The research team of the Internal Coherence Project has developed a set of processes and protocols to build the collective capability of the adults in a school/school system to carry out an instructional improvement strategy.

With the release of the new publication, The Internal Coherence Framework: Creating the Conditions for Continuous Improvement in Schools (2017, Harvard Education Press), the team shares its clinical tools and the research base that has shaped their design or selection.The book addresses topics that, when left unaddressed, routinely undermine the success of reform efforts. 

These include the creation of psychological safety, a vision anchored in the instructional core, a strategy focused on adult learning, and the explicit cultivation of collective efficacy for instructional improvement. The internal coherence approach and clinical tools were developed in SERP partnerships with school districts in Massachusetts, Texas, and California, as well as institutes for professional development in New York. SERP partners from the Central Valley Educational Leadership Institute and the Clovis Unified School District have begun to lead the coherence work in over 50 schools in the Central Valley.IC researchers Michelle Forman (SERP), Elizabeth Leisy Stosich (Fordham University), and Candice Bocala (WestEd), are developing ways for individual schools, school systems, and professional development institutions to connect to the project. If you are interested in using the foundational learning experiences, essential practices, or internal coherence survey (available for free download at ic.serpmedia.org), send inquiries to info@serpinsitute.org.