Identifying critical components

To answer “What is the status of implementation of each STEM school’s model and to what extent does the model reflect the OSLN Platform School Initiative’s design principles?

The process to articulate school models Identifying, organizing, and

defining school critical components. Critical components taken from the

program developers, written materials, and program implementers themselves.

Review of school documentationOnline and print materials about

the OSLN Platform schools Eg., OSLN website, school website,

school handbooks, presentation materials, news stories, etc.

School conversations

Interviews with school personnel knowledgeable about the intended model and its components.

Question – What are the critical elements that make your school what it is?

Critical component list generated for each school.

Critical component confirmation

Follow-up meeting with school personnel to confirm identified components were essential elements of the school model.

Reconciling critical component lists

Site School

Akron National Inventors Hall of Fame School

Cincinnati Hughes STEM High School

Cleveland MC2 School

Columbus Metro School

Dayton Dayton Regional STEM School

Grain size and grouping similar components together Challenge – determining grain size for a

coherent and comparable master list. Group the small, unpack the broad

components.

This allowed for compatible comparisons and appropriate analyses.

Critical component classification framework

Adapted existing CEMSE implementation conceptual framework (for fidelity of implementation project) for focus on STEM schools.

Broad categories of components – Structural and Interactional. Each broad category has sub-categories.

Critical components - the essential elements of an innovation. Two broad types of critical components:

Interactional Critical ComponentsExamples: staff participate in decision making, staff spread practices, students participate in early college activities, teachers facilitate discussion, students demonstrate autonomy

Structural Critical ComponentsExamples: intersession, mastery learning, partnerships, collaborative governance structure, open physical space

STEM school critical component framework

Critical Components of STEM SchoolsOhio STEM Learning Network Project

Categories of Critical Components

Structural Critical Components

Interactional Critical Components

    Whole School Learning Experience

Procedural Educative All Staff School Leaders

Students Partners Teachers (Pedagogi

cal)

Student Engageme

nt

STEM school critical components