REL Pacific Efficacy and Implementation Evaluation of the Secondary Writing Toolkit

You are one of about 200 English Language Arts teachers in Hawai‘i who is eligible to take part in a voluntary study of the Secondary Writing Toolkit, sponsored by the United States Department of Education (ED). Abt Associates (Abt), a partner of the Regional Educational Laboratory (REL) Pacific, will do the study in the 2024-25 school year.

The Toolkit is based on recommendations from the Teaching Secondary Student to Write Effectively Practice Guide (https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/wwc/practiceguide/22) and includes professional development in the form of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and resources for the implementation of recommended instructional strategies in your classroom. The goal of the Toolkit is to improve middle school teachers’ (grades 6-8) writing instruction and middle school students’ writing skills.

Abt will use a lottery to assign schools whose teachers and principals agree to take part in the study to either implement the Toolkit (Secondary Writing Toolkit Group) or to continue with their usual instruction (Comparison Group) during the 2024-25 school year. Abt will notify schools of their group in May 2024. By participating in this study, you will receive professional development on writing instruction, either during the 2024-25 school year (Secondary Writing Toolkit Group) or in the fall of 2025 (Comparison group).

What does participation involve?

If your school is assigned by lottery to the Secondary Writing Toolkit Group and you agree to take part in the study, REL Pacific will ask you to do the following:

Activity	Estimated Time Required	Compensation
Participate in the Toolkit PLC sessions (coordinated by a designated Peer Facilitator in your school) and complete independent work associated with each session	~2 hours/session ~2x/month for 4-5 months	Toolkit professional development & resources
Complete an online tracker about your professional learning activities at the end of each of the 8 PLC sessions	10-12 mins/session for 8 sessions (80-96 mins total)	$50
Complete a daily log about your writing instruction for 1 week in Fall 2024 and 1 week in Spring 2025	15 mins/day for 10 days (150 mins total)	$50 in Fall and $50 in Spring ($100 total)
Participate in a focus group in Spring 2025 to share your feedback on the Toolkit professional learning activities	1 hour	$30

If you choose to be a Peer Facilitator, REL Pacific will also ask you to participate in a 2-hour training in September 2024 and monthly coaching sessions from October 2024 – March 2025. You will also be responsible for facilitating the PLC sessions in your school.

If your school is assigned by lottery to the Comparison Group and you agree to take part in the study, REL Pacific (Abt) will ask you to do the following:

Activity	Estimated Time Required	Compensation
Continue with writing instruction as usual	N/A	Book study of the Practice Guide in Fall 2025
Complete a daily log about your writing instruction for 1 week in Fall 2024 and 1 week in Spring 2025	15 mins/day for 10 days (150 mins total)	$50 in Fall and $50 in Spring ($100 total)

Abt will also collect information about your gender, race/ethnicity, years of teaching experience and educational credentials from the Hawai‘i Department of Education to use in analyses.

You can choose whether you take part in the study. Participation is voluntary. If you decide to stop at any time, it’s okay, just inform the Study Director at the email or phone number below.

Abt will keep all information about you confidential (private). There is a small risk of loss of confidentiality. Abt has many procedures in place to reduce this risk. Paper files will be stored in a locked file cabinet and all digital files will be password-protected so that only project researchers can access them. After Abt collects all data, all personally identifiable information (PII) will be replaced with study-created identifiers and all PII will be destroyed. Abt will never include your name or your individual information in any report. Responses to all data collections will be used for statistical purposes only and will not associate responses with a specific school or individual. Abt will report findings only at the district level and will name HIDOE as the district. Abt will not use your information for any other purpose than this study. Abt will create a dataset for ED that will include de-identified teacher data from the teacher log and online tracker. These data could be distributed to another investigator for future research studies without additional informed consent from you. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by ED.

For questions about the study:

Ask your principal, or
Contact the Study Director, Linda Caswell, linda.caswell@abtassoc.com, 617-520-3022

For questions about your rights as a participant:

Call Abt’s Institutional Review Board at 877-520-6835

We appreciate your consideration of this important study. Please indicate if you would be willing to take part in the study below.

___ YES, I agree to take part in the Secondary Writing Toolkit Study.

___ NO, I do not agree to take part in the Secondary Writing Toolkit Study.

Your Signature: _______________________________________________ Date: __________________

PRINT Your Name: ___________________________________________________________________

Please return this form to your school principal and make a copy for your records.

Teacher Log

Purpose:

The purpose of this Teacher Log is to collect data on treatment and control teachers’ instructional practices in writing to answer the research question about the impacts of the Secondary Writing Toolkit professional development on teachers’ writing instruction.

Notes on Administration:

REL Pacific (Abt) will obtain each teacher’s class schedule for the 2024/2025 school year in August (days of class/length of class) and will randomly select which core course (period/session) a teacher is to focus on when completing the log.
REL Pacific (Abt) will pre-populate the log with the name of the course and the period/session that is to be the focus of the log. Teachers will be asked to confirm in the Screener section that they are currently teaching that course/session for the baseline log entry.
If a teacher indicates that they are not teaching the randomly selected course, a follow-up question(s) will ask about another “core” English course/session from the teacher’s schedule (if applicable).
If the teacher indicates that they are not currently teaching any of the “core” English courses from the class schedule submitted to REL Pacific (Abt), the teacher will be exited from the survey and REL Pacific (Abt) will follow-up to determine what has changed.
Teachers will complete Part 1 of the daily log on Days 1-5 of the selected week in the fall and in the spring.
Teachers will complete Part 2 of the log on Day 5 (in addition to Part 1) in the fall and in the spring.
REL Pacific (Abt) will send teachers an introductory email and individual login information so that they can access their personal log. The email will be accompanied by an FAQ that includes a toll-free number to call with any technical or substantive questions on using the log.
In March 2025, teachers will be sent $10 for each day they complete the log in fall 2024 and spring 2025.
REL Pacific (Abt) will track completion of the daily logs and follow-up via email and phone calls to non-respondents to increase response rates. REL Pacific (Abt) will also send a list of non-respondents each day during the weekly log data collection to school liaisons. School liaisons will also follow-up individually with non-respondents.

Attribution:

This log is adapted from the College-Ready Writers Program Instructional Log 2013-14 [Gallagher, H. A., Arshan, N., & Woodworth, K. R. (2017). Impact of the National Writing Project’s College-Ready Writers Program in High-Need Rural Districts. Journal of Research on Effectiveness in Education, 10(3), 570–595. DOI: 10.1080/19345747.2017.1300361]

Welcome to the Secondary Writing Toolkit Teacher Log!

After reading the information below, please complete the log that appears on the next page. We are asking that you complete the log daily for one week in the fall and one week in the spring (i.e., you complete the log each day for five days in the fall and you will complete the log each day for five days in the spring). For each day that you complete the daily log, you will receive $10, for a total of $100 if you complete all five daily logs in fall 2024 and all five daily logs in spring 2025.

The purpose of the log is to understand the approaches and strategies that you use with your students to teach writing. There are no right or wrong answers to the log questions.

Is participation voluntary?

Yes, participation is voluntary. You can decide not to respond to this survey or to skip any question.

Will Abt keep my information confidential (private)?

