Examining the role of teachers: background, instruction, and treatment fidelity

When we looked at teacher data by district, we noticed that over the three years of the study, District 1 MiC teachers were less likely to teach for understanding than were District 2 MiC teachers (Shafer, 2005a). This consistent difference between teachers in Districts 1 and 2 raised questions about variation in teacher professional background, use of the curriculum, and professional development opportunities.