Research-Practice Partnerships as a Strategy for Supporting Implementation of the NRC Framework and Next Generation Science

Standards

William R. PenuelUniversity of Colorado-

Boulder

Meet the Teachers of Downton

Meet the Teachers of Downton

• New standards were adopted in science just two years ago.

• The district is shifting from teacher-assembled to adopted curriculum.

• The district’s own evaluations of the science program reported significant shortcomings in curriculum, assessment, implementation monitoring, and professional development.

A Framework Workshop• Purpose– To introduce teachers to the new

Framework for K-12 Science Education

• Context– Funded by the National Science

Foundation through a RAPID Grant– Collaborative effort: Michigan

State University, University of Colorado Boulder, and SRI International

Modeling as a PracticeBy Grade 12, students should be able to:

Construct drawings or diagrams as representations of events or systems—for example, to draw a picture of an insect with labeled features, to represent what happens to the water in a puddle as it is warmed by the sun, or to represent a simple physical model of a real-world object and use it as the basis of an explanation or to make predictions about how the system will behave in specified circumstances.

Teachers’ Ideas About Modeling

• Models as Demonstrations“When students experience disequilibration, they are able to change their understanding about big ideas through modeling and questioning by facilitator.”“The model gives students some background knowledge of how waves act, provides common experience.”

• Models as Descriptive Drawings“The globe model is used to teach students the relative size, temperature, and composition of Earth layers.”

Teachers’ Ideas About Researchers

• Too confrontational• Not respectful enough about wisdom

of practice and direct knowledge of students

• The Framework is too “theoretical” and not grounded enough in problems of practice as experienced by teachers

Déjà Vu All Over Again• Teachers, coaches, and principals’

interpretations of the standards shape classroom practice (Spillane, 2006; Spillane, Reiser, & Gomez, 2006).

• Even when policymakers align elements of the system to cohere, it’s teachers’ perceptions of coherence that shape implementation (Penuel et al., 2009).

• Standards implementation benefits from content-focused professional development of an extended duration (Garet et al., 2001; Supovitz & Turner, 2000).

Alternate Pathways to Promoting Implementation

• Dissemination– Workshops, articles in NSTA journals, presentations,

Web sites• Purposeful diffusion– Based on an analysis of existing networks of

organizations devote to the improvement of practice– Takes advantage of existing capacity

• Collaborative Inquiry and Adaptation– Presumes the need for extensive, collective sense-

making– Can involve more enduring research-practice

partnerships

Purposeful Diffusion

School

District

State

Purposeful Diffusion

School

District

State

Social network diagram from: Daly & Finnigan (2009)

Nodes and Ties

Organizational NodesState Departments of EducationSTEM networksSchools and Colleges of EducationDistrict curriculum officesIndependent PD providersTextbook and materials providers

Individual NodesState directorsDistrict curriculum supervisorsPrincipalsTeacher leaders/coachesTeachers

Nodes and Ties

Organizational NodesState Departments of EducationSTEM networksSchools and Colleges of EducationDistrict curriculum officesIndependent PD providersTextbook and materials providers

Individual NodesState directorsDistrict curriculum supervisorsPrincipalsTeacher leaders/coachesTeachers

Types of TiesDissemination of informationTeaching (e.g., professional development workshops)Ongoing guidance (e.g., coaching)Joint Work

Characteristics of TiesStrength/ClosenessDifferences in Knowledge

Why Think About Networks?• Overcome limits of dissemination.

Why Think About Networks?• Makes use of existing mechanisms

through which knowledge can flow.

Why Think About Networks?• Helps establish norms for

engagement with the new Framework.

Networks and Innovation• Social Cohesion

– Frequent communication– Strong emotional connections

• Network Range– Ties to different knowledge pools

Big Idea 1: Social cohesion and network range affects the willingness and motivation of individuals to invest time, energy, and effort in sharing knowledge with others

Ray Reagans Bill McEvily

The Strength of Strong Ties• Big Idea 2: When knowledge is

complex, strong ties are needed for knowledge transfer and innovation.

• Big Idea 3: When gaps between target understandings and current understandings are wide, weak ties to different knowledge pools are less useful.

Networks and School Change

• Big Idea 4: Every node (organization or person) needs access to an expert.

• Big Idea 5: Every node doesn’t need to be connected to every other node. Otherwise, there are too many cooks in the kitchen.

At Your Tables• In your state, what organizations are or include people

who have expertise in: – the Framework?– Helping people in districts and schools understand new

policies and programs?– Both?

• In your state, what organizations or nodes are influential and well-connected to districts and schools?

• What kinds of ties between these two types of nodes:– Currently exist?– Should be formed, to enable implementation of the

framework?– What work is feasible to be done to form new ties between

nodes with expertise and nodes with influence?

Research-Practice Partnerships

A long-term collaboration between district leaders and researchers that is organized to investigate locally-defined problems of practice and to gather information about problems and solutions that can inform decision making.

Research-Practice Partnerships

• Focus on jointly negotiated, persistent problems of practice

• Place-based• Long-term• Researchers develop original

analyses• Seek to build capacity for

improvement

Consortium on Chicago School Research

MIST Project• Focused on improving the quality of

mathematics instruction at scale in four districts

• All districts using the same reform-based curriculum materials (CMP)

• Researchers’ role is to capture data on teaching, other aspects of the district’s theory of action

DBIR Network• Design-based implementation

research:– An approach to research-practice

partnerships in which the focus is on design and study of supports for implementation

• Organized a loose network of scholars and educational leaders engaged in this work in and outside of school settings

Return to Downton• Addressing the learning needs of teachers– Safe, collegial place to learn about how core

ideas are blended with practices– Place to share ideas and solicit feedback on

curriculum implementation• Addressing the organizational and

institutional needs for capacity building– Access to technology– Addressing increasing diversity of students of

Downton

Return to Downton• Targeted diffusion– Connect early successful adopters of curriculum

to key teacher leaders with respect to influence– Organize follow up professional development to

maximize peer support• Research-practice partnership approach– Start where the teachers are (Caught in the

middle) and jointly identify a problem of practice– Co-design and study solutions together.– Make iterative refinements with them.

Learn More…ParticipateJoin the breakout session ReadingsPenuel, W. R., & Fishman, B. J. (2012). Large-scale intervention research we can use. Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 49(3), 281-304.Penuel, W. R., Fishman, B. J., Cheng, B., & Sabelli, N. (2011). Organizing research and development at the intersection of learning, implementation, and design. Educational Researcher, 40(7), 331-337.