Implementation Fidelity

Evidence-based curricula have a clear scope and sequence. This means that some skills are foundational for attaining subsequent skills. Skills interact with one another to form competencies. It is important to follow the scope and sequence of your evidence based curriculum. Do not jump around or skip lessons unless the curriculum is specifically designed to allow that. Schools using more than one curricula (eg: one for elementary and one for secondary) can work to ensure there is vertical alignment, as well as alignment with Kansas SECD standards.

Many of these curricula also provide crosswalks with other subject areas, such as ELA, math, science, social studies, and health. Crosswalks can be used to help plan how to intentionally embed concepts throughout the school day.

Teaching your SEL curriculum should not be left to chance or used only "when there is extra time." Schools must build time in the schedule for explicitly teaching the lessons following the scope and sequence, as well as any time needed for important processes that may be part of some programs, such as morning meetings, brief daily skill practice, etc. In addition to a plan and specific schedule for when SEL will be taught by all staff using the scope and sequence, staff should agree to teach using common language from curriculum school-wide, and intentionally use the crosswalks to help plan how to embed concepts throughout the school day.

Example 1: Eagle Elementary School teaches their 30-minute lesson every Monday morning and embeds the daily 5-minute brain-builder into transition time right after recess. Example 2: Success High School teaches their 45-50 minute SEL lesson during Seminar on Tuedays and uses subsequent seminar times to help students make connections from their Individual Plans of Study to their SEL and academic goals, provide supports, and build connections through circle discussions.

Durlak and colleagues (2011) determined that key practices, such as school-wide teacher delivery of SEL with fidelity, using sequenced, active, focused, and explicit instruction resulted in increased benefit to the overall social-emotional competency of the school and students. Therefore,to support teaching an SEL curriculum with fidelity and the ability to embed the concepts and language throughout the day, schools should provide professional development for all staff in the selected SEL curricula.

To get the proven results of evidence-based SEL, it must be implemented as intended. Most curricula have tools to help schools understand whether they are implementing the curriculum with fidelity. Examples include lesson completion checklists, implementation surveys, scope and sequence checklists, peer observations, and student feedback tools. Some schools opt to create walk-through tools. Fidelity may also include tools that help adults self-assess the degree to which they have and express the social emotional competencies that foster developmental relationships, a positive school culture and climate, students' voice and agency, and students' social and emotional skills. Any of these may serve as artifacts of fidelity, along with a clear schedule for when the curriculum is to be taught.