A Research-Practice Partnership Approach to ELD Standards Implementation

• In Event: Bridging Policy and Practice for Multilingual Learners Through English Language Development Standards Implementation Research

Abstract

Summary: In this paper, we share lessons learned from a research-practice partnership (RPP) between the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) West and the Sacramento County Office of Education (SCOE). The RPP, “Sacramento County Partnership for Joyful Literacy in PK-1” (Joyful Literacy for short) is focused on improving early literacy experiences and achievement in preschool through first grade (PK-1) and increasing successful implementation of the PK-1 ELA and ELD Standards.
RPPs in education are a promising approach for better aligning what happens in classrooms, schools, and education systems with what research demonstrates to be effective. Researchers who establish trusting relationships with practitioners can better understand local contextual factors that contribute to educational issues and then address these issues more effectively through research-based, responsive, and innovative interventions. Practitioners who partner with researchers have ready access to researchers’ subject matter expertise, knowledge of current research, and understanding of how to make data-informed decisions. Practitioners can also help shape research agendas, create practitioner-friendly resources, and communicate research findings to other practitioners. In successful RPPs, researchers and practitioners are equal partners, eager to learn from one another and work collaboratively to achieve common goals. RPPs can also encounter pitfalls and challenges. For example, organizational cultures and goals, resources (human, financial, organizational), accountability systems, and pressures may be quite different, and reconciling these differences requires creativity, flexibility, and patience.
Through this Joyful Literacy project, the REL West-SCOE RPP developed a set of instructional materials, a planning guide, an intensive professional learning institute, continuous improvement coaching, and family engagement materials that are aligned with the California Department of Education’s (CDE) K-12 ELA Standards (2013), K-12 ELD Standards (2014), and TK-12 ELA/ELD Framework, as well as the CDE’s new ELA and ELD Standards for children ages 3-5, the Preschool and Transitional Kindergarten Learning Foundations (PTKLF, 2024), and PK-3 Learning Progressions (in press). The PK-1 ELA and ELD Standards are explicitly cited in the project’s instructional materials, and teachers spend a significant amount of time in professional learning about the ELD Standards and how to address them in instruction. Since the RPP began, SCOE has disseminated these materials through professional learning events to 12 districts across Sacramento county and to districts in four other counties, as well as expanded learning programs, family groups, and libraries.

We use qualitative research methods to share a case study of our ongoing Joyful Literacy RPP project. Data sources include surveys, interview data, measures of teacher participation, and artifacts. Initial findings are promising. For example, results from a recent professional learning institute show that 95% of participants who responded found the instructional materials to be helpful to their work, and 95% reported an increased understanding of evidence-based early literacy instructional practices (which are aligned with the PK-1 ELD Standards) and how to implement them. Our goal is to provide an example of successes and challenges involved in the RPP approach to implementing ELD Standards and offer recommendations for future RPPs and lines of inquiry.

Authors

• Pamela A. Spycher, WestEd

• Kim Austin, WestEd