Choosing Strategies Worksheet
Now that you have analyzed your data and clarified the problem, you are ready to develop a list of strategies that would address the problem. Strategies are an enormous investment in resources, and your team will want to make a wise investment. Your team will need to distinguish between strategies and activities. Activities are specific steps, tasks, or actions in implementing a particular strategy, whereas strategies are a broad approach (i.e. a method, procedure, technique, or game plan) used to accomplish an objective. For example, using media to change attitudes on smoking is a strategy, while developing a billboard message that portrays smoking as a loser's option is an activity.
Be sure to select strategies that
- help you achieve your desired outcomes.
- address identified problems.
- have been shown to be effective.
- can be implemented.
- target the appropriate population.
Before you begin, identify your goal, objective, desired outcome and the evidence that you would accept to indicate that you had attained the desired outcome.
Goal:
Objective:
Strategy I:
Desired Outcome:
Evidence of Attainment:
Use the following questions to determine if you have selected an appropriate strategy:
- How will this strategy help us achieve our outcome?
- How does this strategy address the problem we identified in the problem clarification step?
- What data has shown this to be an effective strategy?
- What are the counter arguments to this being an effective strategy?
- How would we address these counter arguments?
After you reach consensus on the strategies that you will include in your plan, you are ready to identify activities that you will implement to address the strategy and staff development needed to be successful.
-Adapted from Maryland School Improvement Project
