Use design-based implementation research with educator co-design and iterative pre-post testing cycles to develop a usable, feasible classroom intervention.¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · 3 claims (3 for) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 3 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article followed DBIR's four principles: common commitment to solving problems of practice as constructed by educators; iterative collaborative design targeting multiple system levels; building theory and knowledge; and developing sustainable change. The team met weekly in work circles, reviewed pre-post data and teacher feedback after each iteration, and used explicit decision rules about usability, feasibility, and CXI interactions to revise lessons, grouping, and materials across four iterations.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Design team including teachers and school leaders
• Weekly work-circle meetings with documented minutes and field notes
• Pre-post unit assessments per iteration to inform decisions

Constraints¶

• DBIR alone cannot demonstrate efficacy in other contexts; the authors added an RCT for that purpose

Target Learners¶

• Elementary students in partner schools

Target Learning Goals¶

• Content-area knowledge and literacy

Claims¶

• Child Characteristic X Instruction (CXI) interactions in content learning were reduced through iterative design: leveled readers, explicit vocabulary instruction, and passage-comprehension-based flexible grouping eliminated significant CXI effects by the fourth iteration. [+W]
• CALI significantly improves social studies knowledge (g = 2.27) and science knowledge (g = 2.10) in K-4 students compared to business-as-usual control. [+W]
• CALI shows some evidence of improving oral and reading comprehension skills (d = .125) without opportunity cost to reading gains. [+W]

Related Strategies¶

• Write custom leveled readers that preserve key content and vocabulary across reading levels rather than using commercially available leveled trade books.
• Plan an extended feasibility phase in which research and platform teams jointly refine design, implementation, and logistics
• Co-develop the toolkit with districts and refine it iteratively across cohorts

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Dombek, J., Crowe, E. C., Spencer, M., Tighe, E. L., Coffinger, S., Zargar, E., Wood, T., Petscher, Y., & Connor, C. M. (2017). Acquiring Science and Social Studies Knowledge in Kindergarten Through Fourth Grade: Conceptualization, Design, Implementation, and Efficacy Testing of Content-Area Literacy Instruction (CALI). Journal of Educational Psychology, 109(3), 301-320. https://doi.org/10.1037/edu0000128