Wake County Public Schools

Transcription

1 Implementation Drivers: Selection Competency Drivers are the activities to develop, improve, and sustain a practitioner s ability to put a program into practice so that families and children can benefit. Competency Drivers include: Selection, Training, Coaching and Fidelity. Implementation of programs begins with selection of staff. Selection refers to the purposeful process of recruiting, interviewing, and hiring with the end in mind. Recruitment, interviewing, and selection processes can support high quality implementation that leads to better fidelity and improved outcomes for children and families. Best Practices for Selection Ensure there is someone accountable for the recruitment and selection. Ensure there is someone accountable for the recruitment and selection of staff that will carry out the program or practice. This person must be able to execute his or her responsibilities with adequate resources, like sufficient time. Develop specific job descriptions for staff positions that will carry out the program or practice. Job descriptions must have clear requirements and criteria for practitioners. Job descriptions must also be explicitly aligned with the practices and competencies required for the program to be used competently. Determine a process for recruiting, screening, interviewing, and selecting staff. Once the job description and requirements have been identified, organizations must identify methods for recruiting candidates who possess these skills and abilities, as well protocols for interviewing and criteria for selecting staff. Interviewers must understand the skills and abilities needed for the staff position. Use structured job interview protocols that are specific to the hiring program (see tips below). Regularly review the interview processes. Interview processes must be annually reviewed and revised as needed to improve the selection process. Reviews should examine data including interview results, turnover data and exit interview results. Some helpful tips for interview protocols include: Screening for tough to teach characteristics, skills and abilities; Assessing for core skills needed for the position; Setting expectations for the job and program; and Using scenarios and role plays to assess candidates capacity to perform key skills, including their ability to receive and use feedback professionally to improve their practice. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 1

2 Implementation Drivers: Training Competency Drivers are the activities to develop, improve, and sustain a practitioner s ability to put a program into practice so that families and children can benefit. Competency Drivers include: Selection, Training, Coaching and Fidelity. We know from implementation research that training of staff alone does not result in changes in instructional practices and improved outcomes. But, training is still an important process to provide background information, introduce skills and major concepts, theory and values of the effective innovations. In short, training is necessary for building staff competency, but it is not sufficient if used alone. Best Practices for Training Ensure there is someone accountable for the training of staff. Ensure there is someone accountable for the training of staff that will carry out the program or practice. This person must be able to execute his or her responsibilities with adequate resources, like sufficient time. Provide timely training by highly competent individuals. Training is required and provided before staff begin to use the program or practice. Trainers must have deep content knowledge and effective presentation delivery skills. Training is skill- based and adult learning informed. Training is skill- based and includes opportunities for practice/behavioral rehearsals for essential skills and includes both positive and constructive feedback to participants. Use training data to target competency development and improve training. Training assessment data (e.g., pre- post assessments of individual trainee knowledge and skill) are collected and provided to supervisors and coaches in a timely manner to target trainee competency development. Training assessment data are reviewed and used by training staff to improve future training events, materials, and processes. Training assessment data are also used to improve recruitment and selection activities. Some helpful tips and tools for Training: Training does continue to bolster the buy- in process for the practice or program. Use effective adult learning processes in training such as real life application/ role- playing, reflection, and self- assessment of strengths and weaknesses (Dunst, Trivette, & Hamby, 2010). Training Plan Template to guide your team s planning process in developing a training program. This tool can be used to guide discussions around rationale, core components, knowledge, skills, outcomes and assessment. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 2

3 Implementation Drivers: Coaching Competency Drivers are the activities to develop, improve, and sustain a practitioner s ability to put a program into practice so that families and children can benefit. Competency Drivers include: Selection, Training, Coaching and Fidelity. Coaching is a necessary component for promoting teacher confidence and ensuring competence. Coaching is defined as regular, embedded professional development designed to help staff use the program or innovation as intended. Best Practices for Coaching Ensure there is someone accountable for the coaching of staff. Ensure there is someone accountable for the coaching of staff that will carry out the program or practice. This person must be able to execute his or her responsibilities with adequate resources, like sufficient time. Provide frequent coaching to improve the competency of staff. The staff who carry out the program or practice receive coaching and feedback at least monthly. Coaches feedback to staff is based on multiple sources of information including direct observation. Feedback provided to staff is based on direct observation as well as at least one other data source such as group or individual consultation, product or document review, or interviews with key stakeholders Use a Coaching Service Delivery Plan to outline coaching supports provided to staff. A written plan includes requirements for coaches to be experts in delivering the program or practice, frequency of coaching, and coaching methods to be used. Use coaching data to target competency development and improve implementation supports. Coaching effectiveness data (e.g. practitioner fidelity, coach/supervisor fidelity, satisfaction surveys from those being coached, observations of coaches conducting coaching activities) are collected and provided to supervisors and coaches in a timely manner to target staff competency development and other implementation supports. Some helpful tips and tools for Coaching: Coaching ensures that the fragile, uncomfortable new skills are actually tried in practice. Adherence to the Coaching Service Delivery Plan should be reviewed three times a year. Coaching Service Delivery Plan Template provides the basis for a developing a written coaching plan. Coaching System Worksheet can be used to initiate those early discussions about the importance of coaching and the facilitative supports administrators need to consider to ensure a systemic commitment to coaching. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 3

