2 Proven Strategies for Effective Implementation of Evidence-Based Instruction

The impact of the science of reading is determined by the effectiveness of its implementation in real-world situations. 

Dr. Adrea Truckenmiller, educational researcher and associate professor at Michigan State University, focuses on the sustainable implementation of research-backed literacy practices in real-world classroom settings. She is an expert in the Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS)—a framework that integrates instruction, data, and evidence-based practices to support students’ academic, social, emotional, and behavioral needs. 

Dr. Truckenmiller currently collaborates with school district leaders to improve decision-making based on writing and reading assessment within the MTSS framework, ensuring all students receive equitable access to evidence-based instruction according to their strengths and needs. 

She brings two important ways to ensure effective implementation of the science of reading into districts, curricula, and classrooms—having a team in charge of curricula and programming and going directly to the teachers to develop strategic materials. 

Implementation strategy No. 1: Having a team in charge of decisions

Implementation of research-backed literacy practices requires a well-developed strategy to ensure changes and decisions are sustainable and effective in the long run when it comes to improving student learning. 

One implementation strategy Dr. Truckenmiller recommends is forming a schoolwide leadership team to make specific decisions involving the science of reading. She emphasizes, “One of the mechanisms for [sustainable implementation] is having a team that understands how to evaluate what's working and what's not working within their school.” These teams are in place to look at data regularly, listen to the experts they have within the school, and continue to build the expertise within the school and the district. 

Dr. Truckenmiller explains that without a team, effective changes are often stuck in one particular classroom while the teachers are left to try out programs on their own, and sometimes on their own dime. The teachers use these programs within the silo of their own classroom—“But then how do they show that what they're doing is working really well and [what is the] pathway within the school to get these really effective things spread across the school?” Dr. Truckenmiller asks.

To build an implementation team to effectively drive the science of reading, Dr. Truckenmiller recommends gathering expertise from across the school—“as many people as possible from teachers to coaches to administrators that have that high level of knowledge,” she says. A well-rounded team is more likely to cover all the necessary bases and have an appropriate level of experience and proficiency to make constructive decisions. 

Dr. Truckenmiller offers one final, powerful piece of advice about forming a diverse team to manage the implementation of the science of reading. She recommends the team attend and complete professional learning together, a strategy that ensures the team members remain on the same page and that all of their knowledge continues to move forward at a similar pace. 

Implementation strategy No. 2: Asking teachers what they need

The second recommendation that Dr. Truckenmiller makes for sustainable implementation of evidence-based literacy instruction is simple—ensuring the curriculum is as effective as possible and then asking teachers what they need.

It’s important to start with honing the curriculum down to the needed materials. “There's so many materials that are given to teachers, how do they pick out what to use?” Dr. Truckenmiller asks. To identify the content that will be the most high leverage in the curriculum, she recommends using a tool tailored to the task. For example, the Regional Education Laboratory–Southeast and The Reading League both offer tools that hone in on the value of each piece of curriculum, which can help district and school leaders figure out what can be weeded out and what can move forward. 

Dr. Truckenmiller provides an example of a school district that is effectively implementing the next step strategy—asking the teachers directly about their needs. “The Detroit Public Schools Community District has done a really amazing job of weeding through the curricula,” she says. “They took … the expeditionary learning curricula … and they talked to their teachers and they said, ‘Hey, what do you need to actually implement this?’” 

After discussing with the teachers, district leaders discovered that providing easy-to-access PowerPoint materials about key curriculum topics would help ensure they were implemented effectively and sustainably. Teachers explained that they needed easy materials they could just “grab it and go and not spend [their] weekends sifting through and figuring out on [their] own what to do.” 

Now, every educator can visit the district’s website and easily download the entire curriculum, broken down into helpful PowerPoint presentations distilled by grade level. District leaders did an excellent job of listening to the teachers, ensuring the barriers to putting the science of reading into place were removed. This partnership approach builds trust and cooperation across the district, supporting student success. 

Implementation requires strategy

Dr. Truckenmiller provides two useful, actionable recommendations for implementing the science of reading districtwide. From forming a team in charge of decisions and roll-out to parsing the curriculum and talking directly with teachers, sustainable implementation requires strategic action.

“We have a larger-than-in-recent-memory share of American students who are failing to demonstrate even partial mastery of the types of skills educators have defined as important,” said Martin West, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education and the vice chair of the NAEP Governing Board, about the latest dip in National Assessment of Educational Progress testing scores across the country. He continues, “That doesn’t bode well for their futures or for our collective futures.”

With the declining trend across literacy testing scores during the past few years, implementing the science of reading is more important than ever. Tune into All For Literacy, Season 4, Episode 2, with Dr. Truckenmiller to explore how to use proven research-based strategies to improve literacy instruction for all students.