Video Transcript
So you’re a school principal dealing with a sudden wave of disruptive behavior—your first instinct might be to look around and see what others are doing to fix it. But what if that quick solution ends up doing more harm than good? In this video, we’ll explore the dangers of what I call 'Over-the-Fence Decision-Making' and talk about why you should think twice before copying someone else’s strategy without the right context.
HI friends, I’m Matthew Courtney and here we talk all about education research and data. If you’re into that, make sure to like and subscribe and come be a part of our community.
Let’s dive into a hypothetical scenario. Meet Principal Martin, who has just stepped into her new role at George Washington Middle School. She’s eager to lead and make a positive impact, but soon, she’s confronted with an unexpected challenge—a viral TikTok trend is sweeping through the student body, causing major disruptions in the classrooms. Students are distracted, teachers are frustrated, and learning is taking a back seat.
Determined to find a solution, Principal Martin does what many of us might do—she reaches out to her network. She calls up fellow principals, consults with mentors, and even attends a regional training. However, the advice she receives is often conflicting and often rooted in the personal experiences of her peers. As frustration mounts, she stumbles upon a blog post written by another principal who faced a similar issue. The post is compelling and offers a detailed account of how this principal successfully curbed the TikTok disruptions in their school.
Feeling inspired and eager to resolve the problem quickly, Principal Martin decides to implement the same intervention at her school. She rolls it out without fully considering how it fits with her school’s unique context—like the specific needs of her students, the existing strategies in place, and the training her staff might require to execute it effectively.
While Principal Martin’s intentions are good, her decision-making process is a classic example of what I call 'Over-the-Fence Decision-Making.' By adopting a strategy she saw working elsewhere, without fully understanding the nuances or adapting it to her school’s specific circumstances, she risks implementing a solution that may not be as effective as she hopes.
Now, let’s unpack why 'Over-the-Fence Decision-Making'—can be problematic. When you adopt a solution that worked for someone else without fully understanding the context, you’re taking a real gamble. In Martin’s case, she only knew what the blog post told her—she had no insight into the specific conditions that made the intervention successful in that other school.
She didn’t know if the teachers there had special training, if there were other support systems in place, or how the school’s culture influenced the outcomes. By skipping these critical details, she risked applying a solution that might not align with her school’s unique values.
Another pitfall is that when we rely on surface-level solutions, we’re often left unprepared for the complexities of implementation. Without a deep understanding of how an intervention interacts with existing strategies, Principal Martin might struggle to see the desired results. This can lead to wasted resources, frustrated and burnt out staff, and little to no improvement in the issues she was trying to address in the first place.
Ultimately, 'Over-the-Fence Decision-Making' is a haphazard approach to driving meaningful change. It can be tempting to borrow what seems like a quick fix, but without the necessary due diligence, you’re likely to end up with a solution that’s only half as effective as it could be. To truly make a difference, we need to move beyond this approach and embrace evidence-based decision-making, where we critically evaluate solutions, understand their full context, and adapt them to fit our unique situations.
Evidence-based decision-making is a more thoughtful, systematic approach to solving problems in schools. Unlike quick fixes that may or may not work, evidence-based decision-making involves diving into research, critically analyzing studies, and finding solutions that are backed by data and tailored to your specific context.
Here’s how it works. Instead of simply adopting what worked somewhere else, you start by identifying the problem clearly. Next, you search for research that addresses similar issues— usually peer-reviewed studies, meta-analyses, or even action research conducted by other educators. This research doesn’t just provide you with solutions; it offers insights into why those solutions worked, under what conditions they were successful, and how they were implemented.
This method allows you to consider multiple viewpoints, giving you a more comprehensive understanding of the problem at hand. For example, Principal Martin could have explored studies on behavior interventions in middle schools, gaining a better grasp of the various factors that contribute to success or failure. With this knowledge, she could adapt the strategies to fit her school’s unique culture, resources, and needs.
Evidence-based decision-making also ensures that you’re not just reacting to the latest trend, but making informed decisions that are more likely to lead to sustainable, positive outcomes. You’re not just solving today’s problem—you’re building a foundation for ongoing improvement in your school.
The decisions we make can have a lasting impact on our students and schools.
That’s why it’s so important to move beyond quick fixes and 'Over-the-Fence Decision-Making.' Instead, we should embrace evidence-based decision-making—a process that allows us to make informed, context-specific choices that are more likely to lead to positive, sustainable outcomes.
If you’re ready to learn more about how to implement evidence-based decision-making in your setting, be sure to explore the various playlists I have available on my channel. They will help you learn how to find research, understand its findings, and build sustainable systems to support your decision making processes. And make sure you subscribe to this channel before you leave. I’ll see you next time.
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