4 Implementation Drivers: Fidelity Competency Drivers are the activities to develop, improve, and sustain a practitioner s ability to put a program into practice so that families and children can benefit. Competency Drivers include: Selection, Training, Coaching and Fidelity. Fidelity assessment refers to measuring the degree to which staff are able to use the innovation or practices as intended. We define fidelity assessments as multiple measures that reflect the using the content as intended, in the right context, and with quality necessary to achieve outcomes. Best Practices for Fidelity Ensure there is someone accountable for the fidelity assessments of staff. Ensure there is someone accountable for coordinating the quality and timeliness of fidelity assessments processes. This person must be able to execute his or her responsibilities with adequate resources, like sufficient time. Use multiple measures of fidelity to assess content as intended, in the right context, and with necessary quality. Multiple measures of behavior, products, and conditions is necessary to measure a) whether the staff is following the guidelines of the program; b) extent to which the practitioner demonstrates skill in the delivery of services; and c) extent to which the prerequisites and conditions for the program to operate are met. Fidelity measure correlates with outcomes. Assessing fidelity at the teacher/practitioner level is imperative to interpreting outcomes. Without fidelity data, we cannot a) be sure an innovation was actually used; b) attribute outcomes to the use of the innovation, or c) know what to focus on to improve. Follow a written protocol for how fidelity assessments will be conducted and used. The written protocol includes how staff will be oriented to fidelity process, use of multiple sources of information, and how fidelity will be used to supports for staff. Use fidelity assessment data to improve innovation outcomes and implementation supports. Review fidelity assessment data at least four times per year to create action plans to assess and improve the effectiveness of selection, training and coaching processes for staff. Some helpful tips for Fidelity: Fidelity assessments are not part of personnel evaluation procedures. Fidelity assessments are not measures of student or child outcomes. Fidelity assessments are not a temporary set of activities that are done only when an innovation is first being implemented. Regular fidelity assessments occur as long as the intervention continues to be used.. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 4

5 Implementation Drivers: Decision Support Data System Organization Drivers are the organizational, administrative and systems components to create and sustain hospitable environments for full and effective use of intended innovations. Organization Drivers include: Decision Support Data Systems, Facilitative Administration, and Systems Intervention. Decision Support Data System (DSDS) is a system for identifying, collecting, and analyzing data that are useful to the staff and leadership of the implementing agencies. The data system needs to provide timely, reliable data for decision- making. Best Practices for Decision Support Data System Ensure there is someone accountable for the decision support data system. Ensure there is someone accountable for coordinating the content, quality, and timeliness of the data system to support decisions regarding the use of an innovation and implementation supports. This person must be able to execute his or her responsibilities with adequate resources, like sufficient time. Data within system are useful, reliable, valid, reported in a timely manner, and built into practice routines. Data and information are collected systematically and prepared for use so that they are accurate, relevant, reliable, and valid. Data collection and use should be built into regular practice routines and reported in a timely manner. Use actionable data for improvement purposes including fidelity data, outcome data, and programmatic data. Have a process for using data for decision- making. Decision making process includes a) analyzing and summarizing the data at least quarterly; b) communicating data summarizes clearly in written reports to staff; c) developing action plans to improve implementation supports; and d) sharing of data summaries and action plans with key stakeholders. Some helpful tips for Decision Support Data System: Celebrating success through data is critical to the adoption, use and sustainability of a DSDS. A DSDS is more quickly embraced when the information readily highlights improvements and supports the work of educators at all levels. Use standardized data protocols and well- trained data gatherers to ensure accurate, reliable, and valid data. Data need to be available and accessible across multiple levels of a system (e.g., from the classroom, grade, school, and district levels) so progress can be celebrated, needs identified, and improvement plans generated. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 5

