News

In Our Words

Charles O. Dewey MS136

We’ve partnered with many non-profit organizations over the years to enrich our school community. During the three years we’ve been partners with Ramapo for Children, our school community has flourished. Ramapo provides professional development and support to our staff through its Ramapo Training program. Our Ramapo coach, Carole Friedman, has empowered our teachers to guide their students toward success by making effective changes in their own professional practices. As one teacher commented, “Carole has been so supportive, . . . it’s a great program.” Ramapo’s emphasis on positive leadership encourages teachers to see how their own behavior and habits influence their students’ behavior and educational success. Ramapo has become an integral part of our school community and is included in our Comprehensive Educational Plan, to help us focus on the importance of building relationships, structuring situations, and effective coaching as elements of maintaining academic rigor.

Summary of Ramapo Training Evaluation Results – Teacher Trainings 2007-2009

Ramapo Training’s workshops and coaching provide skills in behavior management, focusing on preventing behavior problems that are avoidable and on techniques for dealing with disruptions that do occur. Since fall 2007, the effectiveness of Ramapo’s teacher training has been studied by an outside evaluator affiliated with Mt. Sinai School of Medicine.

 

This evaluation includes pilot studies of over 250 teachers at a total of 13 diverse New York City schools. Before and after trainings, teachers reported their: 1) perceived effectiveness in reaching and relating to students, engaging them in the classroom, and handling difficult behavior; and 2) sense of resiliency, which includes job satisfaction and ability to build relationships with students. These two areas were measured using validated research instruments that have previously been shown to demonstrate an impact on teacher beliefs and behavior, which in turn have been shown to have an effect on important outcomes including positive classroom management, attitudes about teaching, and individual student achievement.

 

 

Results for Teachers
The studies reported here have had statistically significant findings across years and in both of these areas, showing that teachers gain skills effective in classroom management (effectiveness in the classroom) and that they have an improved sense of ability and satisfaction in their jobs (resiliency).


1. Effectiveness in the Classroom
Across schools since 2007, techers have significantly improved in their classroom management skills. Specifically, they have shown gains in their abilities to:

  • Set classroom structure
  • Manage problem behavior
  • Keep classrooms safe
  • Engage every child in the classroom
  • Feel confident about making a difference in students' lives
  • Relate to the most challenging students, including those that have had past behavior problems or seem least likely to succeed
  • Have a positive influence and to help students learn and grow

2. Teacher Resiliency
Since 2007, teachers in all schools studied have also shown significant increases in the following:

  • Increased job satisfaction
  • Improved ability to build relationships with students
  • Decreased job stress in working with students
  • Decreased likelihood to react emotionally to students (e.g., yelling)


Positive Feedback on Trainings
Teachers give high ratings to our trainings; 95% rate trainings as “good” or “excellent”. Almost all say that they would attend another training by Ramapo. Other frequent comments are that trainers are knowledgeable and responsive, and the trainings are relevant to their work.

 

Ongoing Coaching Sessions
Preliminary results of our ongoing teacher coaching show that increased sense of personal accomplishment and decreases in job stress are reinforced with just one coaching session. We have found that coaching challenges teachers to think more closely about strategies to be effective. Based on these results, we therefore recommend an extended relationship with at least two coaching sessions in order to ensure that positive changes can be maintained, teachers can facilitate safer and more inclusive classrooms, and that students are able to reach their full potential.