Learning at all levels: Building schools’ capacity to generate and use relevant evidence to strengthen instruction practices

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

What evidence do schools need to improve their practices and learning outcomes? How can schools obtain that evidence, interpret it, and apply it to improve their practices? Which factors facilitate those processes, and which factors impede them? What role do digital systems play in generating and using evidence at the school level?
This panel explores these vital questions with paper presentations that elevate the voices of school leaders from West Africa, South America, and Europe and showcase the approaches and experiences of international education research and implementation organizations. The three panelists collaborate with--and benefit from the support of--a foundation that promotes evidence use in education.
• Panel presenter / author 1 (a research and data analytics consultancy acting as learning partner to the foundation) will present their study exploring the evidence needs, practices, and experiences of schools across 7 countries on 3 continents (Africa, South America, and Europe). Using a comparative approach and interviews with school leaders, the paper shows how schools in diverse settings differ in how they generate data, translate it into usable evidence, and apply that evidence to decisions and teaching practices. Findings have implications for how education backers, from foundations and ministries of education to local education districts, support schools in deploying evidence for the greatest benefit of their students and communities.
• Panel presenter / author 2 (an education research agency within a multilateral organization which received research funding from the foundation) will present their research paper on approach and impacts of their effort which identifies the behaviors and practices of "positive deviant" schools—those that outperform their peers despite operating in similar resource-constrained environments—and scales these innovations to drive system-wide improvements. By sharing these localized solutions and practices, the presenter demonstrates how school-level evidence can inform educational strategies in both traditional and digital contexts.
• Panel presenter / author 3 (an African NGO that promotes schools’ practices to tailor instruction to students’ specific academic level, and which received research funding from the foundation) will present their paper on their embedded research approach, which uses child-focused assessments and skills-responsive instruction to improve learning outcomes and generate local evidence for program improvement. The presentation will include current examples of pilots in Kenya, Côte d’Ivoire, and Nigeria that engage teachers and school leaders in testing new approaches to responsive teaching.
After the presentations, panelists will engage one another and audience members in a discussion of implications of these insights. Specifically, the panel will explore how these lessons can be folded into current and ongoing programs that help schools use evidence. We also expect to discuss with audience members how localized knowledge and grassroots, evidence-based innovations can be harnessed and scaled within a digital society. This discussion will contribute to the broader goal of envisioning education systems that are more equitable, data-informed, and responsive to the needs of all learners.

Sub Unit

• Monitoring and Evaluation SIG

Chair

• Josh R Meuth Alldredge, Mathematica

Individual Presentations

• “We want whatever would bring progress to our children”: School leaders’ experiences in generating and using evidence to improve learning - Josh R Meuth Alldredge, Mathematica

• Teacher-centered solutions: Using school-based learning as a means to strengthen and innovate on a responsive teaching approach - Daniele J Ressler, Teaching at the Right Level Africa

• Harnessing school-level evidence to drive educational change: Insights from research on “positive deviant” schools - Michèle Boujikian, UNICEF Innocenti - Global Office of Research and Foresight