Teacher Questionnaire

Attachment 3

Teacher Questionnaire

Teacher Background Questionnaire

The Regional Educational Laboratory—REL Northeast and Islands (REL-NEI) appreciates your taking the time to fill out this questionnaire.

Instructions

1. Please log in to the web-based survey with your secure username and password

2. Please answer each question to the best of your ability.

3. Please direct any questions about this survey to:

American Institutes for Research

Attn: Dr. Jessica Heppen

1000 Thomas Jefferson Street, NW

Washington, DC 20007

jheppen@air.org

202-403-5488

_______________________________________________________________________________________________

Education and Professional Certification

1. Have you earned any of the following degrees, diplomas or certificates? (Check no or yes in each row, and write in the major code from Table 1 and year if applicable.)

	Degree	Earned	Major Code (from Table 1)	Year
a.	Bachelor’s degree	1 No 2 Yes
b.	Master’s degree	1 No 2 Yes
c.	Educational specialist or professional diploma (at least one year beyond master’s level)	1 No 2 Yes
d.	Certificate of advanced graduate studies	1 No 2 Yes
e.	Doctorate or professional degree (Ph.D., Ed.D., M.D, L.L.B, J.D, D.D.S)	1 No 2 Yes

Table 1. Major Field of Study

Code	Major Field	Code
01	Elementary education or early childhood education	09	Social science (e.g., Anthropology, geography, history, psychology, etc.)
02	Secondary or middle grades education, general	10	Foreign language (e.g., French, German, etc.)
03	Mathematics education	11	Special education
04	Mathematics	12	English as a second language
05	Computer science	13	Health Education (including Physical Education)
06	Other mathematics-related subject	14	Vocational/Technical Education
07	English/Language Arts	15	Other
08	Natural science (e.g., biology, chemistry, physics, earth science, etc.)

2. Which of the following describes the teaching certificate you currently hold?

(MARK ALL THAT APPLY).

	Provisional
	Provisional-ext
	Professional
	3-Year Professional
	Master
	Authorization
	Conditional
	Transitional
	Targeted Need

3. To which of the following grade ranges does this certificate apply? (Mark all boxes that apply)

 Elementary

 Middle

 Secondary

4. In what content area(s) does this teaching certificate allow you to teach? (Please record content area code(s) from list in Table 2 below. If the certificate allows you to teach all subject areas, use code 20.)

1. First content area __ __

2. Second content area __ __

3. Third content area __ __

Table 2. Certification Content Area Codes

Code	Certification Content Area
20	All subject areas	26	Foreign Languages
21	Mathematics	27	Special Education
22	Computer Science	28	English as a Second Language
23	English/Language Arts	29	Health Education (including Physical Education)
24	Natural Sciences	30	Vocational/Technical Education
25	Social Sciences	31	Other

5. Have you taken any of the following?

	Taken and passed	Taken and have not yet passed	Not taken
a. The Praxis I Pre-Professional Skills Test (PPST) (formerly NTE):			
b. The Praxis II: Subject Assessment			
c. The PRAXIS III Classroom Performance Assessments			
d. Another test of basic skills or subject knowledge			

Experience

6. How many years of teaching experience do you have in each of the following settings? Include any full-time teaching assignments, part-time teaching assignments, and long-term substitute assignments. (For each row, write the number of years. Use whole numbers only. Count the current year as one full year. If less than 4 months total experience, enter “0”)

		Number of Years
a.	Teaching in total		Years
b.	Teaching at this school		Years
c.	Teaching middle school mathematics		Years
d.	Teaching 8th grade mathematics		Years
e.	Teaching mathematics at another grade level (teaching mathematics in high school or as an elementary school mathematics specialist)		Years
f.	Teaching a self-contained elementary school class where your responsibilities included mathematics instruction		Years

Demographics

7. What is your gender?

 Male

 Female

8. Are you of Hispanic or Latino origin?

 Yes

 No

9. What is your race? You may mark one or more box.

 White

 Black or African American

Asian

 Native Hawaiian or other Pacific Islander

 American Indian or Alaska Native

Current Grade 8 Math Classrooms

Please think about the 8^th grade math sections you are teaching this year when answer the items in this section.

10. How many separate sections of 8^th grade mathematics are you teaching this year?

Sections

11. How many students are enrolled in your current 8^th grade math class(es)?

		Number of Students
a.	Grade 8 Math Section #1		Students
b.	Grade 8 Math Section #2		Students
c.	Grade 8 Math Section #3		Students
d.	Grade 8 Math Section #4		Students

12. How do your current class(es) compare to previous classes you have taught?

 Fewer students

 More students

 About the same number of students

13. a) Of all of the students in your current 8^th grade math class(es), how many have an Individual Education Plan (IEP) because they have disabilities or are special education students?

Students

b) How does this number of IEP students compare to the number of IEP students in your previous classes?

 Fewer students

 More students

 About the same number of students

14. What is the 8^th grade core mathematics program you use in your class(es)?

________________________________

15. For how many years, including this year, have you used this textbook/curriculum? Count years used in this school and elsewhere.

 One year, including this year

 Two years, including this year

• Three years, including this year

• Four or more years, including this year

16. Is your math class(es) a heterogeneous mix of students with different abilities levels, or are your students grouped by similar ability levels into separate sections?

		Heterogeneous Mix	Grouped by Ability
a.	Grade 8 Math Section #1		
b.	Grade 8 Math Section #2		
c.	Grade 8 Math Section #3		
d.	Grade 8 Math Section #4		

17. To what extent do you differentiate your instruction for 8^th grade math students within each section you teach? That is, to what extent do you give students with higher ability levels within your class(es) accelerated material such as algebra I content?