Abt will create a dataset for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that will include de-identified data from this teacher log. These data could be distributed to another investigator for future research studies without additional informed consent from you. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by ED.

If you have any questions about the survey, please contact Linda Caswell, the Study Director, at linda_caswell@abtassoc.com or 617-520-3022. For questions about your rights as a participant in this study, contact the Abt Associates Institutional Review Board at (877) 520-6835 (toll-free).

Confirmation of Evaluator Selected Course

Are you currently teaching the following course: [e.g., Period 3, English Language Arts, Grade 6]?

☐ Yes (display instructions below)

☐ No (ask follow-up question)

If question 1 = yes

Please complete the daily log about: [e.g., Period 3, English Language Arts, Grade 6] course.

If question 1 = no, ask follow-up question about another “core” English class from the teacher’s schedule, if applicable; otherwise, exit the teacher from the survey with a pop-up message stating that they will be contacted by REL Pacific to determine the appropriate courses they are teaching and randomly select another course section.

Part 1. Daily Writing Instruction and Student Writing Activities

[Day 1] Overview

Please enter the date for [Day 1]’s Log: ______________________________________________

Did you teach [e.g., Period 3, English Language Arts, Grade 6] on [Day 1]?

☐ Yes (continue to question 3)

☐ No (go to question 4)

How many minutes did this class meet on [Day 1]?

________ Minutes (pre-set range to 1-120)

If question 2 = “I did not teach any of these classes on this day” and Log is Day 1–4, go to END.

If question 2 = “I did not teach any of these classes on this day” and Log is Day 5, go to Part 2.

[Day 1] Writing Instruction and Student Writing Activities

We are interested in documenting teachers’ day-to-day writing instruction practices. We will ask you the following questions every day this week. We do not expect teachers to do all activities every single day.

For the purpose of this log, please consider “writing” to be the full range of activities students may do to work on writing (e.g., generating ideas, planning, composing, reflecting, revising, editing, publishing, and giving or receiving feedback about their or someone else’s writing).

For [e.g., Period 3, English Language Arts, Grade 6]

Did you spend time on writing instruction and/or have students work on writing activities during class time on [Day 1]?

☐ Yes (go to question 5)

☐ No (if Day 1–4, go directly to END; if Day 5, go directly to Part 2)

Approximately how much time did you spend on writing instruction and/or have students work on writing activities during class time on [Day 1]?

______ minutes (pre-set range to 1-120)

What type of writing instruction and/or writing activities were any of your students engaged in on [Day 1]? (Mark all that apply)

☐ Argumentative/Persuasive [To make an argument or to persuade others (e.g., present a claim supported by research and evidence, propose an idea and justify the proposal)]

☐ Descriptive [To describe a particular person, place, object, or event]

☐ Narrative [To recount an event or tell a story through narrative]

☐ Informative [To present information (e.g., concepts, ideas, facts, theories)]

☐ Technical [To provide technical information on a topic (e.g., instructions)]

☐ Reflective [To reflect on an experience or topic (e.g., journaling, end-of-lesson quick writes)]

☐ Expressive [To express themselves creatively (e.g., poem, play)]

☐ Analytical [To analyze a specific topic (e.g., writing literary analysis)]

☐ Writing to practice conventions and usage

☐ Other writing [To respond to questions on a reading, to take notes, to summarize information]

☐ None of the above

Did you do any of the following to adapt instruction and target feedback to students on [Day 1]:

	Yes	No
Used formative assessments (e.g., concept maps, early drafts) to determine students’ strengths and areas for improvement?
Analyzed students’ work to tailor instruction?
Monitored students’ progress toward learning goals (e.g., used a spreadsheet to monitor analytic scores on writing tasks)?

Did you integrate writing and reading in any of the following ways on [Day 1]:

	Yes	No
Taught students to understand that both writers and readers use similar skills, strategies, and knowledge when writing and reading?
Had students read an exemplar/mentor text to highlight key features of text (e.g., use of evidence from text, transition words)?

Examples

Skill: Readers might visualize setting by creating mental pictures of the setting based on the author’s use of sensory details. Writers might use sensory details to paint a picture in their own words.

Strategy: Readers might take notes on important elements of a story. Writers might plan what story elements they might use.

Knowledge: Readers might use their knowledge of informational text structures to understand the text. Writers might use their knowledge of text structures to organize their text.

IF DAY 5, CONTINUE TO PART 2

Part 2. Instructional Approach to Teaching Writing

This section asks about your writing instruction. Each day that you completed the log, you indicated the type(s) of writing instruction and/or writing activities that you had any of your students engage in over the course of a week. This included:

[The list below will pre-populate with any type of writing instruction/writing activities checked in Part 1, Q6 above on any of the 5 days]

[Pre-populate with Type 1 if checked on any of the 5 days]
[Pre-populate with Type 2 if checked on any of the 5 days]

For any of the types of writing activities listed above, did you instruct any of your students on any of the components of the writing process as we have defined them below? (Mark Yes or No for each):

Note. Please include any instruction, even if it occurred prior to the current week.

Writing Process Components:	Writing Instruction?
Writing Process Components:	Yes	No
PLANNING the piece of writing? Planning refers to generating content by gathering information from reading, prior knowledge, and talking with others to help organize writing.
GOAL SETTING for the piece of writing? Goal Setting refers to identifying objectives for writing effectively and linking those ideas to plans and strategies.
DRAFTING the piece of writing? Drafting refers to selecting words and sentences that most accurately convey ideas and transcribing those words and sentences into written language.
EVALUATING the piece of writing? Evaluating refers to determining whether the text matches the writer’s goals based on self-review or external feedback (e.g., peer or teacher conferencing).
REVISING the piece of writing? Revising refers to making changes to the text based on self-evaluation and feedback from others (e.g., changing the overall organization of a piece, changing the content, clarifying meaning).
EDITING the piece of writing? Editing refers to making changes to ensure that the text correctly adheres to the conventions of written English (e.g., correcting spelling, grammar, sentence structure).

[Respondent will be directed to the component specific follow-up questions for any of the six components they respond Yes; If No to all components and Days 1-4, skip to End. If Day 5, skip to Part 3.]

PLANNING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS [If Q1=YES, engaged in PLANNING]

Think about any of the students that you worked with on PLANNING their writing. Did you teach them about any of the following strategies? (Mark all that apply)

Note. Planning refers to generating content by gathering information from reading, prior knowledge, and talking with others to help organize writing.

☐ To generate ideas for their writing

☐ To ask questions about the purpose and intended audience for their writing

☐ To use a mnemonic, e.g., Know, Want to Know, Learned (KWL)

☐ To use a graphic organizer, e.g., Venn diagram

☐ To identify the most promising and interesting ideas

☐ To develop an outline

☐ To organize their ideas before writing

☐ To develop sentence starters

☐ None of the above [Skip to next set of follow-up questions if respondent checked yes for another component; otherwise, skip to final set of questions]

Think about any of the strategies you taught students to use in PLANNING their writing. Did you use any part of the model-practice-reflect cycle?

	Yes	No
MODEL the approach by demonstrating and verbally describing the use of the approach?
Provide opportunities for your students to PRACTICE the approach either independently, with you or another teacher, or with a peer?
Engage students to REFLECT on their own or their peers’ use of the approach?

