GOING BEYOND THE TEXTBOOK: CAN TEACHERS IMPROVE STUDENT LEARNING BY USING INNOVATIVE TEACHING PRACTICES? EVIDENCE FROM NELS:88: A FIXED EFFECTS ANALYSIS.

Abstract

This thesis studies the causal effect of a teacher’s use of innovative teaching practices, as measured by their usage of audiovisual and non-textbook reading materials, on their students’ academic achievement. Evidence is drawn from NELS:88, a panel dataset consisting of a nationally representative sample of 8 th grade students in the United States. The main empirical method used is a within-student fixed effects analysis via differencing across academic subjects. In the main robustness check, a fixed effects analysis via differencing across time was used instead. The results consistently present statistically insignificant and small estimates of the causal effect, hence showing little evidence that innovative teaching practices, as measured by the usage of audiovisual and non-textbook reading materials, have a positive impact on student academic achievement. However, a major caveat motivated by the literature is that other forms of innovative practices, like using information and communication technologies, may contribute positively.