From Idea to Implementation

2 November, 2020 —

From Idea to Implementation

A series of online events to support local schools and establish a culture of evidence-informed practice.

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by Bradford Research School
on the 2nd November 2020

Implementation is a key aspect of what schools do to improve, and yet it is a domain of school practice that rarely receives sufficient attention. In our collective haste to do better for pupils, new ideas are often introduced with too little consideration for how the changes will be managed and what steps are needed to maximise the chances of success.

This quotation from A School’s Guide to Implementation from the EEF resonates with us, and implementation is the focus of a series of online events we are hosting in conjunction with Bradford Birth-19, Beckfoot Trust, the Centre for Applied Education Research and the Evidence Active Schools Network.

The implementation process follows a series of stages, and each of our sessions will explore the stages in detail. We use a range of speakers and a range of case studies which all come back to this central focus of the development of an idea into something implemented effectively.

Session 1: From Idea to Implementation – stages of the journey. 17^th November (All events 4−5.15 pm)
Session 2: A guide to planning for the journey. 19^th November
Session 3: Did it work? Evaluating Impact. 24^th November
Case Studies: Health Into Education with CAER. 25^th November
Case Studies: Vocabulary and Language (Primary Focus). 2^nd December
Case Studies: Student Development (Secondary Focus). 3^rd December

We invite school leaders and practitioners to join these sessions and take part in discussions about how they participate in using evidence in individual practice or school improvement. find out more and sign up below.

Session 1: From Idea to Implementation – stages of the journey.

17^th November 4 – 5.15pm

Professor Mark Mon-Williams is Professor of Psychology at the Bradford Institute of Health Research, and is an executive member of the Born in Bradford project (a longitudinal cohort study following the lifelong development of 13,500+ children). He is also Director of the Centre for Applied Education Research.

With such a central role in Bradford’s drive to be the ‘City of Research’, Mark is well-placed to know what works – and what doesn’t – when going from idea to implementation. In the keynote presentation of this conference, he will share his wisdom.

Session 2: A guide to planning for the journey

19^th November 4 – 5.15pm

No matter how great the idea, or the evidence suggesting that something might work, without an effective implementation plan there is no guarantee of success.*

In this session, we look at the challenges of implementation planning, including:

specifying active ingredients
supporting staff throughout the process
planning for for sustaining and scaling an intervention from the outset

*Disclaimer: There is no guarantee of success even with one – but it will help!

Session 3: Did it work? Evaluating Impact

24^th November 4 – 5.15pm

Without evaluation, it is impossible to know whether an intervention is having a positive impact on learning. It can be tempting to implement plausible-sounding strategies which, in reality, don’t benefit students.

But evaluating impact is a challenge for teachers. In this session, we offer support in building in evaluation from the outset, so that teachers can put their time and effort into the most effective things and avoid pursuing approaches that do not work.

Case study sessions

In each of our case study sessions, we will have two concrete examples of implementation. Developers, academics and practitioners will outline how they ensured the idea was effectively implemented, what they have learnt and the challenges they have faced.

Case Studies: Health Into Education with CAER

25^th November 4 – 5.15pm

The Centre for Applied Education Research (CAER) was created via the Bradford Opportunity Area and is committed to using research to empower schools to provide the best possible education and start in life for their pupils.

In this session we have two exciting projects that look to bridge the gap between health and education.

Case Study 1: Fundamental Movement Skills: Lucy Eddy will discuss her work on developing a school-based universal screening tool of fundamental movement skills.

Case Study 2: Andy Daly-Smith and Ian Holmes will share the Creating Active Schools framework, designed to increase children’s physical activity.

Case Studies: Vocabulary and Language (Primary Focus)

2^nd December 4 – 5.15pm

Case Study 1: We are delighted to welcome Henrietta McLachlan, Director of Elklan, and Donna Sagar, Assistant Head, Hollingwood Primary School to discuss the implementation of Nuffield Early Language Intervention (NELI) – a 20-week programme designed to help young children overcome language difficulties. Aimed at children aged 4 – 5 years, it combines small group work with one-to-one sessions delivered by trained teaching assistants, targeting vocabulary, narrative skills, active listening and phonological awareness

Case Study 2: Direct Instruction – Direct Instruction (DI) is a model for teaching that emphasizes well-developed and carefully planned lessons designed around small learning increments and clearly defined and prescribed teaching tasks. It is based on the theory that clear instruction eliminating misinterpretations can greatly improve and accelerate learning.

Sign up for the free session here.

Case Studies: Student Development (Secondary Focus)

3^rd December 4 – 5.15pm

Case Study 1: Flash Marking – This is a school-developed approach in which teachers give skills-based feedback rather than grades in KS4.

Case Study 2: The Tutor Trust – The Tutor Trust recruits and trains tutors, predominantly from local universities, in the core subjects of Maths, English and Science and places them in state schools.

Sign up for the free session here.