Fink, Ryan
Email Address
ORCID
Disciplines
Search Results
Now showing 1 - 8 of 8
Publication Discipline in Context: Suspension, Climate, and PBIS in the School District of Philadelphia(2017-10-01) Gray, Abigail M; Sirinides, Philip M; Fink, Ryan; Flack, Adrianne; DuBois, Tesla; Morrison, Katrina; Hill, KirstenThe report details a two-year exploratory, mixed-methods research study on the disciplinary practices and climate of schools serving K–8 students in the School District of Philadelphia (SDP). Findings reveal that SDP schools are making efforts to reduce suspensions and improve climate, but critical barriers to these efforts include resource limitations and philosophical misalignments between teachers and school leaders. The study identified three profiles among SDP schools serving K–8 students based on information about disciplinary practices and climate, and found that these profiles are predictive of suspension and academic outcomes. Students attending schools with collaborative climates and less punitive approaches to discipline have lower risk of being suspended and better academic outcomes. The report offers a series of recommendations for strengthening the implementation of climate initiatives, including Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports (PBIS), in challenging urban settings.Publication From the Inside In: An Examination of Common Core Knowledge & Communication in Schools(2014-03-01) Supovitz, Jonathan A; Fink, Ryan; Newman, BobbiIn this report, CPRE researchers explore how Common Core knowledge and influence are distributed inside of schools and how these configurations may help teachers to engage with the Common Core and influence their understanding and implementation. To do so, we used a mixed-method approach to examine knowledge and influence in eight schools, including five elementary schools and three middle schools. Our central method was a survey of knowledge and influence of all faculty members in a sample of eight schools. These data are supplemented with interview data from a purposeful sample of teachers and administrators in the eight schools. Sponsored by the General Electric Foundation, which also provides support to New York City through its Developing FuturesTM in Education Program, the Consortium for Policy Research in Education (CPRE) at the University of Pennsylvania has examined Common Core implementation in New York City in a series of studies. In 2013 CPRE released the findings of two investigations, one which described how the district constructed the 2011-12 Citywide Instructional Expectations (CIEs) for teachers, which were a small number of assignments for school faculties to complete during the school year to facilitate their engagement with the new Common Core (Supovitz, 2013). The second report examined how a diverse sample of 16 schools understood and implemented these CIEs and how their choices influenced their levels of engagement (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, & Riggan, 2013). A third report is a companion to the current report, focusing on teacher collaboration as a means of cultivating and transferring knowledge about the Common Core.Publication Building District Capacity for System-Wide Instructional Improvement in Stamford Public Schools(2013-12-01) Riggan, Matthew; Fink, RyanThis report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education’s (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation’s (GEF) Developing FuturesTM in Education program in Stamford Public Schools (SPS). The purpose was to closely analyze the district’s capacity to support system-wide instructional improvement. To understand how SPS, one of the four Developing FuturesTM districts that were examined, built capacity for system-wide instructional improvement, our study focused on a single, overarching question: to what extent has SPS central office adopted and institutionalized the seven core principles of Developing FuturesTM?Publication Zoology One Efficacy Evaluation Summary of Findings (April 2020)(2020-04-01) Gray, Abigail; Fink, Ryan; Sirinides, Philip; Bowden, BrooksHelping young children become proficient readers is a critical goal. Research tells us that students who experience difficulty reading in the early years of school often struggle to catch up (Stanley, Petscher, & Catts, 2018; Ozernov, , Palchik et al., 2016; Cunningham & Stanovich, 1997; Francis, Shaywitz, Stuebing, Shaywitz, & Fletcher, 1996). This study1 focuses on an innovative curriculum for kindergarten that closely integrates literacy instruction and science exposure. The research study combines a rigorous randomized controlled trial with in-depth cost and implementation studies to investigate impacts.Publication State Education Agencies' Acquisition and Use of Research Knowledge for School Improvement Strategies(2013-09-01) Goertz, Margaret E.; Barnes, Carol; Fink, Ryan; Massell, Diane; Francis, Anthony TufOver the last 20 years, state education agencies (SEAs) have been given considerably more responsibilities for directing and guiding the improvement of low-performing schools. At the same time, federal policies strongly pressed SEAs to use research to design these supports. Very few studies have explored the SEA as an organization, or its role in accessing and using research. Likewise, few, if any, have studied the role of social networks in the organization and flow of information in SEAs. This exploratory study was designed to fill those gaps by examining where and how a purposive sample of three SEAs searched for, incorporated, and used research and other types of knowledge to design, implement, and refine state school improvement policies, programs and practices.Publication An Inquiry into Pennsylvania's Early Childhood Quality Rating and Improvement System(2016-09-01) Sirinides, Philip M; Fantuzzo, John; LeBoeuf, Whitney; Fink, Ryan; Barghaus, KatieHigh-quality care in the earliest years of life has been shown to relate to positive developmental outcomes for children, including improved early academic skills, social-emotional competencies, and cognitive functioning. Unfortunately, the early care experiences of many children are not always high quality; rather, research suggests that high-quality care is the exception. The growing evidence relating quality care to improved learning outcomes, the variability in quality across care settings, and the failure of existing approaches to improve child care have led to a national call to enhance the quality of early care and education programs. In response to this call, states have created Quality Rating and Improvement Systems (QRISs).Publication Building District Capacity for System-Wide Instructional Improvement in Erie Public Schools(2013-12-01) Fink, Ryan; Riggan, Matthew; Sam, Cecile; Darfler, AnneThis report summarizes findings from one component of the Consortium for Policy Research in Education’s (CPRE) evaluation of the General Electric Foundation’s (GEF) Developing FuturesTM in Education program in Erie Public Schools (EPS). The purpose was to closely analyze the district’s capacity to support system-wide instructional improvement. To understand how EPS, one of the four Developing FuturesTM districts that were examined, built capacity for system-wide instructional improvement, our study during Phase Two focused on a single, overarching question: to what extent has EPS central office adopted and institutionalized the seven core principles of Developing FuturesTM?Publication Enactment of Lessons from a Technology-Based Curriculum: The Role of Instructional Practices in Students’ Opportunity to Learn(2018-03-31) Ebby, Caroline Brayer; Sirinides, Philip; Fink, RyanDigital tools and technology-based activities offer new and promising opportunities for students to actively explore mathematical concepts and ideas in ways supported by current reforms and visions of mathematics instruction. This report provides an in-depth look at the implementation of SunBay Digital Mathematics (SunBay Math) during the second year of an i3 validation project, in two large Florida districts. SunBay Math is a set of middle-school curriculum replacement units centered on the use of technology-based, dynamically linked representations to learn core mathematical concepts. We focus specifically on patterns and relationships between instructional practices and instructional quality in 26 videotaped lesson enactments that were purposefully collected to represent variation in implementation.