GOAL SETTING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS [If Q1=YES, engaged in GOAL SETTING]

Think about any of the students you worked with on GOAL SETTING for their writing. Did you teach them about any of the following strategies? (Mark all that apply)

Note. Goal Setting refers to identifying objectives for writing effectively and linking those ideas to plans and strategies.

☐ To set goals (e.g., provided students with a list of writing goals that represent the qualities of good writing and the criteria on which they will be evaluated)

☐ To individualize goals (e.g., provided students with a list of individualized writing goals and had them select one or more goals to focus on while writing)

☐ To evaluate their goals to see if they are achievable

☐ To evaluate their goals to see if they align with the purpose and intended audience of the writing

☐ To develop a plan to meet their individual goals

☐ To monitor their progress toward their goals

☐ None of the above [Skip to next set of follow-up questions if respondent checked yes for another component; otherwise, skip to final set of questions]

Think about any of the strategies you taught students on GOAL SETTING for their writing. Did you use any part of the model-practice-reflect cycle?

	Yes	No
MODEL the approach by demonstrating and verbally describing the use of the approach?
Provide opportunities for your students to PRACTICE the approach either independently, with you or another teacher, or with a peer?
Engage students to REFLECT on their own or their peers’ use of the approach?

DRAFTING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS [If Q1=YES, engaged in DRAFTING]

Think about any of the students you worked with on DRAFTING their writing. Did you teach them about any of the following strategies? (Mark all that apply)

Note. Drafting refers to selecting words and sentences that most accurately convey ideas and transcribing those words and sentences into written language.

☐ To “free-write” on a topic

☐ To write following a plan, e.g., outline

☐ To write following a strategy that you selected, e.g., graphic organizer

☐ To write with goals, purpose, and audience in mind

☐ To develop a complete first draft of a piece of writing

☐ To write using sentence starters

☐ None of the above [Skip to next set of follow-up questions if respondent checked yes for another component; otherwise, skip to final set of questions]

Think about any of the strategies you taught students on DRAFTING their writing. Did you use any part of the model-practice-reflect cycle?

	Yes	No
MODEL the approach by demonstrating and verbally describing the use of the approach?
Provide opportunities for your students to PRACTICE the approach either independently, with you or another teacher, or with a peer?
Engage students to REFLECT on their own or their peers’ use of the approach?

EVALUATING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS [If Q1=YES, engaged in EVALUATING]

Think about any of the students you worked with on EVALUATING their writing. Did you teach them about any of the following strategies? (Mark all that apply)

Note. Evaluating refers to determining whether the text matches the writer’s goals based on self-review or external feedback (e.g., peer or teacher conferencing).

☐ To assess whether their writing is achieving its intended purpose

☐ To determine whether their writing is appropriate for the intended audience

☐ To use color coding to identify the appropriate use of different writing elements

☐ To use a checklist or rubric to determine whether the writing meets specified criteria

☐ None of the above [Skip to next set of follow-up questions if respondent checked yes for another component; otherwise, skip to final set of questions]

Think about any of the strategies you taught students on EVALUATING their writing. Did you use any part of the model-practice-reflect cycle?

	Yes	No
MODEL the approach by demonstrating and verbally describing the use of the approach?
Provide opportunities for your students to PRACTICE the approach either independently, with you or another teacher, or with a peer?
Engage students to REFLECT on their own or their peers’ use of the approach?

REVISING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS [If Q1=YES, engaged in REVISING]

Think about any of the students you worked with on REVISING their writing. Did you teach them about any of the following strategies? (Mark all that apply)

Note. Revising refers to making changes to the text based on self-evaluation and feedback from others (e.g., changing the overall organization of a piece, changing the content, clarifying meaning).

☐ To revise their writing by using highlighting to help visualize how they are using evidence to prove their argument, and then making revisions (e.g., adding additional evidence)

☐ To revise their writing based on teacher feedback

☐ To revise their writing based on peer feedback

☐ To revise their writing using a checklist or rubric

☐ To revise their writing using specific sentence starters (e.g., for evidence or commentary)

☐ To revise their writing with a focus on the intended purpose and audience

☐ To revise their writing to address the problems they identified in their writing

☐ None of the above [Skip to next set of follow-up questions if respondent checked yes for another component; otherwise, skip to final set of questions]

Think about any of the strategies you taught students on REVISING their writing. Did you use any part of the model-practice-reflect cycle?

	Yes	No
MODEL the approach by demonstrating and verbally describing the use of the approach?
Provide opportunities for your students to PRACTICE the approach either independently, with you or another teacher, or with a peer?
Engage students to REFLECT on their own or their peers’ use of the approach?

EDITING FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS [If Q1=YES, engaged in EDITING]

Think about any of the students you worked with on EDITING their writing. Did you teach them about any of the following strategies? (Mark all that apply)

Note. Editing refers to making changes to ensure that the text correctly adheres to the conventions of written English (e.g., correcting spelling, grammar, sentence structure).

☐ To edit using a checklist

☐ To edit using a strategy to find errors or mistakes, e.g., reading text backwards

☐ To edit using support materials, e.g., dictionary, thesaurus

☐ To edit using word processing tools, e.g., find and replace

☐ To edit by reading aloud

☐ To edit with a peer

☐ To edit through a teacher conference

☐ None of the above [Skip to next set of follow-up questions if respondent checked yes for another component; otherwise, skip to final set of questions]

Think about any of the strategies you taught students on EDITING their writing. Did you use any part of the model-practice-reflect cycle?

	Yes	No
MODEL the approach by demonstrating and verbally describing the use of the approach?
Provide opportunities for your students to PRACTICE the approach either independently, with you or another teacher, or with a peer?
Engage students to REFLECT on their own or their peers’ use of the approach?

Part 3. Professional Development

[Only asked on Day 5 in Spring 2025; Text in Brackets is for Toolkit Teachers Only]

Did you participate in any professional development on writing [other than the toolkit PLCs] during this school year?

Note. Professional development is often delivered to groups and may include workshops, seminars, courses (online or in-person), or professional learning communities. For this question, please do not consider any individualized coaching you received from a district or school leader, mentor teacher, or instructional coach on writing.

☐ Yes

☐ No [Skip to Q3]

Please list any professional development on writing [other than the toolkit PLCs] you participated in during the 2024-25 school year and complete the table below.

	Main Topic(s) of Professional Development (Check relevant topic(s) of PD or specify other topic(s) in the other column)
Name of Professional Development (PD)	Commercial writing program	Writing assessment	Effective writing instructional practices	SBA state ELA assessment	HI state standards for writing	Other: Specify___	Who provided the PD?	What was the total # of hours of the PD (could be over multiple days)?
1
2
3
4

Did you receive any individualized coaching on writing instruction during the 2024-25 school year?

Note. Coaching is one-on-one individualized support from a district or school leader, mentor teacher, or instructional coach to improve teachers’ instructional skills.

☐ Yes

☐ No [Skip to End]

Please list any coaching on writing instruction that you received in the 2024-25 school year and complete the table below.

