September 16, 2016

Hexagon Tool

From: Pent
Sent: Friday, September 16, 2016 8:54 AM
Subject: Hexagon Tool

Greetings PENT Cadre members, SELPA Directors, and supporters,

We hope everyone is having a productive start to the 2016-2017 academic year. As members of PENT, it is important for each of us to serve as advocates for the adoption and delivery of the best possible programs and practices for the students we serve. A critical starting point to the entire process of producing better outcomes for children with and without disabilities is the selection of evidence-based practices. Research is quite clear that ineffective interventions that are implemented with perfect fidelity will not produce positive outcomes for students. Implementation will only result in effective outcomes if the practice or program being implemented is effective.

What complicates matters is that selection and adoption decisions are not as easy as choosing the practice with the best scientific evidence linking its delivery to desirable outcomes. Too often interventions that are shown to be effective through tightly controlled research are not practical or feasible to implement in everyday school settings.

Resources such as the Hexagon Tool can assist with the selection/adoption of an evidence-based practice or program. The Hexagon Tool (http://nirn.fpg.unc.edu/learn-implementation/implementation-stages/exploration-readiness [Note, the preceding Web address is no longer available.]) helps individuals and teams of educators gather information about the six broad factors listed below:

  1. Needs - how well the program or practice might meet identified needs.
  2. Fit with current initiatives, priorities, structures and supports, and parent/community values.
  3. Resource Availability - is funding available to implement and sustain the program or practice as intended?
  4. Evidence indicating the outcomes that might be expected if the program or practices are implemented well.
  5. Readiness for Replication - to what degree is the program or practice ‘education ready’?
  6. Capacity to Implement - ability to implement as intended and to sustain and improve implementation over time.

Utilizing resources, such as the Hexagon Tool, can help you and others with whom you interact with and support become more objective and systematic in the critical process of selecting evidence-based practices or programs to implement. Throughout the year, we will continue to explore topics related to the adoption and implementation of evidence-based practices that focuses on promoting the social, emotional, and behavioral wellbeing of students.

Best,

Clayton R. Cook, Ph.D., Licensed Psychologist
PENT Research Director