MyTeachingPartner is a coaching program delivered online that aims to support teachers in improving classroom instruction, student engagement and performance. The program targets classroom practice dimensions of “Classroom Assessment Scoring System-CLASS,” an observation measure widely used to collect data on classroom interactions.
A recent evaluation assessed the effectiveness of MyTeachingPartner-Secondary – targeting middle and high schools – with a sample of 87 public school teachers for two years. This version of the program included an initial 2-hour teacher training and six to ten coaching cycles per year. Teachers were randomly assigned to the experimental group (n=44) or the control group (n=43). Teacher outcomes and student achievement were the outcomes measured in the study.
The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted implementation of the program, and only four of the six original districts participated in the study’s second year. This resulted in a final sample of 39 teachers. After two years, results showed a non-significant negative impact on the quality of classroom interactions (overall CLASS ES = -0.23) and a significant positive impact on teacher enthusiasm (ES = +0.77). Impact on student outcomes was only measured after one year, showing non-significant small effect sizes in English Language Arts (end-of-grade test ES = +0.04; end-of-course test ES = +0.05) and non-significant negative effects in Math (end-of-grade test ES = -0.01; end-of-course test ES = -0.09). The authors concluded that results need to be interpreted with caution because of the consequences of the pandemic.