	Main Topic(s) of Coaching (Check relevant topic(s) of coaching or specify other topic(s) in the other column)
	Commercial writing program	Writing assessment	Effective writing instructional practices	SBA state ELA assessment	HI state standards for writing	Other: Specify	Who provided the coaching? (Pick one: Content lead or instructional coach from school or district; Mentor teacher; External coach (e.g., university, curriculum developer); Other (specify)	What was the frequency of coaching? (semester; quarterly; monthly; biweekly; weekly; other)	What was the total # of hours of coaching in 2024/25 school year?
1
2
3
4

End

Thank you for completing the Secondary Writing Toolkit Teacher Log!

[For spring log only]

Please provide the email address you would like us to use to send your e-gift card. You will

receive $10 for each day you complete the log.

You should receive your e-gift card within four weeks.

Professional Learning Tracker

Purpose:

The purpose of the Professional Learning Tracker (PLT) is to gather data on the implementation of the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) and independent work that are core components of the Toolkit. The data from the PLT will be used to provide descriptive information on implementation of the PLCs and to calculate fidelity of implementation scores for each school and for the Toolkit implementation overall.

Notes on Administration:

At the initial training for the peer facilitators, REL Pacific (Abt) will lead a session on the purpose of the PLT, the expectations for completing it, how to access the online PLT and navigate within it, and the incentive amount. REL Pacific (Abt) will emphasize the integral role of the evaluation in this implementation of the Toolkit and will instruct peer facilitators to reserve the last 10 minutes of each PLC session for everyone in attendance to complete the PLT.
Peer facilitators and teachers will log in to the PLT a total of eight times—twice for each of four modules.
REL Pacific (Abt) will create an FAQ about the purpose of the PLT and instructions for completing it for peer facilitators to either send out to their teachers before the first PLC or to share with teachers during the first PLC. The FAQ will include a toll-free number to call with questions on using the PLT. The toll-free number will be monitored daily at REL Pacific (Abt) by a project member who will troubleshoot issues for peer facilitators and teachers.
REL Pacific (Abt) will contact each of the peer facilitators before their first PLC to obtain the list of teacher participants’ names and emails and their PLC schedule and names of the modules that will be covered during each PLC session.
REL Pacific (Abt) will develop the PLT as an online system. REL Pacific (Abt) will email teachers and peer facilitators with instructions on how to set up a user account in the system and attach the FAQ. Before the first PLC, REL Pacific (Abt) will make sure that each peer facilitator and teacher has been able to set up an account in the online system.
REL Pacific (Abt) will track completion of the PLT at the end of each PLC session and will follow-up via email and phone calls to non-respondents to increase response rates.
REL Pacific (Abt) will send teachers and peer facilitators $50 after the last PLC session in March 2025 for their participation in the data collection.

Notes on PLT Organization:

There are two versions of the PLT – one for teachers and one for peer facilitators. The teacher version focuses on teachers’ experiences completing the independent work before each PLC session and their experiences in the PLC sessions. For peer facilitators, the PLT asks questions that are specific to their role as facilitators of the PLCs.
The PLT will ask about the activities in the professional learning sequence (see table below) for each of the four modules that PLCs are to cover during Toolkit implementation: 1) Cognitive Strategies for Writing and Reading and Using Exemplars of Policy Arguments; 2) Strategies for Planning, Goal Setting, and Drafting; 3) Strategies for Evaluating, Revising, and Editing; 4) Providing Targeted Feedback.

Professional Learning Sequence for Each Module (up to four hours total, over a four-week period)
Activity/Time	Description
Independent Work 1: Overview of Practice (30–45 minutes)	Watch brief overview video (selected modules) and read relevant section from the Practice Guide to build content knowledge.
PLC Session 1: Deepening Knowledge of Practice (45–60 minutes)	Use a protocol for reflecting on and discussing reading and/or introductory video or reading to build content knowledge. Use a protocol for viewing and discussing classroom video that focuses on a recommendation and demonstrates the Model-Practice-Reflect cycle (R1b) to build content knowledge. Use planning template to make a preliminary plan for implementing the recommended practice for the module. Use a protocol to discuss draft lesson plan with another teacher.
Independent Work 2: Planning and Implementing Classroom Practice (45–75 minutes, not including teaching)	Write a response to the writing assignment given to students (Obstacle 1.3). Teach the learning sequence to try out a new practice. Reflect on what worked and what you would do differently next time (Obstacle 1.1). Collect student work for analysis in preparation for getting feedback (2 successful, 2 moderate, 2 basic examples) (Obstacle 1.2).
PLC Session 2: Reflecting on Student Impact and Planning for Sustainability (45–60 minutes)	Share reflections with a partner on what worked and what you would do differently and report out to get feedback and troubleshoot challenges (Obstacle 1.1 and 1.2). In pairs, analyze student work for strategy use or writing quality depending on focus of the PLC sequence to get feedback and troubleshoot challenges (Obstacle 1.1, 1.2, 1.4, 1.5 – depending on the module). Self-reflection on the full module when exiting the PLC session. After modules 2 and 4, we will use the Ongoing Monitoring Tool as part of the reflection.

Each time peer facilitators and teachers log in to the PLT, they will be asked to select the module that they have covered in that day’s PLC and whether they attended PLC Session 1 or PLC Session 2. When they select the name of the module and the PLC session number, they will be directed to a screen that includes module-specific information, such as the names of specific videos and sections of the Practice Guide that are relevant to that module, and to PLC Session 1 activities or PLC Session 2 activities.

Professional Learning Tracker - Teachers

Welcome to the Professional Learning Tracker (PLT)!

We are asking you to complete this tracker AT THE END of each of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions to help the evaluation team learn more about your experiences in the PLC sessions.

After your last PLC session in March 2025, you will receive $50 for participating in this data collection.

Is participation voluntary?

Yes, participation is voluntary. You can decide not to respond to this survey or to skip any question.

Will Abt keep my information confidential (private)?

Abt will create a dataset for the U.S. Department of Education (ED) that will include de-identified data from this tracker. These data could be distributed to another investigator for future research studies without additional informed consent from you. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by ED.

Instructions

Please use the buttons at the bottom of the screen to advance to the next screen, return to a previous screen, or submit when you have completed the questions.
This brief tracker should take you about 10 minutes to complete.
If you missed an item on one of the questions with multiple rows, you'll notice the missed row will be highlighted. This will allow you to go back and respond to the missed items.
When you have completed all questions, please click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the final survey page.

