TNTP has recently released the results of a new teacher survey, but it’s not your typical teacher survey.
TNTP published “The Irreplaceables” in 2012 to look at how urban schools neglect top teachers. This study led to further questions concerning what high-performing teachers in high-need schools think about their classrooms and careers. So TNTP reached out to 117 of America’s best teachers, including winners of elite teaching awards and those recognized by leading education organizations, to get their perspectives.
The goal of the survey was not to generate a scientifically representative sample but to listen carefully and represent the complexity of their views and voices as faithfully as possible. The teachers were asked about everything from how they spend their time during a normal workday to what they think about the major policy issues facing their schools.
The new report, “Perspectives of Irreplaceable Teachers”, explains the results. It focuses on three broad topics of immediate relevance to policymakers:
1. What does effective (and ineffective) teaching look like?
2. How do the best teachers become so effective?
3. And what do great teachers think about their profession?
Here are some brief summaries of their responses:
They have a troubling love/hate relationship with their profession. They cherish the opportunity to make a difference in their students’ lives, but they feel beaten down by many other aspects of the profession, like low pay, excessive bureaucracy, and ineffective leaders and colleagues. About 60 percent plan to stop teaching within five years as a result.
When it comes to measuring success in the classroom, they value a wide array of factors. They judge their success in many different ways, from their students’ academic performance and future success to feedback from their school leaders, respected colleagues and students.
They attribute little of their success to formal preparation or professional development programs. When asked to rank activities that had improved the quality of their teaching, they put their preparation programs and formal professional development at the very bottom of the list.
For more information, please visit: http://tntp.org/ideas-and-innovations/view/perspectives-of-irreplaceable-teachers