 Not at all

 To a slight extent

• To a moderate extent

• To a great extent

18. For your students overall, please indicate the extent to which your 8^th grade math class(es) cover the following topics:

	Not covered at all	Covered slightly	Covered moderately	Covered to a great extent
1. Number Sense, Properties, and Number Theory
Number Sense: Real Numbers				
Properties of Real Numbers				
Number Theory				
2. Computation and Estimation with Real Numbers
Computation with Real Numbers				
Ratio, Proportion, Percent, and Rate				
Estimation with Real Numbers				
3. Measurement
Perimeter and Circumference				
Area and Surface Area				
4. Geometry
Points, Lines, Planes, and Angles				
Polygons and Circles				
Three-Dimensional Figures				
Congruence and Similarity				
Pythagorean Theorem and Right Triangle Trigonometry				
Transformations and Symmetry				
Coordinate Graphing and Distance				
5. Statistics and Probability
Collect and organize data; Read and interpret graphs; Analyze data				
Probability				
6. Algebraic Concepts
Patterns and Sequences: Arithmetic and geometric				
Functions: Linear, quadratic, polynomial, rational, power, square root, absolute value, exponential, direct and inverse variation				
Evaluate and Simplify Expressions				
Operations with Algebraic Expressions				
Linear Equations				
Linear Inequalities				
Systems of Linear Equations and Inequalities: Algebraic, graphing, and matrix methods				
Non-Linear Equations: Quadratic, polynomial, rational, square root, and absolute value				
Coordinate Graphing				

19. Did you participate in any professional development in mathematics during this school year 2008-2009 (including Summer 2008)?

 Yes

 No  Please skip to question # 18

Professional Development Institutes and Workshops You Attended

20. Over all of your professional development activities in mathematics during this school year 2008-2009 (including Summer 2008), how often did the following occur?

    	Occurrence	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often
    a.	Participants observed demonstrations of teaching techniques				
    b.	Participants practiced what they learned and received feedback				
    c.	Participants led group discussions				
    d.	Participants conducted a demonstration of a lesson, unit or skill				
    e.	Participants developed and practiced using student materials				
    f.	Participants reviewed student work or scored assessments				

21. During this school year 2008-2009 (including Summer 2008), how often did you participate in professional development activities in mathematics in the following ways?

    	Occurrence	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often
    a.	I participated in professional development activities together with most or all of the teachers in my school				
    b.	I participated in professional development activities together with most or all of the teachers in my department or grade level				
    c.	I participated in professional development activities together with the principal and/or other administrators from my school/school district.				

22. During this school year 2008-2009 (including Summer 2008), how often were the professional development activities in mathematics in which you participated:

    	Occurrence	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often
    a.	Consistent with your own goals for your professional development				
    b.	Based explicitly on what you had learned in earlier professional development experiences				
    c.	Designed to support state or district standards and/or assessments				
    d.	Designed as part of a school improvement plan to meet state, district, or school goals				
    e.	Designed to provide you with opportunities to discuss what you learned with other teachers in your school or department who did not attend the activity				
    f.	Designed to provide you with opportunities to communicate with participants in the activity who teach in other schools (outside of formal meetings held as part of the activity)				

23. How much emphasis did your professional development activities in mathematics place on the following topics:

		Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often
a.	State content standards (for example, what they are and how they are used)				
b.	Alignment of instruction to curriculum				
c.	Instructional approaches (for example, manipulatives)				
d.	In-depth study of your primary subject or specific concepts within science/mathematics (for example, earth science; fractions)				
e.	Study of how children learn particular topics in your primary subject				
f.	Individual differences in student learning				
g.	Meeting the learning needs of special populations of students (for example, second language learners, students with disabilities)	Never	Rarely	Sometimes	Often
h.	Classroom assessments (for example, diagnostic approaches, textbook developed tests, teacher-developed tests.				
i.	State or district assessments (for example, preparing for assessments, understanding assessments, or interpreting assessments)				
j.	Interpretation of assessment data for use in instruction				
k.	Technology to support student learning				

Classroom Practice and Curriculum

24. About how often do you have your students:

    		Never	Less than Once a Week	About Once a Week	Several Times a Week	Every Day
    a.	Engage in an extended discussion around a key theme?					
    b.	Talk with one another in pairs or small groups about something they have read?					

25. About how often do you use the following instructional strategies in mathematics:

		Never	Once or Twice a Semester	Once or Twice a Month	Once or Twice a Week	Almost Every Day
a.	Lecture to the class for more than half a period					
b.	Have students memorize facts or procedures					
c.	Use highly structured call and response activities					
d.	Have students complete workbook or textbook exercises in class					
e.	Have students take turns reading aloud					
f.	Have students read silently					
g.	Assign projects of at least one week's duration					
h.	Have students discuss and debate ideas for more than half a period					
i.	Have students brainstorm ideas for written work					

26. How important is each of the following in assessing learning in mathematics:

		Do Not Use	Not Important	Somewhat Important	Important	Very Important
a.	Multiple choice tests					
b.	True-false tests					
c.	Fill-in-the-blank tests					
d.	Short-answer tests					
e.	Essay tests					
f.	Student work on open-ended problems					
g.	Group projects					
h.	Individual student projects					

_______________________________________________________

You are done with the survey. Thank you for participating.

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