The Networked Improvement Implementation CoP supports State capacity building and implementation of Networked Improvement Communities (NICs) within and among districts and schools and foster innovative approaches to generating and using evidence for continuous improvement. This CoP focuses on states developing systems to support districts in this approach and states that may use this approach with a group of districts.
The NIC model, developed as a set of tools and processes for improvement science, posits that when organizations pursue continuous improvement in a networked setting, there is potential for accelerated learning. NICs leverage expertise and working relationships of researchers and practitioners across contexts such that ongoing shared testing of interventions and communication of findings within NICs promotes diffusion of learning at scale (Bryk et al., 2011). The sum of needs-sensing data and current research point to the following theory of action that underpins this CoP:
Schools can improve faster if they understand and apply the tools of improvement science and share what they are learning with other schools that are working to solve a similar problem.
Schools will be more likely to adopt improvement strategies that other schools have developed and refined, compared to “off the shelf” programs or strategies that are handed to them by the state or other outside entity.
Through targeted funding and technical support, the state educational agency (SEA) can be an important coordinating entity in this work.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NIC Overview
Why a NIC?
Why a NIC?: This blog post from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching provides an overview of the characteristics of NICs and why they show potential as a means to improve education systems.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NIC Overview
Getting Ideas into Action
Getting Ideas into Action: This essay by Anthony Bryk, Louis Gomez, and Alicia Grunow, and published by the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching, posits that improvement science approaches and NICs as an effective means for studying the impact of education interventions and practices, rather than traditional types of education research,.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NIC Models
Improvement Discipline in Practice
Improvement Discipline in Practice: This blog post from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching describes different, practical ways that NICs and their foundational Plan-Do-Study-Act (PDSA) cycles can be applied in education contexts.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NICs and Implementation Science
Acceptable Failure
Acceptable Failure: This blog post from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching outlines conditions which must be in place within education contexts for “failure” to occur in a way that informs improvement of an intervention or practice.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NICs and Implementation Science
Why Education Needs more Integrity (and Less Fidelity) of Implementation
Why Education Needs more Integrity (and Less Fidelity) of Implementation: This blog post from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching argues that context is a critical concern for educators and professionals trying to improve, and that “integrity of implementation”—rather than “fidelity of implementation”—allows for consideration of contextual factors while still remaining true to research standards.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NICs and Implementation Science
National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) Active Implementation Hub
National Implementation Research Network (NIRN) Active Implementation Hub: The Active Implementation Hub is a free, online learning environment involved in active implementation and scaling up of programs and innovations. The site goal is to increase the knowledge and improve the performance of persons engaged in actively implementing any program or practice. It includes learning modules, practice activities, and implementation science resources.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NICs and Implementation Science
Transforming Educational Systems Toward Continuous Improvement: A Reflection Guide for K–12 Executive Leaders
Transforming Educational Systems Toward Continuous Improvement: A Reflection Guide for K–12 Executive Leaders: This reflection guide from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching identifies “key dispositions, core practices, and levers of transformation” that education leaders use to improve system performance through improvement science.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
NICs and Implementation Science
Evidence for Improvement: An Integrated Analytic Approach for Supporting Networks in Education
Evidence for Improvement: An Integrated Analytic Approach for Supporting Networks in Education: This white paper describes the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teachings “integrated Evidence for Improvement (EFI) approach that outlines how a variety of tools and practices drawn from diverse forms of program evaluation can inform the leaders of networks in advancing productive change.” It also includes strategies and considerations for creating and evaluating NICs.
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Networked Improvement Implementation
CoP Subject Matter Expert Resources
PDSA Cycle Measurement
Building a Teaching Effectiveness Network (BTEN)
Revisiting the Purposes of Practical Measurement for Improvement: Learning from the BTEN Measurement System: This blog post from the Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching presents how the Building a Teaching Effectiveness Network (BTEN) employs practical measurement strategies to measure improvement within its NIC’s PDSA cycles and for the evaluation of the NIC overall.
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