Researching Implementation at Scale: Hearing Teachers' Voices, Meeting Teachers' Needs, and the Implications for Intermediaries

• In Event: Structural Issues Effecting the Teacher Workforce

Abstract

Meeting local practitioners’ needs becomes more complex as education initiatives scale to more contexts. External intermediaries offering standardized supports for an initiative may engender inequitable outcomes by responding insufficiently to local contexts. Using longitudinal, multi-site case studies, we examine the implementation of Differentiated Literacy Strategy (DLS) in grades K through 2 in 18 schools, supported by external instructional coaches. Variation in teachers’ understanding of differentiation, existing literacy practices, student needs, and local resources accounted for the extent to which the intermediary met local needs and the school moved towards differentiated small-group instruction. We highlight our responsibilities as researchers to amplify practitioners’ perspectives and to bridge teachers’ needs with the intermediary’s capacities to meet teachers where they start.

Authors

• Viki Young, Digital Promise

• Mai Chou Vang, Digital Promise

• Zareen Kasad, Digital Promise Global