PLC Session 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1

Before today’s PLC session, did you complete the following independent work:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Watched the overview video that corresponds with the Module?	☐	☐
			How helpful were the videos in building your content knowledge? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
			How helpful were the videos in preparing you for the PLC session? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Read relevant section(s) from the WWC Practice Guide?	☐	☐	Which Practice Guide section(s) did you read: [Choose from drop-down list of relevant Practice Guide Summary and module-specific Practice Guide sections: Module 1 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 2, pp. 5-6 Practice Guide, Recommendation 2, pp. 31-42 Module 2 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 1, pp. 2-5 Practice Guide, Recommendation 1, pp. 6-18 Module 3 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 1, pp. 2-5 Practice Guide, Recommendation 1b, pp.19-30 Module 4 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 3, pp. 7-8 Practice Guide, Recommendation 3, pp. 43-55
			How helpful were the Practice Guide readings in building your content knowledge? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
			How helpful were the Practice Guide readings in preparing you for the PLC session? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Completed the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool during Session 1.1/before this session? (Session 1.2 only)	☐	☐	How helpful was the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool in identifying what you already know/need to learn about the recommended practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Set goals based on the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool? (Sessions 1.2, 2.1, and 4.1 only)	☐	☐	How helpful was setting goals based on the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool in preparing for the PLC session? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

During today’s PLC session, did you do the following activities:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Discussed the results and goals from your own and your colleagues’ Teacher Self-Reflection Tool? (Session 1.2, 2.1, and 4.1 only)	☐	☐	How helpful was the discussion of the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool in helping you understand what you already know/need to learn? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
	☐	☐	How helpful was the discussion of your goals from the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool during the PLC? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Reflected on and discussed the video and the Practice Guide Summary that you reviewed prior to the session?	☐	☐	How helpful was the discussion in deepening your understanding of the recommended practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Watched videos of classroom instruction that modeled the recommended practices for the Module?	☐	☐	Which videos did you watch? [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific videos]
	☐	☐	How helpful were the videos in deepening your understanding of the recommended practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Reflected on and discussed the video watched during the session?	☐	☐	How helpful was the discussion in deepening your understanding of the recommended practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Used a lesson planning template to make a preliminary plan for implementing the recommended practices for the Module?	☐	☐	Which planning template did you use? [Choose from drop-down list of 3 templates: (1) Classroom Video Lesson; (2) Retrofitting an Existing Lesson or Extending Your Practice; (3) Create Your Own Lesson]
	☐	☐	How helpful was the planning template in creating a preliminary plan for the recommended practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
	☐	☐	Which practices did you include in your preliminary plan? [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific practices]
Discussed your draft lesson plan with another teacher?	☐	☐	How helpful was the discussion with your colleague in refining your lesson plan? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Shape1

Submit

PLC Session 1.3, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2

Before the PLC session today, did you complete the following independent work:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Wrote a response to the writing assignment that you gave your students?	☐	☐	How helpful was it for you to write a response to the writing assignment in preparing you to teach the lesson you designed? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Taught the lesson that you designed which incorporated the recommended practices for the Module?	☐	☐	How well do you think you taught your students to use the recommended practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Reflected on what worked well for you and your students in the lesson you taught and what you would do differently next time?	☐	☐	How helpful was it for you to reflect on your lesson in order to plan for future instruction? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Collected student work?	☐	☐	How helpful was it for you to collect student work to support or plan for your future instruction of the practices? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

During today’s PLC session, did you do the following activities:

Activity	Yes		No	If yes…
Analyzed the examples of your students’ work?	☐	☐		Did you work with other teachers? ☐ Yes ☐ No How helpful was the analysis of your students’ work in understanding your students’ successes and challenges with the strategy? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ How helpful was the analysis of your students’ work in planning for next instructional steps? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Reflected and participated in the Lesson Reflection Discussion?	☐		☐	How helpful was participating in the Lesson Reflection Discussion in planning for how to implement the recommended practices for this Module in the future? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Completed and discussed the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool for the Module? (Sessions 1.3, 3.2, and 4.2 ONLY)	☐		☐	How helpful was completing the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool for the Module in helping you understand the progress you are making toward your learning goals? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Submit

Professional Learning Tracker - Peer Facilitators

Welcome to the Professional Learning Tracking (PLT)!

We are asking you to complete this tracker AT THE END of each of the Professional Learning Community (PLC) sessions to help the evaluation team learn more about your experiences in the PLC sessions.

After your last PLC session in March 2025, you will receive $50 for participating in this data collection.

Is participation voluntary?

Yes, participation is voluntary. You can decide not to respond to this survey or to skip any question.

Will Abt keep my information confidential (private)?

Abt is committed to keeping your personal information private. There is a small risk of loss of confidentiality. Abt has many procedures in place to reduce this risk. Paper files will be stored in a locked file cabinet and all digital files will be password protected so that only project researchers can access them. After Abt collects all data, all personally identifiable information (PII) will be replaced with study-created identifiers and all PII will be destroyed. Responses to all data collections will be used for statistical purposes only and will not associate responses with a specific school or individual. Abt will never include your name or your individual information in any report. Responses to all data collections will be used for statistical purposes only and will not associate responses with a specific school or individual. Abt will report findings only at the district level and will name HIDOE as the district. Abt will not use your information for any other purpose than this study. That said, it may not always be possible to maintain complete anonymity for your responses based on the small size of the group and the distinct role of the peer facilitator. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by ED.

Instructions

Please use the buttons at the bottom of the screen to advance to the next screen, return to a previous screen, or submit when you have completed the questions.
This brief tracker should take you about 10 minutes to complete.
If you missed an item on one of the questions with multiple rows, you'll notice the missed row will be highlighted. This will allow you to go back and respond to the missed items.
When you have completed all questions, please click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the final page.

PLC SESSION 1.2, 2.1, 3.1, 4.1

Before the PLC session today, did you complete the following independent work:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Reviewed relevant sections from the Facilitator Guide?	☐	☐	Which sections did you review? [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific Facilitator Guide sections]
			How helpful was the Facilitator Guide in preparing you to lead PLC session [#.#] for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Watched video(s) that correspond to the Module?	☐	☐	Which videos did you watch? [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific videos]
			Which classroom video did you select for use during the session? [Choose from list of Module-specific classroom videos] (Modules 1, 2, and 3 only)
			How helpful were the videos in preparing you to lead PLC Session [#.#] for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Read relevant section(s) from the WWC Practice Guide?	☐	☐	Which Practice Guide section(s) did you review? [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific Practice Guide sections: Module 1 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 2, pp. 5-6 Practice Guide, Recommendation 2, pp. 31-42 Module 2 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 1, pp. 2-5 Practice Guide, Recommendation 1, pp. 6-18 Module 3 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 1, pp. 2-5 Practice Guide, Recommendation 1b, pp.19-30 Module 4 Practice Guide Summary, Recommendation 3, pp. 7-8 Practice Guide, Recommendation 3, pp. 43-55
			How helpful was reviewing the relevant Practice Guide sections in preparing you to lead PLC Session [#.#] for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Completed the brief, independent preparation assignment that other teachers completed?	☐	☐	How helpful was reviewing the brief, independent preparation assignment in preparing you to lead PLC Session [#.#] for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

During today’s PLC session, did you do the following activities:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Led teachers in using the “Discuss What Works” protocol for reflecting on and discussing the video and sections of the Practice Guide Summary that they reviewed prior to this session?	☐	☐	How helpful do you think the use of the protocol was in deepening teachers’ understanding of the recommended strategies? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Led teachers in discussing videos of classroom instruction that modeled the recommended strategies for the Module?	☐	☐	Which video(s) did you show in PLC Session [#.#]? (Sessions 1.2, 2.1, and 3.1 only) [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific videos]
	☐	☐	How helpful do you think that discussing the videos was in deepening teachers’ understanding of the recommended strategies for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Led teachers in making a preliminary plan for implementing the recommended strategies for the Module?	☐	☐	How helpful do you think the planning template was in helping teachers create a lesson plan for implementing the recommended strategies? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Facilitated a discussion of the results from and goals based on the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool? (Module 1 only)	☐	☐	How helpful do you think the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool was in helping teachers understand what they already know/need to learn? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
	☐	☐

Shape3

Submit

PLC Session 2.3, 2.2, 3.2, 4.2

Before today’s PLC session, did you complete the following independent work:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Reviewed relevant sections from the Facilitator Guide?	☐	☐	Which section(s) did you review? [Choose from drop-down list of Module-specific Facilitator Guide sections]
Reviewed relevant sections from the Facilitator Guide?	☐	☐	How helpful was the Facilitator Guide in preparing you to lead PLC Session [#.#] for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Completed the “Explore What Works on Your Own” assignment? (Sessions 1.3. 2.2, 3.1)	☐	☐	How helpful was completing the “Explore What Works on Your Own” assignment in preparing you to lead PLC Session [#.#] for this Module? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

During today’s PLC session, did you complete the following activities:

Activity	Yes	No	If yes…
Led teachers in analyzing examples of their students’ work?	☐	☐	How helpful do you think analyzing students’ work was in helping teachers understand their students’ successes and challenges with the strategy? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐ How helpful do you think analyzing students’ work was in helping teachers plan for next instructional steps? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Facilitated the “Lesson Reflection Discussion Protocol”?	☐	☐	How did teachers reflect and obtain feedback on their lesson plans? ☐ Reflected and discussed feedback with the whole group ☐ Reflected and discussed feedback in pairs/small groups
Facilitated the “Lesson Reflection Discussion Protocol”?	☐	☐	How helpful do you think participating in the Lesson Reflection Discussion protocol was for teachers in planning how to implement the recommended strategies for this Module in the future? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐
Led a discussion of the Teacher Self-Reflection tool? (Sessions 1.3, 3.2, and 4.2 ONLY)	☐	☐	How helpful do you think the discussion about the Teacher Self-Reflection tool was in supporting teachers in reflecting on their learning? Not at all A little Somewhat Very ☐ ☐ ☐ ☐

Shape4

Submit

Peer Facilitator and Teacher Focus Groups

Purpose:

The purpose of the focus groups is to collect qualitative information on the implementation experiences of the participating peer facilitators (n = 20) and ELA teachers (n = 80) in each of the 20 treatment schools. The information will be used to inform future implementation of the Toolkit.

Notes on Administration:

In March 2025, REL Pacific (Abt) will email two respondent groups—peer facilitators and ELA teachers—to invite them to participate in focus groups specific to their role.
REL Pacific (Abt) will offer multiple days and times to each of the respondent groups to increase the likelihood of participation.
REL Pacific (Abt) will offer up to four focus groups for peer facilitators and up to ten focus groups for teachers with the goal of having at least three and no more than eight respondents in each focus group.
REL Pacific (Abt) will conduct all focus groups virtually using the WebEx platform.
REL Pacific (Abt) will send all focus group participants a $30 gift card as a thank you.
REL Pacific (Abt) will collect the names and email addresses of participants during recruitment for the focus groups and will verify them as part of registration.
REL Pacific (Abt) will record and transcribe all focus groups for later qualitative analysis.

Focus Group Protocol - Teachers

Introduction

Thank you for joining the focus group today! We appreciate your willingness to help us learn more about your perceptions of the professional learning you participated in on effective writing instruction, using the Secondary Writing Toolkit from October through February of this school year. The goal of the overall project was to see if implementation of the toolkit PLCs with ELA teachers of grades 6, 7, and 8 resulted in changes in their classroom writing instruction and, consequently, improvements in their students’ writing skills. Teachers in 20 schools participated in the toolkit PLCs over the past school year. We are talking to as many of these teachers as possible about their experiences participating in the toolkit PLCs.

Before we begin, I want to let you know that Abt Associates (Abt) is committed to keeping your personal information private. There is a small risk of loss of confidentiality, but Abt has many procedures in place to reduce this risk. Paper files will be stored in a locked file cabinet and all digital files will be password protected so that only project researchers can access them. After Abt collects all data, all personally identifiable information (PII) will be replaced with study-created identifiers and all PII will be destroyed. Abt will not share your comments with anyone else in your school or district. Abt will never include your name or your individual information in any report. Abt will report findings only at the district level and will name HIDOE as the district. Abt will not use your information for any other purpose than this study. Responses to all data collections will be used for statistical purposes only and responses will not be associated with a specific school or individual. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by the U.S. Department of Education.

Do you mind if we record this conversation just for internal note-taking purposes? [Focus group leader obtains verbal permission for recording from each participant.]

As a reminder, the session is scheduled for about an hour, so we will be sure to wrap up by [end of hour]. Do you have any questions before we get started?

Let’s start by going around and introducing yourself, the name of your school, and the grade level or levels that you teach.

Thanks for sharing! Now, I’m going to ask you about the different resources that were part of the toolkit PLCs, like the Participant Workbook, the WWC Practice Guide Summaries, and the overview and classroom videos.

Which of these resources did you find most useful and why?

Probes:

How useful were these resources in helping you understand the instructional strategies?
How useful were they in helping you understand how to implement the instructional strategies in your classroom?
Was the Participant Workbook useful for organizing your learning?
Were the videos useful as part of preparing for the new material in each PLC session? For starting discussions with other teachers?
Were the videos professional and engaging?
What suggestions do you have for improving any of these resources?
Were there additional topics about which you wish there had been resources available?

Now let’s talk about the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool.

How helpful was the Teacher Self-Reflection Tool in understanding your own strengths and areas for growth in teaching writing?

Probes:

How helpful was it in helping you see your progress or learning across the PLC sessions?
How easy was it to use?
What suggestions do you have for improving it?

Now let’s talk about the PLC sessions. The first PLC session for each module was where teachers learned about a Practice Guide recommendation and developed a plan to implement a recommended strategy with their students.

How useful were the activities/resources in the first PLC session in preparing you to implement the strategies in your classroom?

Probes for different types of activities/resources:

How useful were the videos of classroom instruction in deepening your understanding of the recommended practices?
How useful were the reflections on and discussion of videos in deepening your understanding of the recommended practices?
How useful was using the lesson planning templates in creating preliminary plans for recommended practices?
How useful was discussing your draft lesson plan with another teacher?

Which PLC activities and/or resources were most useful? Why?

The second PLC session for each module was intended to be an opportunity for teachers to reflect on the recommended strategy that they implemented in their classroom, and it included an analysis of student work brought to the PLC session.

How helpful was the analysis of student work in the PLC sessions?

Probes:

What did the analysis of student work teach you about your own instructional practices?
Was the exercise helpful in understanding your students’ successes and challenges with the strategy?

How useful was the Lesson Reflection Discussion in helping you learn what worked well and what did not work well in your classroom?
How useful were these activities in helping you refine your plan for implementing the recommended strategies in your classroom in the future?

I’m going to end by asking you about any challenges with the toolkit PLCs and your thoughts about continuing to use the toolkit PLCs in the future.

