In-School Instructional Support
In the design of the Chicago Math & Science Initiative (CMSI), the Office of Mathematics and Science leadership team defined five strategic initiatives to help achieve its three long-term goals of improved instruction, workforce development, and coherent policies. In-school instructional support was the strategic initiative identified to provide direct classroom support to teachers as they implemented new instructional materials and practices. This support reinforced and supplemented the math and science content and pedagogy covered in the CMSI professional development.
This section examines what the literature said about different support models, the district context that influenced the design and implementation of this strategic initiative, and the CMSI leadership’s rationale for adopting the support model it did. It then reviews how the CMSI leadership defined key instructional support roles, trained staff in these support roles, and deployed them to participating schools. It considers some of the successes and challenges encountered in implementing these roles. Finally, this section describes how the CMSI leadership modified those support roles in response to changing conditions in the district.
