Progress Monitoring School Improvement Plans & Evidence-Based Interventions

Progress Monitoring School Improvement Plans & Evidence-Based Interventions Office of School Improvement @EducateIN

Objectives • Describe How IDOE’s Comprehensive Needs Assessment & School Improvement Plan Template Align With the Principles of Continuous Improvement. • Define the Features of the Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) Cycle. • Illustrate How PDSA Cycles Can Be Used to Monitor Implementation Progress of a School Improvement Plan. @EducateIN

Background • The guidance outlined in this presentation is drawn from “A Primer for Continuous Improvement in Schools and Districts,” written by the Education Development Center (EDC). • To learn more about continuous school improvement best practices, please download EDC’s report on this topic at https://bit.ly/2LouOrC. Shakman, K., Bailey, J., and Breslow, N. (2017). A primer for continuous improvement in schools and districts. Washington D.C.: Teacher Incentive Fund, U.S. Department of Education. This report is in the public domain. Authorization to reproduce it in whole or in part is granted. @EducateIN

Connections to IDOE’s CNA/SIP Template @EducateIN

Connections to the IDOE’s CNA/SIP Template @EducateIN

Connections to IDOE’s CNA/SIP Template @EducateIN

Using a PDSA Cycle for Progress Monitoring Your School Improvement Plan • The Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycle for continuous improvement is a commonly used approach to structure progress monitoring efforts. • The PDSA approach consists of four steps that repeat as part of an ongoing cycle of improvement. @EducateIN

An Overview of the Plan-Do-Study-Act Cycle This last step integrates all of the learning generated throughout the process to make adjustments to the strategy or intervention and adjust benchmarks as needed. This step clarifies the problem and identifies the overall S.M.A.R.T. goal; the strategy or intervention to implement; and benchmarks to gauge progress towards the overall goal. In this step, participants examine the collected data and consider the extent to which the specific benchmarks met those identified in the plan step, as well as the overall S.M.A.R.T. goal. This step involves the implementation of the strategy or intervention and the collection of both process (e.g., how did implementation go?) and outcome (data). @EducateIN

Connections to IDOE’s CNA/SIP Template • We encourage you to create a blank copy of IDOE’s School Improvement Plan Implementation Roadmap by following this link: https://bit.ly/2QCztvQ • Once you have created your own copy of this template, please navigate to the fourth and final tab in this Google Sheet, labeled “Progress Monitoring.” @EducateIN

Connections to IDOE’s CNA/SIP Template • The template recommends that schools strategically define time frames for at least three PDSA cycles during the school year. • At the end of each PDSA cycle there should be a checkpoint, prompting the formal convening of a diverse group of stakeholders to Study and Act based on the implementation of strategies and interventions during that PDSA cycle. • This checkpoint convening is also an opportunity to Plan for the next cycle. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Plan • During the plan step, progress monitoring team members should define both what they intend to test and the metrics they will use to assess whether they have met their goal. • Two valuable tools can guide progress monitoring team members through the process of defining a problem and establishing an aim: Fishbone Diagram and Driver Diagram. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Plan • A Fishbone Diagram, also known as a Cause and Effect Diagram, is a useful tool for clearly defining the problem to be addressed. • The Fishbone Diagram supports the group to more clearly define the problem and provides a graphic representation of the progress monitoring team’s discussion. • Considering all the factors that might contribute to the problem before honing in on a specific approach ensures progress monitoring team members are thorough and inclusive in determining the strategy or intervention to be tested. @EducateIN

Shakman, K., Bailey, J., and Breslow, N. (2017). A primer for continuous improvement in schools and districts. Appendix B: Driver diagram for causes of teacher turnover. Washington D.C.: Teacher Incentive Fund, U.S. Department of Education. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Plan @EducateIN

Driver Diagram Example Shakman, K., Bailey, J., and Breslow, N. (2017). A primer for continuous improvement in schools and districts. Appendix B: Driver diagram for causes of teacher turnover. Washington D.C.: Teacher Incentive Fund, U.S. Department of Education. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Plan @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Do • During the Do step, the progress monitoring team first implements the strategies or interventions for a designated period of time. • However, the Do step is much more than simply implementing a set of strategies or interventions. • The Do step also requires the collection of data to study the effectiveness of the new strategies or interventions to achieve specific goals. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Do @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Study • Using a formal process to guide the progress monitoring team’s data inquiry helps individuals make the most of their limited time together. • Several protocols exist for this purpose, but they all guide participants to begin by simply stating what they see in the data, without interpreting the data. • The team will move from lower-inference statements that simply describe the data to higher-inference statements offering interpretations of the data. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Study • During this analysis discussion, progress monitoring team members should also raise questions for further investigation. • This formal process, and the questions that emerge from the discussion, guides decisions about additional cycles of implementation and data collection. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Act • During this last stage of the PDSA cycle, progress monitoring teams decide what to do next based on what they learned. • After the data have been collected and analyzed, the team should determine whether the strategies or interventions that they introduced and tested should be adopted, adapted, or abandoned. • During this act step, the team decides whether to modify and fine-tune the strategy or intervention. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Act • Should the strategy or intervention be tested on larger scale? • If the progress monitoring team saw positive movement toward the aim, it may be time to expand the strategy or intervention and test it with more teachers or students. • Do adjustments need to be made? • If adjustments are needed to the strategy or intervention, the team will need to re-test it through another cycle. @EducateIN

Guidance on PDSA Cycle: Act • Should the idea be abandoned? • Sometimes the data indicates no improvement or progress toward the desired goal, and the team realizes what it tested did not achieve, or does not appear to suggest it will achieve, the desired outcomes. @EducateIN

Getting Started • To successfully conduct cycles of continuous improvement, it is critical people within a school have: • The collective will to persevere through the process; • Some clearly defined ideas about the school’s challenges and ways to address them; and • The capacity to execute some of these ideas. @EducateIN

Getting Started • Before a team uses a continuous improvement approach to progress monitoring the implementation of their school improvement plan, school leaders are encouraged to consider: • Prospective progress monitoring team members’ willingness to engage with a process requiring their commitment, patience, and perseverance; • Prospective team members’ ability to clearly and creatively define a challenge and generate ideas about how to address the challenge; and • Capacity (e.g., time, resources, and staffing) to execute. @EducateIN

For More Information If you have any questions about the information shared in this presentation, please contact: Melissa Blossom Assistant Director of School Improvement mblossom@doe.in.gov @EducateIN

Progress Monitoring School Improvement Plans & Evidence-Based Interventions