Teacher Survey

Appendix A6. Teacher Survey

This is the survey that will be used for the study.

Dear Teacher:

Write to Succeed is an important study designed to test innovative methods for improving English learner students’ English language, and all students’ literacy and writing skills. Your participation in the study is important and appreciated, but you may skip any survey question that you do not wish to answer. All teachers participating in the Write to Succeed study are invited to participate in this survey, which should take about 20 to 30 minutes to complete. The following are responses to some general questions concerning your participation.

What is the purpose of this survey?

The purpose of this survey is to obtain instructional contexts and practices, as well as background information on teachers.

Who is conducting this survey?

Members of the research study team at the REL Southwest are conducting this survey as part of the Write to Succeed study, funded by the U.S. Department of Education.

Why should you participate in this survey?

Policymakers and educational leaders rely on findings from studies such as Write to Succeed to inform their decisions. The current study will fill a critical gap in knowledge about how to support English Learner students and all students in developing effective writing practices.

Will your responses be kept confidential?

American Institutes for Research follows the confidentiality and data protection requirements of IES (The Education Sciences Reform Act of 2002, Title I, Part E, Section 183). Responses to this data collection will be used only for statistical purposes. The reports prepared for the study will summarize findings across the sample and will not associate responses with a specific school or individual. We will not provide information that identifies respondents to anyone outside the study team, except as required by law. Additionally, no one in your school or district will see your responses.

How will your information be reported?

The information you provide will be combined with the information provided by others in statistical reports. No individual data that link your name or e-mail address with your responses will be included in the statistical reports.

Whom can I contact with questions or concerns?

If you have any further questions or concerns about this survey, please contact the study project director, Dr. Lisa Hsin, at 410-916-0219 or [email protected]. If you have concerns or questions about your rights as a research participant, contact AIR’s Institutional Review Board (IRB), which is responsible for the protection of project participants at [email protected], toll free at 1-800-634-0797.

Thank you for your cooperation in this very important effort!

Your Work with Teacher Colleagues

This section contains questions about how you worked with your teacher colleagues during the 2024-2025 school year.

1. When you meet with other teachers at your school, to what extent do you agree that you typically do the following?

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
Review formative assessments
Develop instructional strategies
Review state test results
Discuss the needs of specific students
Coordinate curriculum and/or instruction across classrooms
Develop curriculum and/or materials
Address classroom management/discipline issues
Review students’ classroom work
Discuss and improve the team’s collaboration processes

Note. Items in this question are adapted from an existing survey (Ronfeldt, et al., 2015).

Your Classroom

This section contains questions about different aspects of your teaching approach in your classroom during the 2024-2025 school year.

2. Please indicate your level of agreement with the following statements:

	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
I integrate the cultural values and lifestyles of different racial, ethnic, and language groups into my teaching.
My curricula integrate topics and events from different racial, ethnic, and language groups.
I make changes within the general school environment so that students of all racial, ethnic, and language groups will have an equal opportunity for success.
I consult regularly with other teachers or administrators to help me understand multicultural or multilingual issues related to instruction.
I often include examples of the experiences and perspectives of racial, ethnic and language groups during my classroom lessons.
I establish strong, supportive relationships with parents of all racial, ethnic, and language groups.
I am knowledgeable about particular teaching strategies that affirm the racial, ethnic, and linguistic identities of all students.
I have a clear understanding of culturally and linguistically responsive pedagogy.

Note. Items in this question are adapted from an existing survey (Spanierman, et al., 2011).

3. Please indicate your agreement with the following statements:

Item	Strongly Disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly Agree
I can describe challenges that English learner students may face in getting started on instructional tasks.
I can describe challenges that English learner students may face as they seek to communicate their thinking (including reading, writing, and sharing orally).
I can describe strategies that help English learner students get started on instructional tasks.
I can describe strategies that help English learner students communicate their thinking (including reading, writing, and sharing orally).
I can describe how to adjust my instruction to support English learner students of different language proficiency levels.
I am confident I can teach English learner students in my class.
I can meet the needs of students struggling with writing.
I provide my students with opportunities to apply their prior knowledge to reading and writing tasks.
I can model effective reading strategies.
I can get my students to talk with each other in class about text they are reading.
I can model effective writing strategies.
I can motivate students who show low interest in writing.

Note. Items in this question are adapted from existing surveys (a-f from Neumayer DePiper, et al., 2021; g-l from Tschannen-Moran, et al., 2011).

Literacy-Focused Professional Learning

This section contains questions about literacy-focused professional learning you may have experienced during the 2024-2025 school year.