6 Implementation Drivers: Facilitative Administration Organization Drivers are the organizational, administrative and systems components to create and sustain hospitable environments for full and effective use of intended innovations. Organization Drivers include: Decision Support Data Systems, Facilitative Administration, and Systems Intervention. Facilitative Administration focuses on the internal processes, policies, regulations, and structures over which an implementing organization has some control. Leadership and Implementation Teams are often responsible for activating this Driver. Best Practices for Facilitative Administration Actively facilitate the use of implementation supports for programs and practices. Support the use of implementation best practices by: a) making changes in organization roles, functions, and structures; b) making changes in policies and procedures; and c) making use of data to inform decisions and action planning. Use effective team meeting processes. Effective team meeting processes include a) meeting in person at least monthly or more frequently depending on amount of work; b) consistently using meeting roles; c) having a process is in place for absent staff to receive timely updates; and d) engages in action planning Actively seek feedback from staff and recipients. Feedback should be solicited from staff using the innovation, staff providing implementation supports, stakeholders, and intended beneficiaries. Use the feedback and data collected from staff and stakeholders to reduce internal administrative barriers in the agency to using the program or practice fully and effectively. Leaders persist in using the data collected from staff and stakeholders until each barrier is reduced or eliminated. Some helpful tips for Facilitative Administration: Leaders at each level of a system need to ask themselves What do I need to do differently to actively support this work? Create clear communication protocols and functional feedback loops to provide an opportunity for leaders to regularly learn from staff. Identify external barriers and raise issues with others in the system who can address such barriers. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 6

7 Implementation Drivers: Systems intervention Organization Drivers are the organizational, administrative and systems components to create and sustain hospitable environments for full and effective use of intended innovations. Organization Drivers include: Decision Support Data Systems, Facilitative Administration, and Systems Intervention. Systems Intervention focuses on the external variables, policies, environments, systems or structures that influence or have impact on an implementing organization. Leaders and implementation teams identify barriers that are beyond their level of authority and work to bring issues to the attention of those who can address such barriers. Best Practices for Systems Intervention Engage with the larger service delivery and funding systems to create improved regulatory and funding environments. Leaders and team members attend regular meetings with funders, system managers and leaders, and other provider organizations to share information regarding systemic facilitators and barriers to quality of the innovation and implementation supports. Propose systemic changes to the larger system to create a more supportive environment for innovations. Engage key stakeholders and partners in supporting the innovation. Have a plan in place to communicate with key stakeholders quarterly to create shared knowledge and a more hospitable environment to support the new ways work. Some helpful tips for Systems Intervention: Leaders at each level of a system need to ask themselves What do I need to do differently to actively support this work? Create clear communication protocols and functional feedback loops to provide an opportunity for leaders to regularly learn from staff. Identify external barriers and raise issues with others in the system who can address such barriers. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 7

8 Implementation Drivers: Leadership Leadership drivers are the components to provide the right leadership strategies for the different types of leadership challenges. These leadership challenges often emerge as part of the change management process needed to make decisions, provide guidance, and support organization functioning. Leadership Drivers include: Adaptive and Technical. Technical challenges are those characterized by agreement on a definition of the dimensions of the problem at hand, agreement that the problem would be defined similarly by the groups impacted by it and engaged in addressing it, and clearer pathways to solutions are known. Technical challenges respond well to a more traditional management approach where problems are defined, solutions are generated, resources are garnered and tasks are assigned, managed, and monitored. A leader guides the overall process and is more in charge. Adaptive challenges involve legitimate, yet competing, perspectives of the problem and on what might constitute a viable solution. Viable solutions and implementation pathways are unclear and defining a solution requires learning by all. This all means that the primary locus of responsibility is not a single entity or person. These types of challenges require a different type of leadership and often require leadership at many levels. Best Practices for Leadership Assess contextual and big picture issues related to implementation of the innovation. Leaders regularly assess contextual issues (e.g., political, demographic, funding, and values) and discusses with staff and other key stakeholders how the innovation aligns with organization s vision, values, and philosophy. Identify adaptive challenges related to implementation. Leaders verbally label and describe conflicting values and different perspectives on problems and solutions. Leaders ask key stakeholders for their concerns and ideas related to challenges and include these ideas in future meetings as well as for their feedback on what the leaders are doing or not doing that contributes to the challenges. Focus attention on implementation challenges. Leaders ask team members to refocus their efforts on resolving implementation challenges and reinforce or support staff in maintaining focus on problem solving issues. Involve other agency staff and/or stakeholders in solving challenges. Leaders support staff in their implementation work through all of the following strategies: a) specifying roles and responsibilities in writing; b) ensuring staff have the time and resources for problem- solving; c) stating clearly the level of authority for decision- making; and d) recruiting system stakeholders for meaningful input and participation. Ensure that difficult issues and challenges are raised and considered by staff and stakeholders. Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 8

9 Learn more: implementation.fpg.unc.edu 9