Using Fidelity Data “Midstream”: Garnering Principal Support for School-Based Services in an Early Math Intervention

• In Event: Roundtable Session 25
  In Roundtable Session: Using Fidelity Data to Improve Initiatives for Early Childhood Teachers

Abstract

Objectives: This presentation describes how fidelity of implementation (FOI) data from an i3 development grant was used in the middle of the first year of intervention. By sharing ongoing information on the delivery of early math professional development services, we enlisted help from participants that enhanced our ability to deliver future services to prekindergarten through grade 3 teachers.
Perspectives: Numerous studies indicate that high quality early mathematics education builds a strong foundation for future mathematics learning and school success (Duncan et al., 2007; Jordan et al., 2009). Despite its importance, many early childhood teachers are not adequately prepared to provide engaging and rigorous mathematics education (NAEYC & NCTM, 2002/2010). Of critical importance to increasing teachers’ proficiency in early math teaching is their continued learning through effective PD (NRC, 2009). FOI data can be used as an additional PD tool, fostering the development of a professional learning community that can support intervention.

Modes of Inquiry: In our work with approximately 120 PreK-Grade 3 teachers in eight Chicago public schools, intervention components include learning labs, individualized coaching, grade-level meetings, and leadership academies. Of these, individualized coaching and grade-level meetings are often the most difficult to deliver because they occur at school sites where project staff have more limited influence; school-based services are often affected by a lack of appropriate space or adequate time. The project team used its first Leadership Academy Meeting with all 8 school principals to share FOI data on how many coaching sessions and grade-level meetings had occurred in the first two months of the project. This resulted in a useful discussion among principals about the reasons fewer school-based services were delivered than were targeted, and possible solutions.

Data Sources: Coaches used digital tablets to record school-based services—including individualized coaching and grade level meetings—in a database. Records were generated for each grade level at each school, and presented in large format at the Leadership Academy Meeting.

Results: By the end of the first year of intervention, most schools achieved the delivery of an “adequate” level of school-based services, and these trends continued upward in year 2. Suggesting the positive effects of these levels of service delivery, in year 1 we found a significant difference between intervention and comparison teacher observation (HIS-EM) scores at Time 2 (t (189) = 4.420, p<.05); no such significant difference was found at Time 1 (t (189) = .475, p=ns). Analysis of year 2 observation data is underway.

Significance: The present work illustrates the power of the thoughtful sharing of information as part of a whole-school professional development initiative. By providing the right level of detail to school principals at a key moment within the first year of intervention, FOI data encouraged accountability and problem-solving, which contributed to the successful delivery of an adequate level of intervention to provide a true test of its effectiveness.

Authors

• Jennifer S. McCray, Erikson Institute

• Jie-Qi Chen, Erikson Institute

• Suzanne Budak, Erikson Institute