Table of Content
Option one: Planning for successful implementation
Programme framework statements covered
Implementation
‘Learn that’
4.1. Implementation is an ongoing process that must adapt to context over time, rather than a single event. It involves the application of specific implementation activities and principles over an extended period (e.g., implementation planning, ongoing monitoring).
4.2. Successful implementation requires expert knowledge of the approach that is being implemented and the related area of practice (e.g., behaviour), which is shared amongst staff.
4.3. Implementation should involve repurposing existing processes and resources (e.g., governance, data collection) rather than creating a separate set of procedures.
4.4. Effective implementation begins by accurately diagnosing the problem and making evidenceinformed decisions on what to implement.
‘Learn how to’
Plan and execute implementation in stages by:
4.a. Ensuring that implementation is a structured process where school leaders actively plan, prepare, deliver, and embed changes.
4.b. Making a small number of meaningful strategic changes and pursuing these diligently, prioritising appropriately.
4.c. Reviewing and stopping ineffective practices before implementing new ones. Make the right choices on what to implement by:
4.d. Identifying a specific area for improvement using a robust diagnostic process, focusing on the problem that needs solving, rather than starting with a solution.
4.e. Providing credible interpretations of reliable data that focus on pupils’ knowledge and understanding.
4.f. Examining current approaches, how they need to change, and the support required to do so.
4.g. Adopting new approaches based on both internal and external evidence of what has (and has not) worked before (e.g., pupil outcome data and research-based guidance).
Introduction
As you develop in your career as a leader of teaching you may discover that some of your biggest challenges come not from generating new ideas for improving provision or for generating enthusiasm about new developments; rather they come from ensuring that developments are implemented rigorously, with fidelity to your original intentions, and have deep roots so that they become sustainable over the longer term.
You will significantly increase the probability of successfully implementing change if you adopt a planned, systematic approach. This task is designed to focus your attention on some of the essential activities you should undertake prior to the introduction of any new teaching strategies in classrooms.
EEF: Putting Evidence to Work – A School’s Guide to Implementation1
The above publication is essential reading for leaders who wish to ensure that changes they introduce take root and flourish. You should download and read the report (use the link at the bottom of the page) and its recommendations before you undertake this task.
You should focus on the importance the report attaches to establishing the ‘active ingredients’ of any planned changes, i.e., those elements of the planned change that must be implemented with fidelity. An example of an active ingredient might be that as part of a new approach to behaviour management a school determines that all teachers must go through each of the steps detailed in the classroom behaviour management policy before requesting external support with behaviour management. In this instance it would be essential for the person leading the change to not only convey this message but to provide further specific detail of what the policy might mean in practice. This might mean, for example, a requirement that all teachers explain the behaviour policy to the pupils at the start of their lesson so that pupils are aware of what is expected of them.
Task one: planning for successful implementation
The focus of this task is on how to plan effectively for the implementation of change. Before you begin the task, meet with your performance coach and explore with them the issues and challenges the task may bring and how you might overcome them.
Note: it is not a requirement of the task that you implement your proposed changes but you will probably gain some valuable learning if you are able to do so.
Stage one: identify an area of the curriculum or a pedagogical approach in your subject area that you wish to improve in order to raise pupil performance. You may choose a relatively small aspect, or it could be a practice that pervades the delivery of your subject across the whole school, but you should focus on a real issue.
1 EEF (2019) Putting Evidence to Work – A School’s Guide to Implementation. Available at https://educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk/education-evidence/guidance-reports/implementation
Examples: the use of scaffolding to develop essay writing skills in GCSE English; introducing new strategies for developing pupils’ retrieval skills in primary maths; anticipating and responding to common pupil misconceptions in ICT.
Stage two: complete the Planning for Implementation Checklist below. This is designed to prompt your thinking about the factors you will need to consider and the challenges that may arise when implementing your planned change.
Stage three: reflect on your responses to the Planning for Implementation Checklist and use this to complete an Implementation Action Plan, using template provided below.
When you have completed your Implementation Action Plan, upload it in Canvas to your leadership mentor within the timeframe identified.
Planning for implementation: checklist
Guidance: Use the prompts below to help clarify your thinking about the nature of the problem you have identified; your evidence that it is a problem; and your initial thoughts on possible improvement strategies for addressing the problem. You should make brief notes in the response column against each prompt; you will use these later to support your development of an Implementation Action Plan.
Prompts Response
Why do you want to introduce this change? In what ways are pupils failing to achieve the standards expected of them?
What evidence do you have that change is necessary? You will need this evidence to justify your plans to colleagues, senior leadership, etc. Consider the questions below:
§ What data sources have informed your judgments, e.g., progress data? Staff feedback? Pupil voice?
§ Have you a good knowledge/understanding of strategies that have been tried in the past and have been shown to be effective or not to work? Your leadership coach may be able to advise you on this if you are relatively new to the school.
§ How do you know that this evidence base is robust? For example, how might internal evidence provided by teachers vary according to their level of experience? How might you allow for this?
§ Can you accurately pinpoint, and communicate to others, the specific aspects of pupils’ knowledge and understanding that could be improved?
Corroboration:
How will you check if your analysis of the issue is accurate? Which other perspectives might provide valuable insights? Consider:
§ discussing with team members
§ discussing with line manager
§ discussing with a colleague at another school
Identifying possible solutions:
There will usually be a number of different possible approaches to bringing about the changes you desire.
§ Can you describe, in headline terms, one or two possible strategies?
§ Can you provide examples of possible active ingredients of these strategies?
§ Can you explain why you have opted for your chosen strategy?
§ What external research underpins or supports your chosen strategy? (Refer to the programme reading materials for possible sources; the EEF website is also a useful starting point.)
§ Could you repurpose existing resources/practices rather than introducing new ones?
Introducing your strategy to your team members:
Where, when, and how will you do this? Think about each prompt below and then make your decision and provide a rationale for your choice.
§ As an embryonic idea that you wish to discuss?
§ As a firm proposal(s) you wish colleagues to discuss and feed back on?
§ A different approach to the two above?
Implementation action plan template
Experience tells us that many good ideas fall by the wayside, not because they are poor ideas, but because their implementation was poorly planned. Drawing up a robust action plan will help ensure that your good ideas are successfully implemented.
The template is divided into four phases:
1. Problem analysis/solution generation. In this phase you should indicate when/how you will seek out explanations for the cause of the problem, e.g., why do pupils find it hard to multiply fractions? You will also indicate your method(s) for exploring possible strategies to address the problem. You may also indicate how you will use other professionals as sources of expertise.
2. Preparation for implementation. In this phase you should identify key actions to be undertaken prior to the actual implementation. These might include explaining your plans to colleagues, training relevant staff, developing new resources, purchasing new equipment, agreeing success criteria, securing external support, etc.
3. Implementation. This is the phase when your ideas will be put into practice in classrooms. You may wish to document which group(s) of pupils will be involved, how long the period for trialling new materials will last, when and how you will monitor the impact of the changes you have introduced, how staff will be supported during the implementation process, and if there will be ongoing staff training.
4. Evaluation. You should indicate in your plan the methods you intend to use to collect evidence of the impact of your initiative on pupil performance and teacher development. The greater the range of evidence you collect, the more secure will be any conclusions you draw.
Completingthetemplate
The template has four columns:
1. Actions to be taken. These should be described in headline terms.
2. Who is involved? Briefly list the individuals/groups affected by or responsible for each of the activities.
3. Timeframe/when? Indicate in which half term, approximately, you anticipate specific activities will take place.
4. Support needed. Indicate any individuals or organisations, internal or external, that you may go to for advice or expertise, e.g., your school’s SENDco or the local teaching school.
Use the template to record each significant activity you plan to undertake at each phase; you should expand the table if you need to insert additional lines. We have provided an example (from a primary setting) of the sorts of thing that you might record in each phase. You should refer back to your Planning for Implementation Checklist; this will provide you with useful prompts on activities to be undertaken during the problem analysis/solution generation phase.
Phase
Problem analysis/solution generation
Brief description of the issue:
Actions to be taken
Example: Analyse the data from the last three data drops.
Preparation for implementation/ specifying the active ingredients
Example: Staff meeting to launch headline outcomes from maths data analysis
Who
Subject Leader Autumn One Deputy Head to help with data interpretation
Subject Leader End of Autumn One
Implementation Example: Provide individual coaching for staff as required.
