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PreK On My Way Case Study Report
Strategies for Working Through Implementation Challenges
Respondents reported multiple strategies for working through different challenges associated with implementing the PKOMW curriculum. To address the challenge of fitting the curriculum into a school day, District A staff members described developing their own pacing guide with teachers that was responsive to the needs of different classroom types, including half-day PreK programs. Respondents also modified the curriculum to meet the specific needs of their classrooms and schools. For example, a PreK teacher described doing two large-group
Key Implementation Strategies • Developing a pacing guide • Working with a Scholastic Professional Learning coach to figure out which aspects of PKOMW curriculum were most important to focus on • Modifying the curriculum to meet specific needs • Holding regular collaborative meetings to troubleshoot around PKOMW implementation
circle times rather than three during the day (per the PKOMW curriculum). A center director described finding creative ways to implement PKOMW lessons, such as breaking a lesson down into smaller pieces while keeping in mind the main goal of supporting children in answering the lesson’s essential question.
Both center directors noted the importance of offering regular meetings for teachers to collaborate and troubleshoot around PKOMW implementation. In one school, teachers attended these meetings every week or every other week and shared successes and challenges. Two respondents described Scholastic coaches as being valuable in helping implement the PKOMW curriculum in ways that were responsive to their individual classroom needs. Scholastic coaches provided in-person support to teachers, such as observing PKOMW instruction, providing instructional feedback to teachers, walking
“ Our collaboration as a school was really important because I didn’t want any teacher to feel that they were struggling to implement a new curriculum. We met quite often to brainstorm , and problem solve the struggles the teachers were having. But also, to spend time to highlight what was good going on in the rooms .” - Center Director
through PKOMW lesson plans, and answering teachers’ questions . One PreK teacher described working with a Scholastic Professional Learning coach to figure out how to implement the curriculum and helping her understand what aspects of the curriculum were most important to focus on.
Experiences with PKOMW Training
In both districts, Scholastic provided training to support PKOMW implementation. This section describes the training, broken out by professional development, coaching, and other training.
Professional Development. Online professional development included an overview of the PKOMW curriculum, including the different components of the curriculum, the materials involved, and different strategies for implementation. In District A, these online professional development sessions were customized based on the district’s needs and teachers’ classroom type (e.g., general education or special education).
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