Teacher Survey 4 2006/07 School Year

Teacher Survey #04
2006/07 SCHOOL YEAR

AMSTI Teacher Survey #04
The information you provide is being collected for research purposes only and will be
kept strictly confidential. Please be assured that your name and your school name will not
be reported or disclosed outside of the research agencies. Public reporting burden for this
collection of information is estimated to average about 20 to 30 minutes. Send comments
regarding this burden estimate or any other aspect of this collection of information,
including suggestions for reducing this burden to the Department of Education 50 North
Ripley Street PO Box 302101 Montgomery, AL 36104.
Questions regarding this survey or the research study can be directed to Lori Sterling at
Lsterling@empiricaleducation.com or call Toll free 1-888-486-8886 ext. 127.

Identification
1. Please identify your MASTER Site:
___ Troy University
___ University of Alabama at Montevallo
___ University of Alabama at Tuscaloosa
2. Please identify your school system: (A system list is collected prior to beginning the
surveys and displayed here as a selection list)
3. Please identify yourself: (A Teacher list is collected prior to beginning the surveys and
displayed here as a selection list)

Self-Rating
4.
Excellent
How would you rank your
science content knowledge for
teaching science at your current
grade level?
How would you rank your
competency for teaching
science at your current grade
level?
How would you rank yourself as
a science teacher?
How would you rank your
student’s response to science
instruction in your class?
How would you rank your
student’s ability to retain
science content knowledge?
How would you rank your
student’s enjoyment of
learning science?
How would you rank your
science class on the following
statement? My class is fun,
interesting and has a high
potential for learning.

Good

Fair

Poor

Terrible

Current Curricular Materials
5. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statement in terms of
mathematics and science.
The curricular materials used in my classroom are adequate for helping students meet
the requirements of the Course of Study.
a. Math Curricular Materials
__ Strongly agree
__ Somewhat agree
__ Unsure
__ Somewhat disagree
__ Strongly disagree

__ I don’t teach math
b. Science Curricular Materials
__ Strongly agree
__ Somewhat agree
__ Unsure
__ Somewhat disagree
__ Strongly disagree
__ I don’t teach science

6a. Think back on your last two weeks (10 full school days) of instruction; what
curricular materials did you use to teach mathematics? Mark all that apply.
 I don’t teach math
 AMSTI supplied:
 Brand Y materials (principal survey will supply details of curricular materials)
 Brand Z materials
 Other ___________________________
b. During your last two weeks, what curricular materials did you use to teach science?
Mark all that apply.
 I don’t teach science
 AMSTI supplied:
 Brand Y materials (principal survey will supply details of curricular materials)
 Brand Z materials
 Other ___________________________

Instruction
For the following questions about instructional time:
If you teach in a self-contained classroom, please indicate the number of class hours
of each type of instruction.
If you teach more than one class, please indicate the average number of hours of each
type of instruction among your various classes.
7. During your last two weeks, approximately how many hours did your students spend
doing math and/or science activities? Please be sure to consider all activities, including
discussion, lecture, reading, watching video, hands-on activities, worksheets, and
activities that integrate math or science with other subjects.
a. Total Hours of Math Instruction_______ [ ] I don’t teach math.
b. Total Hours of Science Instruction______ [ ] I don’t teach science.

8. Consider the following description of Inquiry-Based Instruction in which students do
all of the following activities as part of the learning process:
ƒ Make observations
ƒ Pose questions
ƒ Examine books and other sources of information to see what is already known
ƒ Plan investigations
ƒ Review what is already known in light of experimental evidence
ƒ Use tools to gather, analyze, and interpret data
ƒ Propose answers, explanations, and predictions
ƒ Communicate the results
During the past two weeks, approximately how many hours of instruction involved
Inquiry-Based Instruction?
a. Hours of Inquiry-Based Math Instruction_______ [ ] I don’t teach math
b. Hours of Inquiry-Based Science Instruction_____ [ ] I don’t teach science
9. During the past two weeks, approximately how many hours of instruction incorporated
hands-on activities?
a. Hours of Hands-On Math Instruction_______ [ ] I don’t teach math
b. Hours of Hands-On Science Instruction______ [ ] I don’t teach science
10. During the past two weeks, how many hours were your students engaged in activities
that required higher-order thinking skills? (i.e., where students advance from skills such
as focusing and information gathering to skills such as integrating and evaluating.)
a. Hours of math instruction requiring higher-order thinking skills _______ [ ] I don’t
teach math.
b. Hours of science instruction requiring higher-order thinking skills ______ [ ] I don’t
teach science
11. So far this school year, have you engaged your students in long-term (lasting a week or
longer) research projects for science?
 Yes
 No
 I don’t teach science.