Evaluation phase Example: Analysis of final data; comparison between baseline data and end data
Subject Leader Spring One to end of Summer One
Subject Leader and Staff Team
Summer Two Deputy Head to provide external view of data
Option two: The importance of specifying the ‘active ingredients’ when introducing a new teaching approach
Programme framework statements covered
Implementation
‘Learn how to’
Prepare appropriately for the changes to come by:
4.k. Specifying the elements of the approach that appear critical to its success (i.e. the ‘active ingredients’) and communicating expectations around these with clarity.
Deliver changes by:
4.q. Prioritising the ‘active ingredients’ of the approach until they are securely understood and implemented, and then, if needed, introducing adaptations.
Introduction
The purpose of this task is to help you to develop skills for ensuring that when you introduce a new teaching approach, e.g., to the teaching of phonics, staff implement the new approach as you intended or with fidelity. One strategy for achieving this is to specify the ‘active ingredients’ of the new approach.
Active ingredients
A well specified set of ‘active ingredients’ captures the essential principles and practices that underpin the approach.3 They are the key behaviours and content that make it work. Generally, the more clearly identified the active ingredients are the more likely the programme or practice is to be implemented successfully. On the other hand, implementation will be more difficult if there isn’t a shared understanding of what the approach actually involves. Hence, when preparing for implementation, try and distil the essential elements of the programme or practice, share them widely, and agree them as fixed components that are applied consistently across the school. Ultimately, the active ingredients can relate to any aspect of the intervention that you think is key to its success—the important thing is that you have an idea of where to be ‘tight’ and where to be ‘loose’.
EEF. (2018). Putting evidence to work: A school’s guide to implementation. Implementation theme - active ingredients. Available at EEF-Active-Ingredients-Summary.pdf (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
To develop your understanding of what is meant by ‘active ingredients’ you should:
§ download, read and make notes on the EEF guidance referenced above (7 pages)
§ access Putting Evidence to Work: A School’s Guide to Implementation. Examples of Implementation Plans: EEF-Example-of-Implementation-Plans.pdf (educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk)
When viewing the examples provided, focus your attention on the ‘Intervention Description (what?)’ column, and the active ingredients specified within it. This will help you to understand how this concept has been applied in practice.
Fidelity
Fidelity is the most well-known and common measure of implementation. It describes to what degree an intervention has been implemented as intended by its developers (both in-school and external developers). Fidelity can relate to structural aspects of the intervention, such as ‘dosage’ (for example, the correct number of sessions are delivered) or training (for example, teachers are trained as planned and receive the necessary supervision). It can also refer to more dynamic aspects of the intervention, such as whether key teaching strategies are included in lessons, or whether the delivery of those strategies is sufficiently student-centred. Reviews of implementation studies in education consistently report a positive relationship between the fidelity with which an intervention is implemented and the outcomes for students
At the same time, it is important to ensure that the focus on fidelity is in the right place.
Specifying the active ingredients of an intervention enables educators to identify which features
As the extract above indicates, acting with fidelity does not mean absolute prescription, but offers the opportunity for a ‘tight/loose’ approach. The ‘tight’ elements are the active ingredients which must not be altered; the ‘loose’ elements are those which leave scope for adaptation by teachers.
Acceptability
The degree to which different stakeholders—such as teachers, students, and parents—perceive an intervention as agreeable.
EEF. (2021). Putting evidence to work: A school’s guide to implementation. Available at Putting Evidence to Work - A School’s Guide to Implementation | EEF educationendowmentfoundation.org.uk).
In promoting new approaches, leaders will hope that their strategies are accepted by stakeholders –teachers, parents, pupils. In the case of teachers, in particular, this might be viewed as the extent to which they take ownership of the new approach.
Task two: the importance of specifying the ‘active ingredients’ when introducing a new teaching approach
For this task you will develop an implementation plan for a new approach/strategy you plan to introduce. You should do this by downloading and completing the Implementation Planning Template below, following the advice for its completion provided in the five steps below. You should expand the template as required.
Step one: identify the problem
All plans for teacher development should have their origins in a problem or issue the school wishes to address. Choose a problem/issue that your school wishes to address at some stage in the future, possibly in the next academic year. Check out the evidence base that has been used to establish there is a problem, e.g.,
§ pupil attainment data
§ pupil behaviour data
§ staff feedback
§ lesson observations
Ideally, you will have a minimum of two separate evidence sources. Use this information to complete the ‘Problem (why?)’ column.
Step two: decide on the new approach and specify the active ingredients
It may be that you, or the school, have already decided on the new approach, e.g., teaching metacognition, enhanced parental engagement. If so, you should use this as your starting point for specifying the active ingredients of this approach, i.e., those elements that must be implemented with fidelity.
