Michelle A. Duda, Ph.D., BCBA,Dean L. Fixsen, Ph.D.

& Karen A. Blase Ph.D.,

Melissa Van Dyke, LCSWFrank Porter Graham Child Development Institute

University of North Carolina – Chapel Hill

Working Smarter: The implementation journey to

improve student outcomes

Continuous Improvement Cycles Part 5

Changing on Purpose

• New practices do not fare well in existing organizational structures and systems

• For Example: Transformation is not like plug and play devices for a computer, it is more like changing operating systems while downloading delicate files.

Innovations and Systems

EXISTING SYSTEM

EFFECTIVE INNOVATIONSARE CHANGED TO

FIT THE SYSTEM

EXISTING SYSTEM ISCHANGED TO SUPPORTTHE EFFECTIVENESS OF

THE INNOVATION

EFFECTIVE INNOVATION

AN ETERNAL STRUGGLETHE YIN & YANG OF CHANGE

Innovations and Systems

EXISTING SYSTEM

EFFECTIVE INNOVATIONSARE CHANGED TO

FIT THE SYSTEM

EXISTING SYSTEM ISCHANGED TO SUPPORTTHE EFFECTIVENESS OF

THE INNOVATION

EFFECTIVE INNOVATION

Changing on Purpose

People, organizations, and systems…

• Cannot change everything at once (too big; too complex; too many of them and too few of us)

• Cannot stop and re-tool (have to create the new in the midst of the existing)

• Cannot know what to do at every step (we will know it when we get there)

• Many outcomes are not predictable (who knew!?)

Improvement Cycles

• PDSA (plan, do, study, act) Cycle

• Rapid – Cycleo Problem Solvingo Practice Improvement

• Transformation Zones

• PEP-PIP Cycle (policy enabled practice – practice informed policy)

• Usability testing

Shewhart (1924); Deming & Juran (1948); Six-Sigma (1990)• Plan – Decide what to do• Do – Do it (be sure)• Study – Look at the results• Act – Make adjustments • Cycle – Do over and over again until the

intended benefits are realized

PDSA Cycles: Trial & Learning

• Plan – Find a way for kids to clean the stove routinely

• Do – Say, “clean the stove please”• Study – See what parts they clean well

and what parts they miss• Act – Develop a card with a few cleaning

hints• Cycle – Continue until there are enough

hints to routinely have a clean stove

Clean the Stove

Actual Program Ideal Program

To Narrow the Variation of the Actual from the Ideal

PDSA Cycles: Trial & LearningDavid Thomas, 1985

• Plan – Innovation core components• Do – Selection, training, coaching• Study – Fidelity, outcomes• Act – Make adjustments • Cycle – Do over and over again until

fidelity is reached in a reasonable period of time

PDSA Cycles: Trial & Learning

PLAN

DO

STUDY

ACT

P

DS

A

P

DS

A

P

DS

A

P

DS

A

Innovation

Training

CoachingFidelity

Administration

• Plan – Coaching methods• Do – Frequency, intensity, duration• Study – Time to reach fidelity for the past

20 teachers/ staff• Act – Revise coaching methods to shore

up weak areas • Cycle – do over and over again as

conditions and people change forever more

PDSA Cycle - Eternal

PDSA Cycles

Shewhart (1924); Deming (1948); Six-Sigma (1990)• Plan – Develop specific things to do• Do – Do them (make sure)• Study – See what happens• Act – Make adjustments• Cycle – Do over and over again until the

goal is reached (again)

PEP-PIP Cycle

• Policy enabled practice (PEP)• Practice informed policy (PIP)

The PDSA cycle in slow motion• Monthly instead of hourly, daily cycles• Bigger issues where agreement (issues,

solutions) and certainty (if this, then that) are not apparent

PEP-PIP Cycle

Po

licy

En

able

d

Pra

ctic

e (P

EP

)

Practice In

form

ed

Po

licy (PIP

)

Management Team

Implementation Teams

System Change

“Extern

al” Lead

ership

Policy Practice Feedback Loops

Policy (Plan)

Practice (Do)

Structure

Procedure

Policy

Practice

Form Supports Function at every level (National, State, County, Municipal, Agency)

FeedbackStudy - Act

“Ext

ern

al”

Sys

tem

Ch

ang

e S

up

po

rt

System Alignment

State Department

Regions

Agencies

Practitioners/ Staff

Effective Practices

AL

IGN

ME

NTFederal

Departments

Imp

lemen

tation

Team

s

FORM SUPPORTS FUNCTION

Summary

• Implementation is hard work• Information by training by itself will NOT lead to changes in

practitioner skills and abilities• Implementation occurs in stages and getting to Full

Implementation can take 2-4 years• Each stage of implementation has it’s own set of activities

and challenges• Successful implementation occurs when the innovation (i.e.

ESD) is embedded within the schools culture• Successful implementation requires behavior change

o Research related to implementation is still in it’s infancyo Policy enables new practice but practice needs to inform

policy

"All organizations [and systems] are designed, intentionally or unwittingly, to achieve precisely the results they get."

R. Spencer DarlingBusiness Expert

Our Journey Continues

Next Steps on Our Journey

• On your journey of implementing this research into practice, continue your partnership with your regional T/TAC Instructor(s)

For More Information

Dean L. Fixsen, Ph.D.• 919-966-3892• fixsen@mail.fpg.unc.edu

Michelle A. Duda, Ph.D.• 919-636-0843• duda@mail.fpg.unc.edu

At the Frank Porter Graham Child Development InstituteUniversity of North Carolina

Chapel Hill, NC

www.scalingup.org http://nirn.fpg.unc.edu/

http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/publications/Monograph/ 

For More Information

Fixsen, D. L., Naoom, S. F., Blase, K. A., Friedman, R. M. & Wallace, F. (2005). Implementation Research: A Synthesis of the Literature. Tampa, FL: University of South Florida, Louis de la Parte Florida Mental Health Institute, The National Implementation Research Network (FMHI Publication #231).Download all or part of the monograph at:http://www.fpg.unc.edu/~nirn/resources/publications/Monograph/ To order the monograph go to:https://fmhi.pro-copy.com/