IES study of 90 elementary schools comparing departmentalized and self-contained instruction in grades 4 and 5¶

Element · All elements
Evidence · 3 claims (3 mixed) · 1 study (1 associational), q2 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

A study by Mathematica researchers for the Institute of Education Sciences that "examined the experiences of 90 schools that either voluntarily switched to departmentalized instruction or continued teaching all subjects to a single class in 4th and 5th grades for two years beginning in fall 2019." It compares departmentalizing—assigning upper elementary teachers to "teach their strongest subjects to multiple classes"—with self-contained instruction. The study focuses on implementation experiences rather than established outcome effects.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Schools in the comparison either voluntarily switched to departmentalized instruction or continued self-contained teaching in 4th and 5th grades

Constraints¶

• Schools voluntarily chose their instructional arrangement, so the comparison is not described as randomized

Target Learners¶

• Upper elementary students in grades 4 and 5

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving student achievement and teacher retention through more efficient use of school resources

Claims¶

• The effects of departmentalized instruction on student achievement and teacher retention remain unclear [~W]
• Schools implementing departmentalized elementary instruction completed key implementation steps, but some faced scheduling challenges [~W]
• Departmentalized elementary teachers' experiences matched some, but not all, hypothesized benefits and challenges of departmentalized instruction [~W]

Related Elements¶

Examples¶

• Departmentalizing upper elementary instruction as a potential strategy for resource efficiency, achievement, and retention

Key Sources¶

• Alison Wellington, Melissa Clark, Alyson Burnett, Susanne James-Burdumy, Libby Makowsky, Stacey Brockman, Dallas Dotter, Mariesa Herrmann, Hanley Chiang. (2024). Evaluation of Departmentalized Instruction in Elementary Schools: Exploring Implementation Experiences. Institute of Education Sciences. https://www.mathematica.org/publications/evaluation-of-departmentalized-instruction-in-elementary-schools