If you haven’t yet decided on the new approach to be implemented, choose a possible approach the school might use, and specify its probable active ingredients.
Enter your active ingredients in the ‘Intervention description (what?)’ column.
Step three: decide on the type(s) of teacher development activities required
In the ‘Implementation activities (how?)’ column, indicate the professional development (PD) needed if the new approach is to be implemented with fidelity. Think carefully about the PD that will be needed both before and during the implementation of the new approach.
You may wish to also document any resources required, e.g., new ICT equipment.
Step four: determine your implementation outcomes
In this column you will focus attention on teacher behaviour. How will you evaluate:
§ fidelity?
§ acceptability?
First, check your understanding of these terms by reference to the EEF examples referenced above, then identify short-, medium- and long-term outcomes.
Step five: determine your final outcomes
In this column you will focus on pupil outcomes. Identify the intended impact on pupil attainment, attitudes, behaviours, engagement, etc. Take care to distinguish between short-, medium- and long-term outcomes; again, the EEF examples will help you to distinguish the different types of outcomes and how the short- and medium-term outcomes contribute to the long-term outcomes.
When you have completed your Implementation Plan, upload it in Canvas to your leadership mentor within the timeframe identified, together with a commentary (200 words) which briefly explains:
§ your rationale for your choice of active ingredients
§ which elements teachers must adopt with fidelity (tight), and which leave scope for adaptation (loose)
IMPEMENTATION PLAN FOR: (Insert new approach to be implemented)
Problem (why?)
What needs to change, e.g., teacher behaviour, student behaviour, attainment?
What are the essential ‘active ingredients’ of the intervention? What activities and behaviours will you see when it is working?
ingredient:
How will it be done? What blend of activities are required?
ingredient:
How will you know that it is working? Do staff feel the approach is feasible and useful?
How will pupils, teachers and the school benefit?
Option three: Designing evidence-based professional development
Programme framework statements covered
Designingeffectiveprofessionaldevelopment
‘Learn that’
2.2. Helping teachers improve through evidence-based professional development that is explicitly focused on improving classroom teaching can be a cost-effective way to improve pupils’ academic outcomes when compared with other interventions, and can narrow the disadvantage attainment gap.
‘Learn how to’
Select evidence-based approaches and design effective professional development by:
2.c. Diagnosing what teachers know and can do; starting professional development from that point and adapting the approach based on the teachers’ developing expertise, and applying an understanding of the typical differences between novice and expert teachers.
2.d. Identifying and focussing on the essential knowledge, skills and concepts of teaching a particular subject within a particular phase/domain and then planning activities that focus teachers’ thinking on these essential components.
Introduction
There is a significant body of research literature devoted to the importance of building professional development programmes from a basis of need. The box below (adapted) highlights one of the key findings from ‘Developing great teaching’.2
Designing professional development for participants’ needs
The review shows us that content (of professional development programmes) is also key to achieving impact on teachers’ practice.
All reviews found that an essential element of successful professional development is generating buy-in: creating an overt relevance of the content to its participants – their day-to-day experiences with, and aspirations for, their pupils.
The reviews also noted the importance of programmes that provide differentiation: opportunities for recognising the differences between individual teachers and their starting points.
Similarly important were opportunities for individual teachers both to reveal and discuss their beliefs and to engage in peer learning and support
Implications
2 Higgins, S., Cordingley, P., Greany, T., & Coe, R. (2017). Developing great teaching: Lessons from the international reviews into effective professional development. Teacher Development Trust. Available at https://tdtrust.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/DGT-Full-report.pdf
Schools must consider how they support teachers’ skills in identifying and understanding needs. We must develop the capacity for teachers to reflect on their classroom and students’ learning, and map this onto areas of need for their own practice.
In their rapid evidence review of subject-specific continuing professional development in the UK, ‘Developing great subject teaching’,3 the authors provide a summary of their key findings with regard to effective processes for identifying individual teacher development needs, and provide further evidence through two case studies. To complete this task you should download a copy of ‘Developing great subject teaching’, available at developing-great-subject-teaching.pdf (wellcome.org), read, and make notes on:
§ pages 18 to 19 for a summary of the authors findings
§ pages 37 to 38 for examples of school practices
§ pages 42 to 46 for 3 case studies – these provide excellent insights into effective practice in three contrasting schools
Task three: evidence-based approaches to the provision and design of subject-/domain-specific teacher professional development
For this task you should work through the stages below.
