Search

For research-based academic interventions to continue to have positive effects on the outcomes of students with learning difficulties, teachers' initial implementation must be sustained after the removal of program support, including professional development (PD). In this mixed methods study, we investigated the extent to which teachers sustained data-based instruction (DBI) in early writing, 1–2 years after their participation in extensive PD, the Early Writing Project, before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. We applied a nested and interacting systems framework to examine how barriers and facilitators at macrosystem to student levels influenced teachers' self-reported ability or decision to sustain. Although most teachers sustained one or more core DBI components before and during the pandemic, few sustained data-based decision making. Our findings suggest that teachers' perceptions of their DBI sustainment was influenced by multiple interacting factors across system levels, such as student progress and limited time. Implications for approaches to supporting DBI, as well as implications for educational program sustainability theory, are discussed. Educational Impact and Implications Statement: In this mixed-methods study, we explored whether teachers continued using data-based instruction (DBI) for writing with their students with significant early writing difficulties 1–2 years after participating in professional development (PD), and why or why not. DBI is a process that teachers can use to design and evaluate individualized interventions for their students with significant learning difficulties. We found that many teachers were motivated to sustain one or more components of DBI because of student progress, even during the COVID-19 pandemic, but needed more support with data-based decision making. These findings can help identify ways to bridge DBI research and practice. Long-term implementation of DBI may require multiyear PD, integration with existing school data-based decision-making processes, and policy-level changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]