TDNet Discover

The purpose of this mixed-methods action research study is to design, implement, and evaluate systematic data-driven professional development to address persistent mathematics achievement gaps for economically disadvantaged students and English language learners (ELL) at David Daniels Elementary School, a Title I campus in North Texas. Grounded in organizational learning theory, as articulated by Argyris and Schön and extended by Senge, the study will examine how schools can build internal capacity for collaborative inquiry, double-loop learning, and systematic improvement. The school serves approximately 485 students, with about 85% classified as economically disadvantaged and approximately 75% identified as English language learners. Six to eight classroom teachers will serve as the primary sample. The study will employ a concurrent triangulation mixed-methods design that integrates quantitative data from the Mathematics Teaching Efficacy Beliefs Instrument (MTEBI) and secondary student achievement data with qualitative data from semi- structured interviews, classroom and data team observations, focus groups, and document analysis. Data will be collected across three time points and six systematic collaborative inquiry cycles embedded in existing grade-level professional learning community structures. Quantitative data will be analyzed using descriptive statistics and pre-to-post comparisons, while qualitative data will be analyzed through thematic coding discourse analysis using NVivo software. The two data strands will be integrated through a joint display to determine whether and how systematic, data-driven professional development improves teacher self-efficacy, shifts beliefs about student capacity, and supports student mathematics achievement at this Title I elementary campus.