(Page 1 of 3) - Using Action Research to Evaluate Candidate Performance Impacting Student Learning: An Outcome Assessment of Teacher Education in Special Education authored by Xin, Joy. and Wallace, Deborah.

Using Action Research to Evaluate Candidate Performance Impacting Student learning:

An Outcome Assessment of Teacher Education in Special Education

The new standards for the accreditation of teacher education programs by the National
Council for Accreditation of Teacher Education (NCATE) require performance
assessment of teacher graduates including their impact on student learning. These
standards focus on outcomes of the teacher education program to assess the effectiveness
of programs based on performance -- including content knowledge, how to teach that
content effectively (professional and pedagogical knowledge), and effect on student
learning (Wise & Gollinick, 1999). As the new requirements of the NCATE expressed,
outcome assessment should be centered on teachers: What they know, what they can do,
and what they can accomplish with their students (Imig, 2000). With the new NCATE
standards placing a major emphasis on performance assessment, especially regarding the
impact college and university programs in teacher education have on the learner, it is
essential that teacher education programs develop evaluation plans to include reliable,
valid assessments that focus on the performance of the learner (Wilson, Floden & Ferrini-
Mundy, 2001). The focus of teacher education needs to be on students and learning,
rather than teachers and teaching (Blackwell, 2003).
In order to meet the criteria of the new NCATE standards, outcomes assessment becomes
priority in preparation for accreditation process. Various evaluation forms have been
developed by faculty and administrators in teacher education in an attempt to present
evidence of candidates’ performance in their programs that might show some impact on
children or youngsters’ learning in the field practices. We have selected an action
research project as one approach to implementing research-based best practices in
candidates’ classroom and collecting data of their students’ learning. Action research
identifies a real life problem, question or area a teacher wants to improve and to study
(Mills, 2003). During the research, teacher researchers document changes in
performance, gather and analyze relevant data, reflect on the changes they made and the
results of the study, collaborate with peers and others to make changes to improve their
practice and share the results (Mills, 2003; Stringer, 2004). This action research project is
used in an internship course serving as the final stage of the program, the Master of
Education in Special Education of Kennesaw State University, and 4 student teachers in
their field practice taking a course of Clinical Seminar (the final stage of the Teacher of
the Handicapped Program in New Jersey) to evaluate candidates’ performance and how
their performance impacts their students (the learners). The action research project
required candidates identifying a problem in their own classroom, developing an action
plan to solve the problem using research-based best practices, then implementing the plan
in their own setting during which students’ performance/progress would be recorded
using a scientific data collection strategy. Subsequently, the results of student
performance were analyzed, interpreted and documented. The candidates reflected on the
findings, making another action plan to improve instruction. This action research project
focused on candidates’ own practice in their own environment, and their reflection on
their practice. It is also our attempt to involve undergraduate students into research in the
field when they are student teaching. We have examined 15 graduate and 4 undergraduate
students’ research project to see if such action research is related to reflect our
candidates’ instruction impacting their learners, and to further examine candidates’
performance pertaining to our outcomes assessment. Our questions are as follows:

1. Is action research an appropriate tool for candidates’ outcome assessment?