Strategies for Effective Implementation

On this page, I have included the following:

1. David Pearson's summary and synthesis of a Rand study that is part of his chapter entitled "Teachers or Progams?" in the Research-Based Practices for Teaching Common Core Literacy.

2. links to different studies about effective literacy programs

Here he discussed the important of implementation and discourages programs that expect teacher to follow scripts. Also, extended training and follow up is necessary. Change and effective implementation does not come easily.

The following is a brief summary of the report with my emphasis added.

This report concluded that effective change in schools does take place through adoption,

but also through mutual adaptation: the adaptation of a project or policy and the organizational

setting to each other. Too much emphasis on fidelity to the original program

could undermine the entire effort to effect positive programmatic changes that would

lead to increased student achievement (Elmore & McLaughlin, 1988).

Below is more information, also with my emphasis added.

"The Rand Change Agent Studies

A fourth research effort focused on reform at the programmatic level related to the federal government’s support for the creation and transfer of effective programs. The Elementary and Secondary Education Act (in particular, the Education Amendments of 1974) provided support for innovative and exemplary projects that provide creative or imaginative solutions to problems in curriculum and teaching. Some of these grants were designed to support development work, while other grants were designed to support

institutions working to adopt programs that had been created through development

grants. The National Diffusion Network (NDN; 1974–1995) was the first federally

sponsored effort to identify and spread innovative educational programs. The NDN

would conduct an evaluation of the data on the effectiveness of innovative programs

and certify those that passed the demonstration of effectiveness for diffusion. The program

was administered through the Office of Education and was designed to make

use of the best ideas from the innovative programs. A large number of these programs

focused on improving reading achievement.

focused on improving reading achievement.

The federal government sponsored an independent evaluation of this process, designed

to spread innovation. The Rand Corporation was contracted to study the effective

transport of innovative programs from one site to the next with a particular focus

on replication of the outcomes related to student achievement. Paul Bermann and Milbrey

McLaughlin directed this study, which was eventually reported as the Rand Change

Agent studies, undertaken from 1973 to 1978 (McLaughlin, 1976, 1990). It was built on

246 Research-Based Practices for Teaching Common Core Literacy

a framework for change constructed by Berman and McLaughlin (1976). They examined

four federal programs and 293 projects in 18 states. Overall, they found the level of implementation

of programs to be very low and uneven. They identified a set of characteristics

that seemed to be very ineffective in supporting program adoption and a set of strategies

that they associated with success.

that seemed to be very ineffective in supporting program adoption and a set of strategies

that they associated with success

that they associated with success.

Some factors associated with limited implementation:

• Reliance on outside consultants

• Packaged management approaches

• One-shot, pre-implementation training

• Pay for training

• Formal, summative evaluation

• Comprehensive system-wide projects

Some strategies associated with effective implementation:

• Concrete, teacher-specific, and extended training

• Classroom assistance from local staff

• Teacher observation of similar projects in other locations

• Regular project meetings that focused on practice

• Teacher participation in project decisions

• Local development of project materials

• Principals’ participation in training

This report concluded that effective change in schools does take place through adoption,

but also through mutual adaptation

but also through mutual adaptation: the adaptation of a project or policy and the organizational

setting to each other. Too much emphasis on fidelity to the original program

could undermine the entire effort to effect positive programmatic changes that would

lead to increased student achievement (Elmore & McLaughlin, 1988)."

David Pearson

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David Pearson

Links to Large-scale Research about Adolescent Literacy Programs

Below are some of the most current links I was able to find regarding literacy. On other parts of this website, with the exception of the Additional Resources Section, I have included links for texts that I have read and often read and analyzed. I have skimmed these, but I have not read and studied all of these carefully. I am including them for future study and in fact did not discover them until near the end of my research. In speaking with some literacy experts, they suggested reading these critically. Evaluations of some programs, such as the Summary of Striving Readers Programs, do not look beyond the first year, for example.

1. Summary of Striving Readers Programs: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20164001/

2. Enhanced Reading Opportunities Study: http://ies.ed.gov/ncee/pubs/20104021/pdf/20104021.pdf

Read 180 and Strategic Literacy Initiative's Academic Literacy class.

However the Reading Apprenticeship model, one that I think is possibly the most promising, was not assessed.

Strategic Literacy Initiative summarizes the research about their program. Xtreme reading had similar results from what I can tell. The second study did not have follow up the following year. Hence, transfer and ongoing work.

3. This study found that cooperative learning was an effective element of any reading program. Mixed-methods (such as Read 180) were also found to be effective.

Evidence about programs 2008

http://www.bestevidence.org/word/mhs_read_Jul_2008_RRQ.pdf

Cooperative learning and mixed methods, but no strong evidence

4. IES Open Source Practice Guide 2008

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/pdf/practice_guides/adlit_pg_082608.pdf

Schools or programs?