Research School Network: The Implementation Game 5 things to consider when thinking about change

The Implementation Game – 5 things to consider when thinking about change

There is a wonderful and hilarious example of bad implementation in the recent Netflix film American Factory. The Obama-produced documentary is about Chinese glass manufacturer Fuyao, who take over an old GM plant in the suburbs of Ohio and offer fresh hope for a local economy on its knees through lack of investment. The film explores the cultural tensions between the American workers and their Chinese colleagues as they build their vision.

In an effort to improve productivity, a group of American Fuyao team leaders are sent to China to see how things are done in their factories back home. What they find is a very different work ethic and set of practices. The Chinese factories are much more efficient – they work longer hours, work weekends and are generally much faster. The lack of trade unions and individual worker rights is noticeable to all – all except, it seems, the American delegation.

One observant supervisor, Curt, presumably keen to impress his new bosses, notices the way his counterpart runs his morning briefing. His Chinese colleague lines up his workers, engages them in some call and response of their daily tasks, and then orchestrates the singing of the company anthem. It is all carried out with military precision and signifies a shared understanding and purpose. Curt likes what he sees and returns home enthused to make a change.

Later on the action cuts to Ohio and Curt’s attempt to implement what he saw on his overseas visit. He corrals his team for their morning briefing, but unlike his Chinese counterpart, there is no bounce in the workers’ step, no joyful rendition of the company song and definitely no appetite for this kind of shenanigans first thing in the morning. In short, it’s a shambles. Curt puts on a brave face and talks a good game, but it’s clear to everyone watching that he’s deluding himself it has been successful.

There are many reasons why Curt’s attempt to change his morning meeting failed, but the most obvious was his failure to take account of context. In China the culture and working conditions are very different to the American Midwest, and the failure to take these social, cultural and political factors into account meant his changes were never going to work. Context is king!

Below are 5 questions that anyone thinking about making a change to their practice or the workings of their school should probably consider. Effective implementation is not easy, but by thinking about the likely consequences of change, we are more likely to get the outcomes we are looking for.

1. What is the purpose?

In teaching it can sometimes feel you are never quite doing enough, even when you are working flat out and trying your best! There is always more that can be done, or another way of doing things, which may or may not add value. So, if you are going to do something different and introduce change, you should be clear about the exact problem you are trying to solve – is it necessary? Will it make a difference? Is it really worth the extra effort? There are lots of solutions out there searching for a problem, or solutions for problems that are not a main priority. It’s important to be disciplined and establish what you are hoping to achieve.

2. What exactly is the change?

The EEF Implementation guidance report uses the term ​‘active ingredients’ to refer to the factors in a given change that are most likely to make it work. This means taking the time to identify the central components of the planned change in order for it to translate to a different context, namely your classroom or your school. In the Fuyao example, the change to morning briefing was doomed because the active ingredients (culture, society, etc.) had not been clearly established from the outset.

3. What is the context?

As well as understanding the nature of the change you are thinking of introducing, you also need to understand the nature of the context in which that change is being introduced. Whilst it is true there are many similarities between students and schools, there are also a great many differences, even within the same school, the same year group and the same classroom. Is there anything in your context – your classroom, your subject, your students, your systems – that is likely to make a difference to the success of your changes? Do you need to make any adaptations? Do these adaptations compromise the intervention?

4. What is the opportunity cost?

Everything has a price. When you introduce something new, it’s almost certainly going to have a cost attached, either in terms of the time you have available to do all the other good things you normally do, or in terms of the cost of your change on the impact of your usual practice? The change you are thinking of making, say the introduction of a new resource or approach, may complement what you already do, but it may contradict or work against it. These are unintended and undesirable consequences. It is therefore helpful to think through what some of these costs might be in advance, before deciding whether or not it’s worth all the time and effort.

5. What is the impact?

Obviously, if you have a clearly-defined goal, it’s much easier to evaluate whether something’s working or not. Regardless of the scale of the change you are introducing, you should aim to be clear about what success will look like. This may well be improved student outcomes, but it might also be changes in students’ or teachers’ behaviour and attitude. If you are not clear about what success looks like, you can’t really decide whether to keep doing what you are doing, make some changes or stop doing it altogether. Clarity of expectation also helps us to overcome our biases, which was very much the case with Curt, who despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary, insisted the change to the morning briefing was a success.

In education we are awash with good ideas. Knowing what to do is often not really the problem. It’s knowing how to implement some of these good ideas in our contexts which is the tricky bit. By considering these 5 questions, you are more likely to get the outcomes the hard work merits.