What do you think were the biggest challenges with the toolkit PLCs, and what did you/your peers do to address these challenges?
Would you recommend that your school continue using the toolkit PLCs for professional development on writing instruction? Why or why not?
Will you continue to use the materials and resources you learned about in the PLCs in your own classroom instruction even if your school does not continue using them as part of professional development? Why or why not?
1. If yes, which materials and resources will you use? Why those in particular?
Based on your experience this school year, what comments or recommendations do you have about the toolkit PLCs to improve future teachers’ experiences?

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. We appreciate your feedback and insights, which will be used to improve the Toolkit in future implementations.

Focus Group Protocol - Peer Facilitators

Introduction

Thank you for joining the focus group today! We appreciate your willingness to help us learn more about your perceptions of the professional learning you participated in on effective writing instruction, using the Secondary Writing Toolkit. The goal of the overall project was to see if implementation of the toolkit Professional Learning Community (PLC) with ELA teachers of grades 6, 7, and 8 resulted in changes in their classroom writing instruction and, consequently, improvements in their students’ writing skills. Teachers in 20 schools participated in the toolkit PLCs over the past school year, with each PLC led by a peer facilitator.

We are talking to as many peer facilitators as possible about their experiences facilitating the toolkit PLCs. Each of you held two roles—facilitating the PLC as the peer facilitator for your school and as an ELA teacher learning to use the recommended instructional strategies in the classroom. This focus group will concentrate on your role as the peer facilitator, since we have additional focus groups with the participating ELA teachers.

Before we begin, I want to let you know that Abt Associates (Abt) is committed to keeping your personal information private. There is a small risk of loss of confidentiality, but Abt has many procedures in place to reduce this risk. Paper files will be stored in a locked file cabinet and all digital files will be password protected so that only project researchers can access them. After Abt collects all data, all personally identifiable information (PII) will be replaced with study-created identifiers and all PII will be destroyed. Abt will not share your comments with anyone else in your school or district. Abt will never include your name or your individual information in any report. Abt will report findings only at the district level and will name HIDOE as the district. That said, it may not always be possible to maintain complete anonymity for your responses based on the small size of the group and the distinct role of the peer facilitator. Abt will not use your information for any other purpose than this study. Responses to all data collections will be used for statistical purposes only and responses will not be associated with a specific school or individual. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by the U.S. Department of Education.

Do you mind if we record this conversation just for internal note-taking purposes? [Focus group leader obtains verbal permission for recording from each participant.]

As a reminder, the session is scheduled for about an hour, so we will be sure to wrap up by [end of hour]. Do you have any questions before we get started?

Let’s start by going around and introducing yourself, the name of your school, and the grade level or levels that you teach.

As a peer facilitator, you received an initial training in September 2024 and monthly coaching. However, in future implementations, schools will only have access to the Facilitator Guide and the Participant Workbook to implement the PLCs.

How useful has the Facilitator Guide been as a resource for you in your role as a peer facilitator?
1. What parts of the Guide have been the most useful?
Do you think the Facilitator Guide will be sufficient for future peer facilitators to facilitate a PLC? Why or why not?
Are there topics, content, or guidance you would add to the Facilitator Guide and if so, what would they be?
How useful was the Participant Workbook for participating teachers?
1. What parts of the Workbook were most useful to teachers?
Are there topics, content, or guidance you would add to the Participant Workbook and if so, what would they be?

Next, I’d like to ask you about your overall experiences as a peer facilitator.

In terms of the time commitment of the role as peer facilitator, how manageable was it for you to take on this role in addition to your responsibilities as a classroom teacher who was also learning how to implement the Practice Guide recommendations?
Are there additional supports that might have made the role more manageable or made you more effective as a peer facilitator?
What were your biggest challenges in being a peer facilitator and what did you do to address these challenges?

Finally, I’d like to ask you your opinion about future use of the toolkit PLCs in your school.

Would you recommend that your school continue using the toolkit PLCs for professional development on writing? Why or why not?
Will you continue to use the materials and resources that you learned about in the PLCs in your own classroom instruction even if your school does not continue using them as part of professional development? Why or why not?
1. If likely that you will continue to use, which materials and resources will you use? Why those in particular?
Based on your experience this school year, what comments or recommendations do you have to improve future peer facilitators’ experiences facilitating the toolkit PLCs?

Thank you for taking the time to talk with us today. We appreciate your feedback and insights, which will be used to improve the toolkit activities and resources for future implementations.

Administrator Survey

Purpose:

This survey has three sections with the following purposes.
- Section 1 (Treatment only)
  - Data to evaluate fidelity of implementation to the intervention for the Administrator Training and Supports component of the logic model.
  - Data to provide contextual information on implementation.
- Section 2 (Treatment and Comparison)
  - Information about the professional development on writing instruction that grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in the school were offered during the current school year.
  - We will use these data to address the research question on the treatment-comparison contrast in professional development on writing and to describe the counterfactual.
- Section 3 (Treatment and Comparison)
  - Background information on administrators that we will use to address the research question on participant characteristics.

Notes on Administration:

In March 2025, REL Pacific (Abt) will send each administrator in both treatment and comparison schools an individualized link to the survey and an introductory email that explains the purpose of the survey, the length, the due date, and the incentive amount.
Administrators will be asked to complete the survey in one week and will be sent $15 for completing the survey.
The study team will follow-up via email and phone calls to non-respondents to increase response rates.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Dear <Insert Administrator Name>,

If Treatment School Administrator:

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED)-sponsored evaluation of the Secondary Writing Toolkit, Abt Associates (Abt) is sending you this brief survey because you are an administrator in a school that implemented the Toolkit. Grades 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school have been meeting in a Professional Learning Community to work together to learn about effective practices and to use them with their students. The survey asks about the ways you may have been involved in supporting teachers as they learned new strategies for teaching writing through the Toolkit activities from October through February of this school year. The survey also asks about any other professional development on writing instruction that was offered to the grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school this year, in addition to the Toolkit training. We understand that you may not be the person in your school in the best position to know about the professional development offerings on writing instruction offered this year, but we are hoping you can have the right person in your school provide responses to that section of the survey. The survey finishes with questions about your experiences and background as an administrator.

If Comparison School Administrator:

On behalf of the U.S. Department of Education (ED)-sponsored evaluation of the Secondary Writing Toolkit, Abt Associates (Abt) is sending you this brief survey because you are an administrator in a school that participated in the evaluation as a comparison school. The survey asks about any professional development on writing instruction that was offered to grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school this year. We understand that you may not be the person in your school in the best position to know about the professional development offerings on writing instruction offered this year, but we are hoping you can have the right person in your school provide responses to that section of the survey. The survey finishes with questions about your experiences and background as an administrator.

Is participation voluntary?

Yes, participation is voluntary. You can decide not to respond to this survey or to skip any question.

Will Abt keep my information confidential (private)?

Abt will create a dataset for ED that will include de-identified data from this survey. These data could be distributed to another investigator for future research studies without additional informed consent from you. Abt will destroy all data stored at Abt in 2031, five years after the end of the study, as required by ED.

The survey should take about 10 minutes to complete. In appreciation of your time, we will send you a $15 e-gift card once you have submitted your survey responses. We ask that you complete the survey no later than <date>. You can access the survey on your cell phone, computer, laptop, iPad, or tablet.

