Overview

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Estimated Time to Complete: 2 hours

The Ohio Improvement Process (OIP) module provides users with an overall description of Ohio’s primary strategy for supporting Ohio’s school districts' efforts to improve outcomes for all learners. The core beliefs underlying the OIP are shared. Other topics addressed in the module include:

  • Ohio’s Leadership Development Framework,
  • Changes in practice promoted by the OIP,
  • the OIP theory of change,
  • team communication, and
  • the 5-Step process.

This module aligns with Ohio's Leadership Development Framework in the following areas:

  • Area 1 Data and the Decision-Making Process
  • Area 2 Focused Goal Setting Process
  • Area 3 Instruction and the Learning Process
  • Area 4 Community Engagement Process
  • Area 5 Resource Management Process
  • Area 6 Board Development and Governance Process

Module Content

You can download a document that includes all content from the module, with the exception of videos. This resource can support your learning while completing the module or be saved for future reference.

Additional Documents

NIRN The Hexagon: An Exploration Tool

Note-Taking Organizer

Discussion Questions

  1. To what extent do the TBTs (BLTs and/or DLTs) in your district use the 5-Step Process in the ways that the module describes? How does the process in your district differ from the process described in the module? If so, what are the consequences of these differences?
  2. What actions might your district take to match its use of the 5-Step Process to the use of the process that the module recommends?
  3. Why is it important for root cause analysis to examine the beliefs and practices of the adults in the school district?
  4. What are some actions a school district might take in order to promote focus and coherence?

Activities

Introductory Activities

  1. Review the module with other members of your TBT, BLT, or DLT. Identify the statements in the module that capture ideas about how to use the OIP effectively. Use those statements to develop a checklist. Then, perhaps, use the checklist to assess your district’s application of the OIP framework.
  2. Root cause analysis involves deep dives into data that might reveal systemic issues across the district. What data might be pertinent to a root cause analysis in your district? Assemble some of those data and review them with BLT or DLT members. What do they tell you about possible root causes of opportunity and achievement gaps?

Advanced Activities

  1. Choose one of the three sets of practices in the OIP Theory of Change: Inclusive Organizational and Instructional Leadership, Capacity-building Through Professional Capital, or Inclusive Instructional Practices. Review related OLAC modules to learn more about these practices. The table below suggests modules where you can learn more about each of these sets of practices.
    Set of Practices Relevant OLAC Modules
    Inclusive Organizational and Instructional Leadership Leadership; Shared Accountability – The Why, Who, How, and What of Teams
    Capacity-building Through Professional Capital Coaching; Resource Management; The Collaborative Process
    Inclusive Instructional Practices Assessment; Curriculum; Instruction
  2. Review education research summaries (e.g., in books, articles, government websites) to identify specific evidence-based strategies relating to one or more of the sets of practices in the OIP Theory of Change. Select a strategy that might work well in your district. Develop a plan for implementing that strategy. The table below lists some possible evidence-based strategies that work to improve performance in each of the domains of practice specified in the Theory of Change.
    Set of Practices Illustrative Evidence-based Strategies
    Inclusive Organizational and Instructional Leadership Distributed leadership; data-based decision making
    Capacity-building Through Professional Capital Instructional rounds; coaching
    Explicit instruction; formative instructional practice

You can earn credit and contact hours for modules, webinars, and podcasts completed on the OLAC site.

For more information, visit the Credit Corner. If you’re seeking credit for the Gifted Education Professional Development Course or the Culturally Responsive Practices Program courses, you can find that information on the course overview pages.

Alliance City Schools: Impacting All Learners Through Clarity and Culture

Clearview Local Schools: Create the Culture

Having Data to Understand Your Needs

Journey to Improvement Pickerington Local Schools

Leadership Coaching: Enhancing a Principal's Instructional Leadership Skills

Researching and Selecting an Evidence-Based Strategy: Celina City Schools

The Importance of District and SST Partnership

The Ohio Improvement Process An Overview Part One

The Ohio Improvement Process An Overview Part Two

Using a Practice Profile to Define and Measure Implementation: Celina City Schools