Stage one: evaluating research
If you have not done so already, review the evidence on effective approaches to identifying the subject- or domain-specific professional development needs of teachers, provided by Cordingley et al. and available at developing-great-subject-teaching.pdf (wellcome.org)
To gain an international research perspective, read ‘Perspectives and evidence on effective CPD from Canada’ in ‘Teacher CPD: International trends opportunities and challenges’ 4 (pp. 68–75), available at 48747_chartered-college---international-teacher-cpd-report.pdf (emlfiles4.com).
Make notes on the authors’ key arguments and on any interesting practice cited.
Stage two: reflecting on your research findings
Arrange to meet with your performance coach to discuss your findings, focusing on:
§ effective processes for identifying teachers’ subject- or domain-specific training needs
§ school cultures and practices which best support the meeting of individual teacher needs
Stage three: feedback from colleagues
Arrange to meet with two colleagues, ideally one who is a recent entrant into the profession and an established member of staff. You could meet with them separately or together. Use the prompt sheet below, ‘Meeting subject- or domain-specific professional development needs’, to structure your conversation(s) with your colleagues.
Stage four: report: ‘How to ensure that teacher professional development in our school meets
3 Cordingley, P., Greany, T., Crisp, B., Seleznyov, S., Bradury, M., & Perry, T. (2018). Developing great subject teaching. Wellcome Trust. Available at developing-great-subject-teaching.pdf (wellcome.org)
4 Scutt,C.,&Harrison,S.(Eds.).(2019).TeacherCPD.CharteredCollegeofTeaching.Supportedbyagrantfrom NordAngliaEducationInternational.
teachers’ subject- or domain-specific needs’
Reflect on your study of the research literature, your discussions with your performance coach, and your discussions with your colleagues, to write a report titled ‘How to ensure that teacher professional development in our school meets teachers’ subject- or domain-specific needs’ (maximum 400 words). You should use the following sub-headings in your report:
§ Strengths and weaknesses of current practice in our school
§ What the research says about effective practice
§ Differentiating provision according to stage of career development – implementation challenges
When you have completed your report, upload it in Canvas to your leadership mentor within the timeframe identified.
Prompts: meeting subject- or domain-specific professional development needs
Use the checklist below to evaluate how effectively your team keep up to date with relevant subject knowledge. You may wish to do this at a team meeting or through individual meetings. If your school is a member of a Multi Academy Trust, you should also explore your colleagues’ feelings as to how effectively the MAT’s systems and processes meet their needs.
Prompts
1. What subject- or domain-specific professional development have you received in the last two years?
§ skills coaching
§ working with colleagues to develop curriculum materials (joint practice development)
§ in-house training (INSET days, subject meetings, etc.)
§ externally provided professional development
§ training provided by the MAT
2. Reflecting upon the training you have received, which has had the most impact on developing your teaching skills?
§ Can you give a practical example of its impact, e.g. when you used a new strategy which improved pupil performance/engagement?
§ Why do you feel the training was effective?
Observations
Which has had the least impact?
§ Why was this?
3. Needs analysis. Which of these processes fed into the determination of your subject or domain development needs?
§ self-review
§ performance management
§ outcomes from lesson observations, work scrutiny, i.e., the school’s monitoring activities
§ school development plan priorities
§ department development plan priorities
§ MAT development plan priorities
§ external feedback, e.g., Ofsted, SLE visit
§ a diagnostic tool
§ others?
4. Have you received any training in how to most effectively self-evaluate your development needs?
If yes, what did the training consist of, and do you consider it to have been effective?
If no, do you feel this could be a useful development?
5. Overall, do you feel that the training you have received matched your assessment of your subject training needs?
If not, why not?
6. Do you have any suggestions as to how we might change our processes/practices so that the training we provide better meets your self-identified subject training needs?
Evaluating different needs:
When you have completed your discussions, note down any differences you observed between:
§ the needs of the teachers
§ their skills in identifying their own training needs
If you are responsible for early career teachers, you will be familiar with their needs. If you are not, you may find it helpful to read ‘Reducing workload: supporting teachers in the early stages of their career’, (DfE, 2019), available at Supporting teachers in the early stages of their career- Jan 2019 (publishing.service.gov.uk).