Keeping an EYE on Things: Classroom Observation and Fidelity of Implementation

Introduction Engineering curricula present a complex mix of instructional activities that share elements of traditional instruction, but also involve instructional activities that are unique. Capturing those elements in the classroom and determining their fidelity involves viewing classrooms from multiple perspectives. In our work in developing and testing Engineering modules middle school students, we have spent a great deal of time exploring how best to determine whether the intended activities in the classroom correspond with the vision of the modules that the developers had in mind. Hence we have continually observed and made videos of teachers engaged in implementing both the draft and finalized versions of the modules. So, now, as we move from the development to the implementation phase of our project we move on with a systematic plan for examining whether the implementation of the modules is going as intended.