Evidence Based Practices (Activity 1)

Evidence based practices (Activity 1):

Activity: suggested use is as an introduction to the topic before any content in presented

Have students consider the following question/scenario and then discuss either in pairs or as a group.

Scenario:

You are an elementary teacher and have been asked to participate on the district committee appointed to choose the new elementary literacy curriculum that will be used next year and for the foreseeable future. This is a big task, with many elements that need consideration.

1. What would you recommend that the committee request from publishers when the present their products to you? What information would be important to know in addition to cost?

1. What criteria do you think will be important for the committee to use in making this decision?

2. Should all criteria have the same weight or would some be more important than others?

3. If there are disagreements among the committee members about the various approaches that could be used, how do you propose they be resolved?

Discussion points:

• Scope and sequence – does it provide adequate coverage to the 5 areas of the National Reading Panel. Ask class how they would evaluate this? One tool for this purpose is included in this module (consumer’s guide….)

• Are there supplemental materials that are more explicit and systematic for students who don’t master important skills or concepts?

• People on the committee will have different preference for programs that they like, and these are based on criteria that have different degrees of importance. The purpose of this module is to emphasize that student outcomes should be the most important criterion.

• The main point of this lesson is – what research evidence (with controlled studies) does the publisher have that suggests that students skills improve more in comparison to nothing or other products?