Sustained Practice Overview
What is a sustained practice?
A sustained practice is implemented consistently and comprehensively over time.
We use the term “practice” to refer to any practice, intervention, program, curriculum, innovation, initiative, or policy used in a classroom, school, or district.
A sustained, effective practice is embedded into educators’ routines, so that students can truly benefit from it.
The process of implementing and sustaining practices is the bridge between an effective practice and real impact in schools.
By deliberately supporting sustainment of effective practices, schools can capitalize on current efforts, increase efficiency, and improve outcomes.
Does my school struggle with sustaining practices?
Most likely, yes. Most educators (and people in general!) struggle to fully integrate new practices into their existing, busy routines.
Does your school suffer from initiative overload?
Many schools take on too many initiatives, adopting them quickly and with little guidance for educators, only to have them fade away. In these schools, sustaining practices is practically impossible and students are unlikely to benefit from these varied efforts. Thinking differently about available resources and adoption decisions can help sustain practices.
Does your school rely on one-and-done professional development?
Most schools rely on one shot professional development to introduce educators to effective practices. Unfortunately, the research is really clear: one-and-done professional development is unlikely to change how educators act in the classroom. Thinking differently about how to support educators to sustain effective practices can result in real improvements for students.
Do your school assume practices are being sustained?
Most schools focus on whether students are making gains, not whether effective practices are actually happening. But we know that most educators struggle to sustain practices and students need to actually experience effective practices to make gains. Thinking differently about integrating implementation and student outcome data can lead to sustained practices and efficient student improvements.
Why should we care about sustaining practices?
It’s good for students.
When effective practices are delivered consistently and comprehensively, students outcomes are likely to improve. Irregularly receiving an effective practice is unlikely to make an actual difference for students.
It saves resources.
When we don’t consider whether a practice is truly being sustained, we are likely to determine that a lack of student improvement means we need something new. It takes a lot of time, money, and effort to find and start a new, often more intense, practice. Instead, we can focus on sustaining the initial practice.
It’s better for educators.
It is more manageable to help educators sustain effective practices, rather than continually asking them to take on many new things, leaving them stressed, and only doing these (many!) practices halfway.
It’s required by law.
When making decisions about students’ responses to a practice in the context of multi-tiered systems of support or special education, we need to be certain that practice actually happened. In special education, students are entitled to receive services outlined in their IEPs (i.e., sustained practice).
Why is sustaining practices so hard?
We like to think that putting effective practices in place is simple. But anyone who has excitedly adopted a New Years resolution only to drop it in a few weeks later knows - sustaining a new practice isn’t easy.
Behavior change.
Sustaining an effective practice involves behavior change - a complex and ongoing process involving learning, building confidence, and problem-solving barriers. Most of the time, we don’t support educators to change their behavior and so it’s not surprising that we don’t see sustained practice.
Context matters.
Sustaining practices don’t happen in a vacuum. Context matters. We know from research that when educators are stressed, have many competing responsibilities, or work in a school with a challenging organizational climate, it can be particularly hard to sustain practices.
What can we do about it?
Assess needs.
To move towards sustained practice, schools need to first understand their current context - the amount of practices, extent of resources, and student needs. After honing their plan, schools can develop data dashboards to monitor, support, and improve their practices.
Support educators.
Educators are the linchpin between effective practices and student outcomes. To help them sustain practices, we need to provide them with proactive and ongoing support that is targeted to their needs and aligned with behavior change research and the school context.
Think systemically.
We can (and should) support individual educators to sustain effective practices. We also need to understand and improve the climate for implementation in our schools to facilitate sustaining practices. This effort requires work in schools and through policy.
Interested in learning more?
Get notified as we release resources related to sustaining practices in schools.
Evidence-based interventions benefit learners only when they are implemented fully. Yet many educators struggle with successful implementation. This unique book gives practitioners a research-based framework for working with PreK–12 educators to support the effective delivery of academic, behavioral, and social–emotional interventions. Step-by-step procedures are presented for assessing existing implementation efforts and using a menu of support strategies to promote intervention fidelity. In a large-size format for easy photocopying, the book includes 28 reproducible worksheets, strategy guides, and fidelity assessment tools. Purchasers get access to a Web page where they can download and print the reproducible materials.
“Should be a mandatory resource for any professional who provides, supports, or evaluates school-based interventions. Uniquely designed for trainees and practitioners of all levels, this book serves as a step-by-step guide for engaging in best practices associated with measuring, supporting, and evaluating treatment integrity. The valuable downloadable tools can be used repeatedly prior to, during, and following intervention implementation.”
— Matthew DuBois, PhD, NCSP, Department of Psychological Services, Public Schools of Brookline, Massachusetts
“Amid the understandable clamor for evidence-based interventions, the elephant in the room is the conspicuous lack of equal emphasis on supporting effective implementation. This book provides practical concepts and worksheets practitioners can use to put in place any of six strategies to increase fidelity. This book is the missing piece to successful implementation.”
— W. Alan Coulter, PhD, Director, TIERS Group (Teams Intervening Early to Reach all Students), Louisiana State University Health Sciences Center–New Orleans
“This book offers a practical guide to fostering successful implementation of interventions, with the goal of shifting student performance. It is an important contribution for professionals dedicated to putting evidence-based practices in place with integrity. Honoring the complexity of implementation, the book shows how to use feasible, efficient strategies during consultation and coaching to ensure—and sustain—intervention fidelity.”
—Kathleen Lynne Lane, PhD, BCBA-D, Department of Special Education, University of Kansas
“Sanetti and Collier-Meek offer an up-to-date, detailed description of how to provide effective consultation or coaching to implementers, with excellent visuals and helpful worksheets. The book is infused with the latest research on adult behavior change to assist in enhancing implementation of effective practices and troubleshooting common problems.”
—Kent McIntosh, PhD, Department of Special Education and Clinical Sciences, University of Oregon; Co-Director, OSEP Technical Assistance Center on Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports