Applying research on science materials implementation: Bringing measurement of fidelity of implementation (FOI) to scale

This is a project for instructional materials development based on applied research and is a three-year study of the implementation of NSF-supported science instructional materials in Chicago. The project seeks to scale up studies of fidelity of implementation. It produces a suite of instruments accompanied by a User’s Guide for future research. The project identifies “critical components” of the curricula being studied and “fidelity criteria” to determine the extent to which those components are present with fidelity in instruction. After field-test, the instruments are used in 90 Chicago Public Schools. Data analysis defines “typologies” of implementation and explores the relationship between those typologies and student achievement. The project also explores uses of the instruments for mathematics and in other settings.