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Paper Summary

The Use of Evidence and Research to Differentiate and Personalize Support for Districts and Schools

Sun, April 15, 2:15 to 3:45pm, Vancouver Convention Centre, Floor: Second Level, East Room 8&15

Abstract

Purpose and Perspective
This paper explores a differentiated model (DM) of support for district and school improvement in a large Canadian jurisdiction that is both centrally coherent and locally relevant. Evidence-based differentiation is a key part of a large-scale strategy supporting school and district ongoing improvement which honours local context and needs as a catalyst for strategy and action.

Effective teacher professional learning and school improvement processes use student learning in classrooms to inform action and improvement (Darling-Hammond, 1997; Fullan, 2005; Little, Gearhart, Curry, & Kafka, 2003; and Webster-Wright, 2009). In successful school reform efforts, teachers and school leaders learn, develop and attempt new strategies through ongoing practice-observation-reflection cycles. These cycles result in continued refinement and improvement of the teaching and learning process in schools.

This jurisdiction’s DM is anchored by a theory of action which separates successful change efforts into three interrelated areas (Fullan, 2005):

1. People and relationship building- establishing partnerships and working from and with existing expertise in schools and districts.
2. Knowledge building and innovation- developing new actions and approaches that emerge from using research and evidence to inform strategy and actions.
3. Transparency of accountability throughout the system- ownership of both success and failure is established in partnership. Pressure to improve is ongoing, internally applied as opposed to externally directed, and instrumental to the ways everyone in the education system work.

The paper will discuss this DM as it relates to three specific initiatives that involve both the elementary and the secondary school sector:

1. The Ontario Focused Intervention Partnership- A district-based school support program for lower performing elementary schools.
2. The School Effectiveness Framework- An organizational self-assessment process that informs institutional and individual actions through rich and diverse needs assessments involving staff collaboratively across the year.
3. Schools In the Middle- A whole school improvement initiative that uses school networks to develop an inquiry-based stance towards individual and collective strategy and actions.

Methods and Data
The paper uses a mixed methods approach using data from a variety of sources including student achievement data, district and school self-reporting from approximately 72 school districts and more than 1000 schools, targeted focus groups, and participant observation. Collectively these data provide a layered understanding of both the tensions and possibilities of working within this DM at individual and system levels.

Results and Significance
Results from the analysis show that a differentiated model for school and district improvement can build relevant improvement practices and authentic professional learning opportunities that positively influence the classroom learning experiences of students. The diverse, collaborative and deep use of multiple data sources, including student achievement data and teacher collaborative observational evidence of student classroom experiences, offer rich pictures that inform institution and individual actions.

This kind of data use supports integration between local practices and theoretical and research-based knowledge (Coburn & Stein, 2010). It connects formative assessment of student learning with instructional technique and action while also informing institutional understanding. Equally, the use of school-to-school networking within this model supports collaborative learning and understanding.

Authors