Working Paper: NBER ID: w21986
Authors: John P. Papay; Eric S. Taylor; John H. Tyler; Mary Laski
Abstract: We study on-the-job learning among classroom teachers, especially learning skills from coworkers. Using data from a new field experiment, we document meaningful improvements in teacher job performance when high- and low-performing teachers working at the same school are paired and asked to work together on improving the low-performer’s skills. In particular, pairs are asked to focus on specific skills identified in the low-performer’s prior performance evaluations. In the classrooms of low-performing teachers treated by the intervention, students scored 0.12 standard deviations higher than students in control classrooms. These improvements in teacher performance persisted, and perhaps grew, in the year after treatment. Empirical tests suggest the improvements are likely the result of low-performing teachers learning skills from their partner.
Keywords: on-the-job learning; peer learning; teacher performance; field experiment; public schools
JEL Codes: I20; J24; M53
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| significant improvements in student achievement (I24) | low-performing teachers learning skills from high-performing partners (J24) |
| low-performing teachers learning skills from high-performing partners (J24) | persistence of performance gains in the following year (D29) |
| improvements in student achievement (I24) | facilitated peer learning (C92) |
| treatment effects are largest for target teachers (C90) | effective facilitation of peer learning (C92) |
| improvements concentrated in skill areas where there was a match (J24) | skill acquisition through collaboration (O36) |
| pairing low-performing teachers with high-performing colleagues (A21) | significant improvements in student achievement (I24) |