The influence of sustained professional development on Panamanian teachers : student engagement and perceptions /

This study's purpose is to determine the effectiveness of ProEd's Teachers Teaching Teachers Program, by examining how participation impacts student engagement, lesson design, and student perceptions of their teachers. Twenty teachers from Escuela San Jose de Malambo were observed during one lesson. After each observed lesson, students filled-in a teacher perception survey. The twenty teachers were divided into two groups: teachers who attended TTT workshops zero or one year, and teachers who attended for two to five years. Statistically significant differences between both groups were found for some of the instructional strategies and activities observed. With teachers who had more TTT experience, students spent significantly more time working with each other and used more conferencing. Teachers with less TTT experience used more question and answer and observation by student. Statistically significant differences between the two groups were found in four independent survey items and in an overall quality score given to each teacher. For these items, means were higher in the group of teachers who had attended TTT for 2 to 5 years. Additional lessons by the same teachers should be observed and the study can be replicated in other schools that have participated in TTT to see if the findings are similar.Dr. Paul Watkins, Dissertation Supervisor.Includes bibliographical references (pages 76-83)