Find teachers in each grade level who have graduated from college in the past three decades. Compare their methods of teaching. Find out what is similar among those in the same grade but each of the three different decades. Choose some differences in the styles of those teachers as well. Interview those teachers on criteria they use for their grading systems and what skills they feel are most important for their students to learn. This can show how teaching styles change over the years.
Research the different grading systems that schools use for elementary school students. Research what grading systems in elementary schools are most effective. To do this, compare the top 10 percent of students in schools that use different grading systems, such as letters, percentages and pass/fail systems. Examine how they perform at higher grade levels compared to the students in each of the other grading systems.
Form a study group of new teachers. Half of those teachers should be ones that completed a student teacher program as part of their education, where they volunteered in a classroom. The second half should be those who had no practical classroom experience before landing their first teaching positions. Evaluate the teachers based on the percentage of students that graduate from their classrooms, rankings by their peers, and promotions received over their first five years in the classroom.
Some elementary schools operate in a closed classroom setting, with walls separating each classroom. In other schools, the layout is open, with only partial walls dividing the classrooms. Research if students and teachers find the open setting more of a distraction, or an opportunity to listen to multiple teaching styles and pick up information from other classes.
Research to determine if having a single teacher for the entire school day, or having multiple teachers who specialize in certain subjects, is more beneficial to students. Compare the test scores and graduation rates of the students in both settings. Interview the teachers, as well, to find out their personal opinions after teaching in both settings, regarding which is more effective.