MiPLAN Preliminary Results

MiPLAN provides grant funding for Math teachers in grades 3-8 to access the high-quality professional development based on their needs with the intent of improving student learning. Funding is tied to participating in research activities to determine if self-directed professional learning increases teacher efficacy and student outcomes.

Math instructors in Grades 3–8 will make personalized choices as they select among vetted, high-quality professional learning (PL) offerings for 2 cycles that will meet their needs to improve math instruction and student math achievement. The grant will provide the district with reimbursements of up to $8,000 to put toward each participating teacher’s selected PL opportunities over the course of a school year.

• Teachers participated in a randomized control trial (RCT) study. An RCT provides a way to study the impact of self-directed PL on student outcomes. Our research partner, American Institutes for Research (AIR) randomly assigned schools by lottery to either begin implementing in the 2022-23 school year or to delay implementation until the 2023-24 school year. A second cohort of schools are participating in this current school year with delayed implementation in 24-25.
• District and campus staff provided feedback on the professional learning (PL) opportunities list and the process for selecting and documenting PL.
• Districts released 24 HRS of state-mandated PL for participating teachers.
• Teachers implemented their new learning in the classroom and completed a reflection on the effectiveness of the PL strategies.

AIR has posted an overview of the research study as well as their initial findings on their website. Key findings included the following:

• Most teachers felt that the professional learning opportunities met their needs.
• Most teachers were able to incorporate new learning and understanding into their classrooms to support students.
• Districts did not release teachers from the 24 hours of mandated PD but added this opportunity to their learning contrary to the program intent.
• School and district leaders shared that choosing professional learning aligned to teacher needs facilitated access to high-quality professional learning.

AIR will update the website with additional results from the second cohort as well as the final student outcomes by the end of the grant period in December of 2025. Additional resources from MiPLAN can be found on the TxCEE website.

Contact Bryan Sanchez at bsanchez@txcee.org or (512) 538-0645 to learn more about MiPLAN or other TxCEE services.