4. During the 2024-2025 school year, did you participate in any of the following types of literacy-focused professional learning (PL)?

Professional Learning	Hours spent in literacy-focused professional learning (Enter “0” if you did not participate in the type of professional learning.)
a. Repeated in-person group professional learning session(s) with colleagues at my school
b. In-person group professional learning session(s) where instructional practices were modeled by a coach
c. In-person group professional learning session(s) where my colleagues and I rehearsed instructional practices
d. Online learning modules completed independently
e. Follow-up group training sessions to support knowledge or use of content learned in online modules (follow-up sessions may be in-person, virtual, or over the phone)
f. Follow-up one-on-one coaching sessions to support knowledge or use of content learned in online modules (follow-up sessions may be in-person, virtual, or over the phone)
g. Individual coaching sessions to plan implementation of specific instructional practices within my lessons
h. Collaborative planning sessions with colleagues at my school to plan implementation of specific instructional practices within our lessons
i. In-person classroom observation or co-teaching with a coach to support implementation of instructional practices focused on during professional learning
j. In-person debrief of a coach observation or co-teaching session to support implementation of instructional practices focused on during professional learning
k. Other (please specify)

5. In your literacy-focused professional learning during the 2024-2025 school year, did you engage in any of the following activities? Please check all that apply.

Professional Learning activity	Check all that apply
Independent review or study of material (articles, books, etc.) focused on literacy instruction
Review and group discussion of material (articles, books, etc.) focused on literacy instruction
Observation of a coach’s modeling of literacy instructional practices
Debrief discussion of a coach’s modeling of literacy practices
Practice or rehearsal of literacy instructional practices during the professional learning (rehearsal, role playing, simulation, etc.)
Reflection on implementation of literacy instructional practices with colleagues
Reflection on implementation of literacy instructional practices with a coach
Independent reflection on implementation of literacy instructional practices

6. In your literacy-focused professional learning (PL) activities during the 2024-2025 school year, did you explore or discuss the following topics? Please check all that apply.

Professional learning topics	Check all that apply
Evaluating curricular resources
Scaffolded writing instruction
Strategies for developing oral language
Teaching beginning phonics
Teaching advanced decoding
Genre-based instruction
Vocabulary
Supporting reading comprehension
Text analysis
Jointly constructing texts
Writing reflection and peer feedback
Teacher collaboration
Culturally and linguistically responsive instruction

6. Considering the literacy-focused professional learning (PL) you attended during the 2024-2025 school year, to what extent to you agree with the following statements?

Statement	Strongly disagree	Disagree	Agree	Strongly agree
The PL content was relevant to me.
The PL material was easy to understand.
The PL was logically connected from one day or session to the next.
The PL was consistent with my own goals for professional development.
The PL was consistent with the instructional practices my district or school leaders expect me to use in my classroom.
The PL was clear about how I could use what I learned from the professional development in the classroom.
The PL gave me actionable strategies for teaching literacy that I can use.
The PL program helped me develop lessons that incorporate literacy practices.
I missed opportunities to engage in other PL because I participated in this literacy-focused PL.

8. During the 2024-2025 school year, did you attend LETRS professional learning?

Hours spent in LETRS professional learning (Enter “0” if you did not participate in LETRS.)

Write to Succeed Professional Learning (Only shown to teachers at schools participating in Write to Succeed)

This section contains questions specific to your experiences with the Write to Succeed program during the 2024-2025 school year.

8. Did you participate at all in each of the following Write to Succeed program components this fall, across any/all of the Write to Succeed practices you learned this fall? (As a reminder, the Write to Succeed practices were Academic Language, Vocabulary Development; Text Jumble and Cohesion Analysis; Jointly Constructing Text; Peer Feedback Protocol.) 

Item	Yes	No
Group professional learning to learn about scaffolded writing instruction (the TLC)
One-on-one or group sessions where my coach modeled the fall Write to Succeed practices
One-on-one sessions with my coach where I prepared to implement the fall Write to Succeed practices in my own classroom
Collaborative planning with my teacher colleagues to prepare to implement the fall Write to Succeed practices in my own classroom
Using the fall Write to Succeed practices in my classroom instruction
Receiving one-on-one coaching from my coach about my teaching, involving co-teaching/observation and then debriefing together

8. Considering all the Write to Succeed practices you learned and implemented this fall, please rate the usefulness of each program component that you participated in: 

