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Among core curriculum purchasers, evidence is consulted most when an adoption is underway: 1) when determining which instructional materials to evaluate (83%) and 2) when comparing different instructional materials (82%).
Available
Through research we unearth 4 common barriers faced by evidence creators.
01
The interest in staying up to date with new resources and evidence can diminish once an adoption or purchase isn’t needed.
[EdTech adoption] is a lengthy process… people tend to lose interest.
— Technology Director, IA
02
There’s an overreliance on using evidence sources that are learned about from peers’ experiences.
The majority of both core curriculum (82%) and EdTech purchasers (94%) were significantly likely to agree that their district considers peer recommendations including recommendations from other districts when selecting core curriculum instructional materials/EdTech.
We reach out to peers a lot and see what’s used at a national level.
— Chief Technology Officer, TX
03
Web searches are one of the top ways that individuals search for information on instructional materials.
63% of EdTech purchasers prefer looking to websites that offer information on EdTech products and standards alignment. 71% of curriculum purchasers prefer looking to websites that offer reviews of instructional materials.
We tend to first look at product websites, then examine if other companies have used it.
— Instructional Technology Specialist, TX
04
A perceived lack of personalization can impact the user experience when diving into resources.
26% of core curriculum and 25% of EdTech purchasers note that available information/evidence doesn’t seem applicable to their district context.
We want a personalization/ filtering aspect. To put in criteria and for it to tell what materials have that.
— Teacher Leader, PA
A principle as a solution
Based on these barriers, we came to understand that evidence should be
Available
Easy to find
Evidence should be simple to find and available at the key moments when districts need it. Many strategies can be used to promote the broad awareness of evidence.
Make your evidence available
Explore the tools on our toolkit that will help you to enhance your evidence availability.
Explore other principles
Have questions?
We work with organizations of all kinds to develop customized solutions to social challenges.
This project was built in partnership with The Decision Lab, a socially-conscious applied research firm that generates transformational change for people, products, and organizations using behavioral science.