Overview: The purpose of this study was to develop theory for understanding the different ways in which innovations are implemented (used), adapted, and sustained in schools. We define innovations as programs, interventions, technologies, approaches, practices, or policies that are perceived as new by the users (teachers) enacting them. This study focused on a particular type of STEM education innovation, Everyday Mathematics (EM), a widely-used elementary mathematics curriculum considered to be both standards-based and evidence-based. Driven by the knowledge that many innovations in education fail to endure the test of time (even if effective) the research team sought to create knowledge and tools to support meaningful, lasting educational change.

This mixed-method study took place within five school districts implementing the EM program. Districts varied in geographic region (Midwest, Northeast, West), locale (urban, suburban) and maturity of EM implementation (which at the study outset, ranged from 3 to 13 years of continuous use as the designated district curriculum).  The study had several goals: 1) to understand how teachers in each district were using and adapting the EM instructional materials; 2) to identify teacher, school and district influences that explained differences in EM use; 3) to understand factors that influenced EM use over time; and 4) to explore relationships between EM use, influential factors, and student mathematics achievement. In addition, the research team sought to develop mutually beneficial collaborative relationships with district leaders in the study sites.

Intellectual Merit: The research team from Outlier Research & Evaluation at the University of Chicago created a conceptual framework, or organizer, for categorizing the different components of EM (a tool that can be used to classify components not just for EM, but also for many other instructional materials programs as well). It was grounded on the basic understanding that all instructional materials are composed of structural features (aspects of organization and design) and interactional features (expectations for how students and teachers should behave and interact). With this framework as a foundation, the team created several instruments for measuring EM use, including a teacher questionnaire, a teacher log, and a classroom observation protocol. 

The team created a second set of instruments for measuring influences on instructional materials use, grounded in a comprehensive literature review that spanned education as well as several other fields (including health, prevention science, and psychology). This second set of instruments, including a teacher questionnaire, teacher interview protocol, and teacher focus group protocol, was based on a second conceptual framework that categorized influences into three main types: individual influences (like motivation, self-efficacy, and attitudes about the innovation); school influences (like leadership, collaboration, resource sufficiency); and environmental influences (like larger policies, political climate, and community attitudes).

Between 2012 and 2015, over 1000 teachers from three school year cohorts (2011-12, 2012-13, and 2014-15) participated in questionnaires, and a subset participated in observations, interviews, and focus groups. This allowed for comparing findings across sites and replicate findings in different contexts. The research team found substantial variation in EM use across districts. Teachers in all sites made adaptations from the way the program was written to meet their students’ needs. In all three teacher cohorts, individual teacher characteristics, in particular, their levels of innovativeness and resourcefulness, were more influential than school-level factors in supporting teachers in using EM-related instructional pract...

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