9709717 Silverstein Columbia University proposes to design a major outcomes study, heading a coalition of public and private institutions that provide laboratory experiences for K-12 teachers. While enhancement of teachers through laboratory experiences is widespread and enthusiastically backed by many professionals, the evidence of impact of such experiences is primarily subjective self-reports by those organizing the experiences or by teacher participants. Whether strong, outcome-oriented evaluation research can be carried out in this setting, with access to appropriate data, is a matter of conjecture. This preliminary study will identify what information is available and how other data might be collected from various types of teacher enhancement providers.
