Project Follow Through - Sponsors and Models

Sponsors and Models

If the planners of Follow Through had conflicting views on the real purpose of the program, the selection of sponsors was equally imprecise. Follow Through sponsors were an eclectic mix of individuals or groups conducting research on instructional methods. Some came from universities, including schools of education. Others were involved in private or grant-based research efforts (Watkins, 1997, p. 16). The selection method was unclear. According to Watkins (1997), "invitations were apparently extended to any group conducting research on instructional methods" (p. 16).

Some of the sponsors had fairly well developed interventions based on theories of instruction. Others merely had ideas for what might constitute effective interventions. The sponsors also differed widely on the outcomes they expected as a result of their programs. Some sponsors had very specific goals which they believed would lead to very specific outcomes, such as improved literacy skills on measures of reading achievement. Others had more general goals, such as increased self-esteem, or heightened parental involvement in schooling. Most of the programs were in a very early stage of development and had not been extensively (or even moderately) field-tested or piloted. Some programs were so ambiguous that Elmore (1977) wrote that “most program developers were simply not clear what their programs would actually look like in a fully operational form” (p. 199). Many sponsors could not explain precisely which aspects of their models would lead to the stated outcome goals of the model.

Despite ambiguities among many of the models (and the minute shades of distinction between some models) the Follow Through literature classified models according to the degree of structure they offered, and where they place emphasis on learning.

The "degree of structure" (e.g. "low," "medium," or "high") offered by a particular model is evidenced by how closely teachers were instructed to adhere to specific procedures, including: ways of arranging the classroom and delivering instruction, the degree of interaction between adults and children, the level of parental involvement, and so forth. Below are brief examples of two models that represent extremes of the spectrum.

Direct Instruction model. Developed by Siegfried Engelmann and Wesley Becker of the University of Oregon, direct instruction is scripted and specifies precisely what the teacher says and what the students’ responses should be. Moreover, the program designers carefully sequenced the instruction so that students do not progress to higher-order skills unless they have mastered prerequisite basic skills. There is a high degree of interaction between teachers and students so the teacher may receive continuous feedback about how well the students are doing, and adjusts instruction accordingly. The program makes a specific distinction between on-task and off-task behavior: instruction is arranged so that students are fully engaged in learning (via frequent checking for understanding and praises by the teacher) the majority of the time. According to the program sponsors, anything presumed to be learned by students must first be taught by the teacher (Maccoby & Zellner, 1970, p. 8).

Bank Street model. The Bank Street model was developed by Elizabeth Gilkerson and Herbert Zimiles of the Bank Street College of Education in New York. In this model, the students themselves direct learning: they select what tasks they wish to engage in, alone or with peers. The teacher arranges the classroom in ways that the sponsors believe will create the conditions for successful learning: various objects and media are available for children to interact with, and the teacher acts as a facilitator, guiding students through activities. According to the program sponsors, students use previously learned knowledge to construct new knowledge. According to the sponsors, given a safe and stable environment, learning is a process that occurs naturally, (Maccoby & Zellner, 1970, pp. 10–11).

In his evaluation of the operational facets of Follow Through, Elmore (1977) expressed concern that the shades of distinction among models in terms of structure made comparisons and final analysis among models problematic. Descriptions of the interventions derived from the sponsors themselves. There was no other reliable source from which the program administrators could obtain information about them. Indeed, had they been able to see examples of the different models being implemented, they might have been able to ask clarifying questions in order to better distringuish between them—and for purposes of assessment.

Program models were also classified by where they place emphasis on learning, according to three educational orientations: basic skills, cognitive conceptual skills, and affective/cognitive behavior (also see Appendix A).

• Basic Skills Models- Concerned primarily with the teaching of basic skills (e.g., the “elementary skills of vocabulary, arithmetic computation, spelling, and language” (Stebbins, et al., 1977, p. xxiii))
• Cognitive Conceptual Skills Models- Emphasized so-called “higher-order thinking skills” and problem-solving skills (Stebbins, et al., 1977, p. xxiii)
• Affective/Cognitive Skills Models- Focused on students’ affect (i.e., self-esteem), on the premise that feelings of positive self-worth lead to success in cognitive skills (Stebbins, et al., 1977, p. xxiv)

Despite the differences, there were points of agreement among all sponsors. Sponsors agreed that their interventions should be developmentally appropriate—that is, models take account of where students are in their development as learners. Second, everyone agreed that teaching and learning should be responsive to the needs of individual learners. Third, they agreed that all students—even those from the most disadvantaged backgrounds—could learn to the level of their more fortunate peers. Fourth, classroom management procedures that create an appropriate learning environment should be emphasized. Fifth, school should be a place where students experience both high self-esteem and academic success. Ironically, the last point of agreement—as far as Maccoby and Zellner (1970, pp. 23–25) were concerned—was that all interventions should have very clear objectives about the content and skills that students should know and be able to do. This last detail is worth noting for two reasons. First, the program outcome goals that were provided by sponsors appeared relatively broad. For example, the sponsors of the Tucson Early Education Model explain that “there us relatively less emphasis on which items are taught and on the transmission of specific content, and more emphasis on ‘learning to learn’” (Maccoby & Zellner, 1970, pp. 15–16). Likewise, teachers of the Cognitive Curriculum design their own approaches to instruction (including the specification of learning goals), with assistance from sponsors and fellow staff members (Maccoby & Zellner, 1970, pp. 20–21). While the outcome goals might commonly be described as high levels of academic achievement or mastery of basic and higher-order thinking skills, exactly how students demonstrate these skills is missing in the Follow Through literature. During sponsor meetings, there were several heated arguments between some sponsors about the degree of specificity to which they should link facets of their models to student outcomes or behaviors (Watkins, 1997, p. 17). Follow Through administrators could not investigate models more thoroughly because of limited time; indeed, only eight months separated the selection of the sponsored model approach and the start of the experiment. Because Congress had already reduced the program budget, there was legitimate concern among planners that a delay in implementation could be disastrous to the program (Elmore, 1977, p. 174). Another reality was simply the lack of alternate interventions. Because such a large-scale experiment in education had never been done before, the Office of Education had no arsenal of interventions to try out (Elmore, 1977, p. 186).