Please follow this link to access the survey:

We appreciate your willingness to help us with this important effort. Thank you very much for your participation!

Instructions

Please use the buttons at the bottom of the screen to advance to the next screen, return to a previously answered section, or submit when you have completed the survey.

When you have completed all questions, please click the "Submit" button at the bottom of the final survey page.

Section 1

(Treatment School Administrators Only)

As you answer the following questions, please think about October to February of this school year when teachers were participating in toolkit PLCs and learning about writing strategies and implementing them in their classrooms.

How would you describe the extent to which you provide instructional leadership in your school? [select one]

☐ I am very involved in directly working with teachers around instruction

☐ I am somewhat involved in directly working with teachers around instruction—most of the direct work with teachers on instruction is carried out by other administrators or content area leads

☐ I have little to no role in direct instructional leadership in my school—the direct work with teachers on instruction is carried out by other administrators or content area leads

Who was responsible for identifying/recruiting a peer facilitator to lead the toolkit PLC sessions for your teachers?

☐ I was mostly responsible

☐ I was responsible in concert with other school staff/content area leads

☐ Other school staff/content area leads were responsible

☐ I don’t know who did this for our school

How difficult was it for your school to identify and recruit a peer facilitator from among your teachers?

☐ Very difficult

☐ Somewhat difficult

☐ Not at all difficult

☐ I don’t know

Did you review the introductory PowerPoint about the Secondary Writing Toolkit?

☐ Yes

☐ No

If yes, how useful was the information in the introductory PowerPoint in helping you support your teachers implement the toolkit PLCs and incorporate effective writing practices in their classrooms this past year?

☐ Very useful

☐ Somewhat useful

☐ Not useful

☐ I don’t know

If yes, what recommendations do you have for additional information that would make the introductory PowerPoint more useful?

______________________________________________________________________________

Did you use the Secondary Writing Toolkit Lesson Planning Checklist and Conversation Guide for Administrators and Teachers?

☐ Yes

☐ No

If yes, how useful was the information in the Lesson Planning Checklist and Conversation Guide for Administrators and Teachers in helping you collaboratively assess how teachers were incorporating practices for teaching writing this past year?

☐ Very useful

☐ Somewhat useful

☐ Not useful

☐ I don’t know

If yes, what recommendations do you have for additional information that would make the Lesson Planning Checklist and Conversation Guide for Administrators and Teachers more useful?

______________________________________________________________________________

Did you observe any of the PLC sessions in person?

☐ Yes—I observed one of the PLC sessions

☐ Yes—I observed more than one of the PLC sessions

☐ No

Did you play any of the following roles in ensuring that your teachers were able to participate in the toolkit PLCs?

Encouraging your teachers to participate in all of the toolkit PLC sessions? ☐ Yes ☐ No
Ensuring that the head of the English Language Arts department was kept informed about the toolkit PLCs? ☐ Yes ☐ No
Helping arrange for their classes to be covered during the toolkit PLCs? ☐ Yes ☐ No
Helping arrange for space in the school for the toolkit PLC sessions to be held? ☐ Yes ☐ No

Were there any other literacy initiatives going on in your school during the 2024-25 school year, in addition to the toolkit PLCs?

☐ Yes: specify _______________________________________________

☐ No [skip to Section 2]

How well did the toolkit PLCs fit with these other initiatives?

☐ Fit very well – the toolkit PLCs and the other initiatives were similar in philosophy and approach to instruction

☐ Fit somewhat well – the toolkit PLCs and the other initiatives were only somewhat similar in philosophy and approach to instruction

☐ Did not fit very well – the toolkit PLCs and the other initiatives were dissimilar in philosophy and approach to instruction

Section 2

(Treatment and Comparison School Administrators)

If Treatment School Administrator:

In addition to the toolkit PLCs, did the grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school receive any other professional development on writing instruction in the 2024-25 school year?

☐ Yes

☐ No [skip to Q4]

If Comparison School Administrator:

Did the grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school receive any professional development on writing instruction in the 2024-25 school year?

☐ Yes

☐ No [skip to Q4]

Please list any professional development on writing offered to any of the grade 6-8 teachers in your school in the 2024-25 school year and complete the table below.

Note. Professional development is often delivered to groups and may include workshops, seminars, courses (online or in-person), or professional learning communities. For this question, please do not consider any individualized coaching teachers received from a district or school leader, mentor teacher, or instructional coach on writing.

Name of Professional Development	Main Topic(s) of Professional Development (Check relevant topic(s) of PD or specify other topic(s) in the other column)						Who provided the PD?	What was the total # of hours of the PD (could be over multiple days)?	Grade(s) of Teachers Participating in PD
	Commercial writing program	Writing assessment	Effective writing instructional practices	SBA state ELA assessment	HI state standards for writing	Other: specify______			Grade(s) of Teachers Participating in PD
	Commercial writing program	Writing assessment	Effective writing instructional practices	SBA state ELA assessment	HI state standards for writing	Other: specify______			6	7	8
1
2
3
4

Note. Coaching is one-on-one individualized support from a district or school leader, mentor teacher, or instructional coach to improve teachers’ instructional skills.

If Treatment School Administrator:

In addition to the toolkit PLCs, did the grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school receive any coaching on writing instruction in the 2024-25 school year?

☐ Yes

☐ No [skip to Section 3]

If Comparison School Administrator:

Did the grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers in your school receive any coaching on writing instruction in the 2024-25 school year?

☐ Yes

☐ No [skip to Section 3]

Please describe any coaching on writing instruction that your grade 6-8 English Language Arts teachers were offered in the 2024-25 school year and complete the table below.

Note. Coaching is one-on-one individualized support from a district or school leader, mentor teacher, or instructional coach to improve teachers’ instructional skills.

Main Topic(s) of Coaching

(Check relevant topic(s) of coaching or specify other topic(s) in the other column)

Who provided the coaching? (Pick one:

Content lead or instructional coach from school or district;

Mentor teacher; External coach (e.g., university, curriculum developer); Other (specify)

What was the frequency of coaching? (semester, quarterly, monthly, biweekly, weekly, other)

What was the total # of hours of coaching in the 2024/25 school year?

Grade(s) of Teachers Participating in Coaching

Commercial writing program

Writing assessment

Effective writing instructional practices

SBA state ELA assessment

HI state standards for writing

Other: specify______

Section 3

(Treatment and Comparison School Administrators)

Let’s end with some information about your experiences as a school administrator.

How long have you been an administrator?

☐ < 1 year

☐ > 1 and < 3 years

☐ > 3 years and < 7 years

☐ > 7 years

How long have you been a principal at your current school?

☐ < 1 year

☐ > 1 and < 3 years

☐ > 3 years and < 7 years

☐ > 7 years

Have you ever been a teacher?

☐ Yes

☐ No

What is your highest level of education?

☐ Bachelors degree

☐ Masters degree

☐ EdD or PhD

That’s the last question! Thank you for your time!

Please provide the email address you would like us to use to send your incentive. You should receive your gift card in 2-4 weeks.

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Author	Missy Robinson
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File Created	2023-09-18