Evidence of impact of teacher education programs: a focus on classroom observation

The task set for this stimulus paper was to provide a perspective on evidence of impact within an Initial Teacher Education context, specifically addressing: The principles/framework that might underpin the selection of evidence of impact against the Graduate level of the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers (APST) for the purposes of accreditation of ITE programs ; The types and/or range of evidence that could be considered to demonstrate evidence of impact against the Graduate level of the APST. As framing for this paper, I have outlined a brief set of principles to be considered in the development of a national approach to the provision of evidence. The remainder of the paper focuses on three issues. First, I consider the relationships among the Accreditation of Initial Teacher Education Programs in Australia Standards and Procedures, the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, and the idea of ‘classroom readiness.’ Second, I outline an argument for using classroom observations as a key form of evidence of the impact of teacher education programs. Finally, I offer preliminary thoughts on how such observations might be used for making judgments about the quality of graduates and effectiveness of teacher education programs.