Going Beyond Fidelity: Adaptive Implementation as a School Improvement Approach

• In Event: 58.021 - Policy Implementation at the Building Level: Leaders and Systems

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to present results from two school improvement efforts to personalize learning for students and their families, particularly related to college readiness; to discuss methodological challenges in implementation research, particularly in measuring fidelity of implementation in school improvement efforts; and to share a new approach called Adaptive Implementation (AI). Across two development grants in the course of six years from the Investing in Innovation (i3) fund, we developed a school-wide program through building partnerships, using student data, and personalizing instruction for students. A major challenge was measuring fidelity of implementation for a developing school improvement model. Rather, AI utilizes a continuous improvement cycle that captures and learns from adaptations in implementation.

Authors

• Ryoko Yamaguchi, Plus Alpha Research & Consulting, LLC

• Laureen G. Avery, University of California - Los Angeles

• Jason A. Cervone, University of California - Los Angeles

• Lisa D. Dimartino

• Adam Hall, University of North Carolina - Greensboro