers for a full-day, all-staff PBL planning experience.
Challenges:
As Dr. Martin met with each grade level to develop the capstone projects, varying readiness levels for implementation and a need for a working definition of the PBL learning model were revealed. To implement the site’s plan for change, the faculty would need support in developing a collective skillset around PBL planning and implementation, which can present challenges.
Products:
Dr. Martin has created key planning tools and templates and provides additional resources as needed, building a repository of PBL tools. She continues to offer weekly coaching in the planning and implementation of PBL.
Dr. Martin's Year 1 Summary: Project-Based Learning, Durable Skills, and Joy
Dr. Jacob Steiss's Problem of Practice (PoP)
Dr. Jacob Steiss's PoP focuses on improving literacy instruction. The following three subgoals guide this goal: 1) improve standards alignment in literacy instruction, 2) increase student engagement and evidence-based instructional strategies in lessons, and 3) establish more consistent use of data to drive instructional decisions.
Successes:
Forming good relationships with a few key school leaders early allowed access to classroom instruction and leadership meetings. Subsequently, this helped illustrate a comprehensive view of all the factors affecting students’ literacy development. The school’s willingness to quickly try and learn from solutions to improve literacy helped develop a working protocol for literacy instruction across five grade levels was also a success.
Challenges:
Being data-rich does not necessarily mean such data can improve instruction and learning. A persistent challenge has been establishing which data sources directly relate to the school’s goal of improving teacher instruction. A related challenge is determining what types of decisions might be made from data before it is collected so data-based conversations are productive and tied to improving literacy instruction.
Dr. Steiss's Year 1 Summaries: UMSL and XX School, 2001 and 2209
Dr. Dawn Thieman's Problem of Practice (PoP)
Dr. Dawn Theiman's PoP focuses on working with an undergraduate apprenticeship program that does not systematically implement learning science content and aligns with apprenticeship competencies tied to MEES indicators. As a result, teacher candidates may not develop the foundational understanding and skills necessary to support PreK-12 students and their academic growth effectively. Strengthening these components ensures a comprehensive and high-quality teacher preparation experience.
Successes:
Strengthing mentorship and coaching structures through ongoing professional learning experiences for clinical educators to provide targeted support for teacher candidates and enhance their professional growth was a success. Another success was the collaborative efforts with clinical educators and educational partners leading to the development of competency-based learning experiences that align with high-leverage teaching practices.
Challenges:
Ensuring seamless integration of learning science content and MEES-aligned competencies across coursework and field experiences remains an ongoing process is a challenge. Balancing the flexibility needed for an apprenticeship model while maintaining a structured and systematic approach to teacher preparation presents unique challenges.