Student Engagement
12. Please rate the average level of student engagement in your math and science classes
this school year. Students would be considered fully engaged if they not only paid full
attention but also participated fully and completed all assignments.
Slightly
Almost
Moderately
Fully
Not Engaged Engaged
N/A
Fully
Engaged
Engaged
Engaged

Slightly
Not Engaged Engaged

Moderately
Engaged

Almost
Fully
Engaged

Fully
Engaged

N/A

Math
Science

Assessments
13. During the past two weeks, did you administer assessments? Check all that apply.
a. Math Assessments
b. Science Assessments
 I don’t teach math
 I don’t teach science
 No, I didn’t administer any math assessments
 No, I didn’t administer any science assessments
 Yes, I used informal assessments, such as
 Yes, I used informal assessments, such as
questioning and observation, to gauge student
questioning and observation, to gauge student
learning
learning
 Yes, I administered formative (i.e.,
 Yes, I administered formative (i.e., assessments
assessments that occur regularly throughout the
that occur regularly throughout the year in order to
year in order to inform instruction) paper and
inform instruction) paper and pencil assessments
pencil assessments
 Yes, I administered performance-based
 Yes, I administered performance-based
assessments (i.e., assessing students based on their
assessments (i.e., assessing students based on
application of knowledge, skills, and work habits
their application of knowledge, skills, and work
through the performance of tasks that are
habits through the performance of tasks that are
meaningful and engaging to students)
meaningful and engaging to students)
 Yes, I administered standardized assessments
 Yes, I administered standardized assessments
 Other (please explain)
 Other (please explain)
________________________________________
_______________________________________________

Professional Development (these questions will be asked once a month)
For each of the following questions, please take a moment to think about the professional
development activities in the areas of math, science, and technology, in which you have
participated so far this school year, i.e., since school let out in May or June 2006.

There are 2 sections to each question.
Sections A and C, AMSTI: Please indicate the amount of Professional Development
(PD) in math (A) and science (C) you have received as part of the AMSTI program, and
all PD that was in any way connected with AMSTI. For example, if you collaborated
with other teachers to plan your instructional calendar, even if only some of the lessons
are AMSTI, record those hours in Section A for math or C for science.
Section B and D, Non-AMSTI: Please indicate the amount of non-AMSTI Professional
Development in math (B) and science (D) you have received. For example, if your
planning team worked only to plan non-AMSTI lessons, with no reference to AMSTI
lessons, then count those hours in Section B for math or C for science.

14. During the past month, how much professional development (including all
opportunities for professional growth) have you received for your math and science
programs? Please round to the number of hours closest to your total number of hours of
training. For example, if you have had 6 hours of training, you would select 5.
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 NA
A. AMSTI Mathematics
Total Hours
B. Non-AMSTI
Mathematics Total Hours
C. AMSTI Science
Total Hours
D. Non-AMSTI Science
Total Hours

15. During the past month, how many times did you try contacting someone for support
(e.g., for mentoring or coaching) with math and science instruction?
0 1 2 3 4 6 6 7 8 9 10 11+ NA
A. AMSTI Mathematics
B. Non-AMSTI
Mathematics
C. AMSTI Science
D. Non-AMSTI Science

16. During the past month, how many times did someone actually provide support (e.g.,
for mentoring or coaching) with math and science instruction?
0 1 2 3 4 6 6 7 8 9 10 11+ NA
A. AMSTI Mathematics
B. Non-AMSTI
Mathematics
C. AMSTI Science
D. Non-AMSTI Science

17. Did the support you reported in Question 16 change the way you teach?
A. AMSTI Mathematics
Yes
NO
NA
B. Non-AMSTI
Yes
NO
NA
Mathematics
C. AMSTI Science
Yes
NO
NA
D. Non-AMSTI Science

Yes

NO

NA

18. During the past month, how frequently have you had collaboration meetings with
other teachers (e.g., for planning lessons) for math and science?
At Least
Twice
Daily
Once
Never NA
Weekly
A. AMSTI Mathematics
B. Non-AMSTI
Mathematics
C. AMSTI Science
D. Non-AMSTI Science

19. Has the collaboration you reported in Question 18 change the way you teach?
A. AMSTI Mathematics
Yes
NO
NA
B. Non-AMSTI
Yes
NO
NA
Mathematics
C. AMSTI Science
Yes
NO
NA
D. Non-AMSTI Science

Yes

NO

NA

20. During the past month, how much professional development (other than support or
collaboration meetings) have you received for your math and science programs? (e.g.,
school training sessions held after school, on the weekend, or early release days)?
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40
A. AMSTI Mathematics
Total Hours
B. Non-AMSTI
Mathematics Total Hours
C. AMSTI Science
Total Hours
D. Non-AMSTI Science
Total Hours

20. Did the training session(s) you reported in Question 19 change the way you teach?
A. AMSTI Mathematics
Yes
NO
NA
B. Non-AMSTI
Yes
NO
NA
Mathematics
C. AMSTI Science
Yes
NO
NA
D. Non-AMSTI Science

Yes

NO

NA

Planning Time (these questions will be asked once a month)
24. During the past two weeks, how may hours (both paid time and unpaid time) did you
spend planning your math and/or science lessons?
a. Math ___ [ ] I don’t teach math
b. Science ____ [ ] I don’t teach science

Additional Information
25. Is there anything else you would like us to know about your math and/or science
program, or about this survey?

26. How long did it take you to complete this survey? Please indicate total number of
minutes. _____