RESEARCH PROPOSAL 
      Improving Effectiveness of 3Rs teachers in Tanzania 
                 2018 
            USAID TUSOME PAMOJA 
              Dar es Salaam 
       Communities of Learning and evidence-based classroom practices: Research to 
       improve support and effectiveness of 3Rs teachers in Tanzania - Iringa, Mtwara, 
       Ruvuma, Morogoro and Zanzibar 
       Summary  
       The aim of this research is to investigate aspects of the Tusome Pamoja program which are 
       relatively new to teachers and/or teachers find challenging: communities of learning, which 
       provides support to teachers at the school and ward-cluster level, and new evidence-based 
       classroom practices. The research is designed to understand what is working well currently 
       and what the barriers to implementation are in order to improve effectiveness of activities. 
       The results of the research will inform the design of future training for teachers, ward 
       education Officers (WEOs) and head teachers (HTs). 
       Background 
       Training 
       First we describe the system of professional development supported by USAID Tusome 
       Pamoja. This helps to understand how teachers initially introduced to communities of 
       learning and enhanced instructional practices and also how the results of the study will be 
       used. USAID Tusome Pamoja is implementing a program of continuous professional 
       development for Standard 1 and 2 teachers and pre-primary teachers. The program offers a 
       three-to-four day training every three-to-four months, building knowledge, and skills for 
       improved reading through use of new materials, scaffolded support and practice teaching. 
       The program began in 2016. In 2017, 10,709 Standard 1 and 2 teachers and 3,320 head 
       teachers received training. In addition, a further 2,013 academic teachers, section academic 
       teachers or section leaders and 854 ward education officers received training in support of 
       their oversight of teachers. The main focus of the training is activities to help teachers 
       implement the curriculum. Overall, the professional development is divided into sets of 
       three-days of direct training at district level, followed by threee months of school-based 
       activities before the next set of direct training (See Appendix for more details).  
       Communities of Practice 
       As part of the training, a community of learning (CoL) approach is introduced to teachers, 
       the head of school, and their immediate managers. This approach focuses on school-based 
       reflective practices to create a system of continuous learning and support. Peer teachers 
       observe one another and meet to discuss challenges and successes in their work, supported 
       also by feedback from the head teacher and ward education officers. Teachers from 
       different schools also meet at the school level to share insights from their reflective 
       practice. 
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                 Evidence-based classroom practices 
                 The overall system of continuous professional development, as well as the communities of 
                 learning, are designed to support teachers with specific classroom practices. We will focus 
                 on classroom practices that teachers reportedly find difficult. During implementation in 
                 2017, through field visits and classrooms observations, the program identified a few areas 
                 where desired behaviour change was not sufficient in many teachers: 
                         Choral chanting is still commonly used in classrooms, in place of other student-
                         centered methods. 
                         Checking for understanding and assessment was not frequent 
                         Teachers used whole language approaches rather than a phonic-based approach 
                  
                 The current research aims to understand the barriers to implementing effective practices, 
                 how CoL support teachers in addressing challenges in implementation and how teachers can 
                 be better supported in general. 
                 Research on classroom practices builds on 2017 research by Tusome Pamoja which found 
                 that students in rural areas are often lacking in self-confidence and curiosity in the 
                 classroom. It is possible that such characteristics limit the involvement of rural students in 
                 some activities. Other research on USAID/RTI EGR programs find that teachers are reluctant 
                 to engage in some activities because they are concerned that students will not respond, or 
                 will respond incorrectly.  As part of this research we will investigate whether some teaching 
                 activities are not implemented, or are modified, based on the perceived confidence/ability 
                 of students. We will also investigate whether the barriers to implementation of teaching 
                 activities differs between urban schools (which 2017 research found were associated with 
                 more self-confident students) and rural schools.  
                  
                 Aims of the Study 
                    The study aims to identify what works and what is challenging in implementing reflective 
                     practices in communities of learning. 
                    The second aim is to identify what works and what is challenging in implementing key 
                     classroom practices in reading and mathematics, including student-centered methods, 
                     checking for understanding and teaching phonics. In addition, we aim to understand 
                     how challenges in implementing these methods are addressed through reflective 
                     practices. 
                      
                 Methodology 
                 The study will involve a purposive sample of teachers, head teachers and their managers. 
                 The sample will be selected to maximum the quality of information and insights provided by 
                 teachers.  
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              Data will be collected to address the study aims as follows: 
                Qualitative interviews with teachers, CoL, HTs and their managers
                Focus group discussions with students (if time and budget allow)
                Observation of school-level and ward-level CoL
                Observation of class teaching combined with post-observation qualitative interviews
                 with teachers.
              Sampling 
              We will conduct the study in 2 mainland regions of TP and in Zanzibar. Ten schools will be 
              selected in each region. 4 schools will be in urban or semi-urban areas and 6 in rural areas. 
              Schools will be selected to have a mix of high- and low-performing schools. The sample will 
              be purposive in that we will aim to select teachers who will provide insightful information 
              when interviewed. 
              The sample size is determined by the aim of reaching “saturation” in information from 
              interviews. Saturation is reached when additional interviews do not yield new information. 
              The aim to reach saturation cost-effectively also drives the selection of 3 of 5 Tusome 
              Pamoja regions. Although some regions may face one type of challenge more than another, 
              we assume that interviews in 3 regions will results in a comprehensive list of the types of 
              challenges faced and that interviews in the 2 remaining regions would not add to this list. 
              Benefits of study findings to TP Program 
                   The research findings will be used to inform design of future CPD trainings to support
                    teachers in implementing CoL and classroom practices.
                   The study will help to identify best practices in community of learning which may
                    help to review details of the design of CoL.
                   The research findings will identify effective classroom practices which may be
                    modelled in future trainings
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