Accumulating Knowledge on Elementary Science Specialists: A Strategy for Building Conceptual Clarity and Sharing Findings
This article builds off of an NSF-supported project at the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education (CEMSE) that focuses on developing measures for fidelity of implementation of instructional materials. The authors propose an approach to adapting the conceptual framework underlying the fidelity work and applying it to create a model for studying the roles and impacts of various science specialist models. The intention is to establish a shared language and conceptual understanding that can serve as the foundation for future discussions about the role of the science specialist.
Measuring Fidelity of Implementation of Instructional Materials: A Conceptual Framework
This paper describes the outcomes of the first strand of the "Applied Research on Science Materials Implementation: Bringing Measurement of Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) to Scale" project. This three-year, National Science Foundation-funded project has two main goals. First, is the measurement of fidelity of implementation of K-8 science and mathematics instructional materials in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS). Second, is the development of a suite of instruments to measure the fidelity of implementation of standards-based science and mathematics instructional materials at the K-8 level. In order to achieve these goals, our first step was the development of a conceptual framework for describing fidelity of implementation. This paper describes the development and components of the FOI Conceptual Framework.
A Framework for Measuring and Accumulating Knowledge about Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) of Science Instructional Materials.
This paper describes outcomes of the first strand of the "Applied Research on Science Materials Implementation: Bringing Measurement of Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) to Scale" project. This three-year, National Science Foundation-funded project is working measure the fidelity of implementation of standards-based science and mathematics instructional materials at the K-8 level in a large urban school district through the development and application of a suite of FOI instruments. This first strand focused on the development of a conceptual framework for describing FOI. We began with a thorough review of previous work on FOI, then engaged in an iterative process of theoretical review and framework development. We determined that the framework needed to comprise categories of critical components (the essential elements of the intended program model) and engaged in a process of science instructional materials review that focused on identifying of these critical components and placing them into framework categories. This paper will describe the application of the framework to the development of instruments, and the ways this framework will help to accurately describe teacher use of science instructional materials and support our ability to provide useful, meaningful information about FOI to the school district being served.
Rigorous Measurement of Fidelity of Implementation of Instructional Materials
This paper describes an NSF-supported project at the University of Chicago's Center for Elementary Mathematics and Science Education (CEMSE) that is developing a suite of instruments for rigorously measuring fidelity of implementation (FOI) of instructional materials. It begins with a description of CEMSE’s FOI conceptual framework that underpins CEMSE’s instrument development by bringing conceptual clarity to, and defining "fidelity of implementation." Then it describes how the framework is the basis for categorizing intervention "critical components." The instruments measure each critical component, allowing researchers to very specifically differentiate treatments and conduct analyses that explore the relationships between critical components and the extent to which particular critical components alone or in combination with others lead to desired student outcomes. The instruments are designed to be used with multiple programs and when complete, will be accompanied by a Guide that describes how to adapt them to additional programs.
Measuring Fidelity of Implementation (FOI): Understanding "Critical Components" of Science Instructional Materials
This paper describes a portion of the work of the "Applied Research on Science Materials Implementation: Bringing Measurement of Fidelity of Implementation (FOI) to Scale" project. This three-year, National Science Foundation-funded project has two main goals: 1) to measure the extent and nature of fidelity of implementation of K-8 science and mathematics instructional materials in a large urban school district and 2) the development of a suite of instruments to measure the fidelity of implementation of standards-based science and mathematics instructional materials (FOSS, STC, Science Companion, SEPUP, and Everyday Mathematics) at the K-8 level.
In order to achieve these goals, our first step was the development of a conceptual framework for describing fidelity of implementation. The next step in the process was the identification of the "critical components", or essential elements, of the instructional materials programs, and determining where these critical components resided in the conceptual framework. The combination and extent of critical components a teacher enacts during instruction determine the "typology" of implementation and that typology is then analyzed for relationships to student outcomes. This paper will describe the process of identifying and categorizing the critical components to enable FOI measurement in enactment, efficacy, and effectiveness studies.