	Not at all useful	Somewhat useful	Useful	Very useful	Not applicable (did not participate in this component)
Group professional learning to learn about scaffolded writing instruction (the TLC)
One-on-one or group sessions where my coach modeled the fall Write to Succeed practices
One-on-one sessions with my coach where I prepared to implement the fall Write to Succeed practices in my own classroom
Collaborative planning with my teacher colleagues to prepare to implement the fall Write to Succeed practices in my own classroom
Using the fall Write to Succeed practices in my classroom instruction
Receiving one-on-one coaching from my coach about my teaching, involving co-teaching/observation and then debriefing together

8. How adequate were the following resources to support your implementation of Write to Succeed?

	Not at all helpful	Somewhat helpful	Helpful	Very helpful
The descriptions in the teacher binder of how to implement the Write to Succeed practices
The templates in the teacher binder for me to use in my own classroom
The guidance for integrating the Write to Succeed practices into my curriculum (i.e., the curriculum enhancement guide)
My coach’s knowledge of the Write to Succeed practices
My coach’s ability to facilitate the professional learning

The next four questions ask about the four fall Write to Succeed practices.

8. For each of the following Write to Succeed practices, did you learn about it with your coach and teacher team?

	Yes	No
Academic Language, Vocabulary Development
Text Jumble and Cohesion Analysis
Jointly Constructing Text
Peer Feedback Protocol

8. For each of the following Write to Succeed practices, did you use it in your classroom instruction with students?

	Yes	No
Academic Language, Vocabulary Development
Text Jumble and Cohesion Analysis
Jointly Constructing Text
Peer Feedback Protocol

8. For each of the Write to Succeed practices you used with your students this fall, please indicate how easy or difficult it was to implement in the classroom.

	Very difficult	Somewhat difficult	Somewhat easy	Very easy	Not applicable (I did not use this practice)
Academic Language, Vocabulary Development
Text Jumble and Cohesion Analysis
Jointly Constructing Text
Peer Feedback Protocol

8. For each of the Write to Succeed practices you used with your students this fall, please indicate how helpful you believe it was for student learning.

	Not at all helpful	Somewhat helpful	Helpful	Very helpful	Not applicable (I did not use this practice)
Academic Language, Vocabulary Development
Text Jumble and Cohesion Analysis
Jointly Constructing Text
Peer Feedback Protocol

The next four questions ask you to reflect overall on your Write to Succeed experiences so far.

8. To what extent did each of the following aspects of the Write to Succeed program pose challenges? 

	Very challenging	Challenging	Somewhat challenging	Not a challenge
The number of group professional learning sessions to attend
The number of practices I was expected to implement
Finding time to work with my coach to co-teach or observe my lessons and to debrief
Getting the information and guidance I needed from my coach
Getting planning support from my colleagues
Integrating the practices into my existing curriculum
Getting my students engaged in the Write to Succeed practices
Achieving the learning goals I set for my students when I used the Write to Succeed practices
Aligning the program with my school’s instructional priorities

8. What are other challenges you have had with Write to Succeed so far, if any? 

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

8. What if anything would you change about Write to Succeed for future use, and how? 

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

8. What do you see as the main benefits of Write to Succeed?

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

______________________________________________________________

Background Information

This final section contains questions about your background and experience in the classroom during the 2024-2025 school year.

8. What subjects do you currently teach? [check all that apply]

Language arts
Math
Social studies/history
Science
English language development
Other (please specify)

8. What is the primary subject in which you have used Write to Succeed strategies? [select one]

Language arts
Math
Social studies/history
Science
English language development
Other (please specify)

8. For this primary subject, how many students do you teach at each grade level?

	3rd graders	4th graders	5th graders	6th graders	7th graders	8th graders

8. For this primary subject, approximately what proportion of your students are currently English Learners (i.e., not yet exited from services/reclassified as English proficient)?

0-10%

11-20%

21-30%

31-40%

41-50%

51-60%

61-70%

71-80%

81-90%

91-100%

8. What types of languages do you speak?

Language/Language group	Speak, but do not use during instruction	Speak, and use during instruction
English
Spanish
One or more Native languages (ex. Navajo, Zuni, Diné)
One or more East Asian languages (ex. Hindi, Chinese, Vietnamese)
Other language(s) (Please specify)

8. How many years of teaching experience do you have in each of the following settings?

For each row, write the number of years, using whole numbers only. Please round up to the nearest whole number. Please exclude student teaching and count school year 2023-2024 as one full year. If any of the following do not apply to you, please enter a zero.

Teaching in total
Teaching at your current school
Teaching classes that include one or more English learner students

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