For instance, some districts purchase new materials during their assigned adoption year, but wait to implement them until a year later. In the interim year, they focus their efforts on providing professional development to help prepare teachers to use the new materials. A little imagination and careful planning can go a long way toward making any implementation successful. In light of the demands of full implementation, many districts implementing standards-based mathematics programs find gradual implementation , extending over several years, to be more feasible. By building in more time to support in-depth focus on professional development and to target teachers' specific needs during the implementation, these districts make a commitment to systemic change that supports their curricular goals for mathematics.
Gradual implementation has several distinct advantages.
Rolling out a new program over several years allows the district to dedicate more time, deeper focus, and more resources toward supporting teachers as they use the new materials. In addition, an implementation that's been planned to last for several years provides the district with ongoing opportunities to evaluate and revise their implementation strategy, their support for teachers, and their use of the materials. Implementing gradually also allows the district time to structure myriad ways of sharing the new program with community stakeholders, building more community support each year. Implementation Issues to Consider Regardless of your timeline, planning a thoughtful implementation of new, standards-based mathematics curriculum materials requires that you anticipate the range of issues that might arise. How well a district is prepared to deal with those issues greatly influences the success and ease of their implementation.