Critical Elements

• Effective teaching• Alignment of curriculum and instruction to standards• Instructional program coherence• Fidelity of implementation• Evaluation of program impact

Instructional Program Coherence— Typical Problems

• Each problem, for example, low math scores, is addressed by a stand-alone “solution”—the “Christmas tree” approach

• Result: Too many unrelated, fragmented “improvement” efforts

• Attention and resources focus on the programs instead of building overall teacher capacity

Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, and Bryk. School Instructional Program Coherence: Benefits and Challenges.

What is instructional program coherence?

• A common instructional framework that guides curriculum, teaching, and assessment

• Staff working conditions—for example, teacher evaluation and development—that support implementation of the framework

• Intentional allocation of school resources such as materials, time, and staff to advance the school’s common instructional framework

Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, and Bryk. School Instructional Program Coherence: Benefits and Challenges.

Indicators of Instructional Program Coherence—Some Examples

• The school strategically selects programs and initiatives so all school programs support each other.

• Teachers coordinate curriculum to avoid repetition and to offer students new and more complex subject matter as they move from grade to grade.

• The curriculum remains fairly stable over time, thus providing teachers with sustained opportunities to learn how to teach it well.

• Intervention approaches and materials are aligned with the core curriculum and standards.

Newmann, Smith, Allensworth, and Bryk. School Instructional Program Coherence: Benefits and Challenges. American Institutes of Research. Research Summary Supporting the Nine Essential Program Components and Academic Program Survey.

Fidelity of Implementation

• Delivery of instruction is faithful to the program’s design

• Pays special attention to ensuring that core components are implemented

Why is it important?

Relationship Between Program/Approach and Implementation

Implementation

Effective Not Effective

Program or Approach

Effective Improved outcomes

Poor outcomes

Not Effective Poor outcomes Poor outcomes

Adapted from Wallace, Blasé, Fixsen, and Naoom. Implementing the Findings of Research: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice.

We’ve selected a program that we think meets our students’ needs. Now what?

* * * *“Implementation drivers” increase the likelihood that a program will be implemented correctly.

Implementation Drivers

• Training and materials to support teacher learning

• Opportunities for practice• Ongoing consultation and coaching• Feedback loop (observations to ensure

that the program is being implemented as designed, with intervention if necessary)Adapted from Wallace, Blasé, Fixsen, and Naoom. Implementing the Findings of Research: Bridging the Gap Between Knowledge and Practice.

Helping Teachers Successfully Apply New Skills

• Provide opportunities for presentation of theory and discussion

PLUS • Time for demonstration and practice

during training

PLUS • Coaching in the classroom setting as the

teacher implements the new strategy/program

Evaluation of Program Impact

In schools, program evaluation means examining initiatives the school has undertaken—whether the initiative is an approach to literacy instruction or a program to support struggling students—to answer the question, “Is what we are doing working?”

Center for Comprehensive School Reform and Improvement. Program Evaluation for the Practitioner: Using Evaluation as a School Improvement Strategy.

The Goal

Ensuring that school resources are used to support programs that can positively impact student learning. This requires identifying and “correcting” or eliminating those that “don’t work.”

What are we looking for?

• Does the program do what it was intended to do?

• If not, does the evaluation suggest ways to improve it? For example, does it look as though the approach is not being implemented as designed?

•If it looks as though the program isn’t likely to address our needs (even with improvements), does the evaluation provide direction about what to look for in a replacement program or approach?

Critical Elements

• Effective teaching• Alignment of the curriculum to standards• Instructional program coherence• Fidelity of implementation• Evaluation of program impact