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Users Guide on Best Practices in Instruction: Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI)

Welcome to IDEA Partnership's Collaborative Work on Best Practices in Instruction:
Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI)

The IDEA Partnership is dedicated to improving outcomes for students and youth with disabilities by joining state agencies and stakeholders through shared work and learning. The materials and tools in the  IDEA Partnership's Best Practices in Instruction:
Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI) are the result of the collaborative work of partner organization representatives, technical assistance providers, and a number of state and local organizations and agencies.

Members of this COI collaborative workgroup represent a range of roles at all levels of the education system as well as coming from geographic locations from across the United States. Together with the Office of Special Education Programs (OSEP), these partners form a community with the potential to transform the way we work.

This collaborative collection is designed to assist you in learning more about Best Practices in Instruction: Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI) for its implementation on all levels-- federal, state, and local. The following are tools designed to guide both your tour through this site and ideas for application and resources:

  • Our Charge is to think about the Best Practices in Instruction and the COI resources from stakeholder perspectives at all knowledge levels, to look at things differently, and to speak to practical application by taking the ideas of researchers and making them tangible to those in the field.

  • Our Goal is to provide you with access to a comprehensive collection of materials and resources to assist you in furthering understanding of the Best Practices in Instruction and the COI. We hope this collection complements your current work, and we encourage you to share it with your colleagues and peers.

  • COI Grounding Assumptions lists the fundamental assumptions that ground the implementation of the Best Practices in Instruction and the COI.

  • COI Guiding Principles provides the unifying beliefs that are the foundation for our collaborative efforts on Best Practices in Instruction and the COI. You might want to share these among the groups with whom you work to build a common sense of purpose.

  • COI Glossary provides key terms and acronyms associated with Best Practices in Instruction and the COI.

  1. What is current practice?
  2. What information is needed?
  3. What processes need to be in place to support acquisition of knowledge and skills for those closest to the students?

  • COI Essential Elements of CoP provides a description of the characteristics that define a community of practice (CoP) with shared work around Best Practices in Instruction.

This fact sheet describes the Center on Instruction (COI), evidence-based practices, and resources available to practitioners in the community.


  • Power Point:
Best Practices in Instruction: Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI)
This PowerPoint provides a presenter’s tool for use with the Presenter’s Guide. It summarizes the key concepts associated with best practices in Best Practices in Instruction
  • Presenter Guide
Best Practices in Instruction: Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI)
This Presenter Guide is intended to support the PowerPoint slides and offers:
o    Suggested background readings;
o    Talking points relative to each slide;
o    Suggested activities to enhance learning opportunities for Participants;
o    Tips to facilitate the professional growth experience; and
o    Suggested readings for extension of learning.

The three distinct sections of preparation, presentation/process, and supplementary materials makes this guide easy to use and anticipates needs common to most presentations for a variety of audiences.


Dialogue Guides for Best Practices in Instruction

Dialogue Guides are models for conducting interactive discussions across stakeholders. Each Guide circulates a common set of source materials and suggested procedures for involving various audiences in States and districts. In this manner, stakeholders all over the country can begin interacting in new ways around implementation issues.
  • COI Reading
  • COI Math


Your Voice

Your experiences help the Partnership and our readers understand issues and perspectives.   To help us understand how the Partnership collection on the Best Practices in Instruction:
Accessing and Using the Evidence-based Collection of the Center on Instruction (COI) is useful, please take a minute to share:

•    How you used the collection
•    Your reactions to the collection
•    Your ideas for improving the collection

If you are willing to be interviewed about the collection, please provide your email address.
Thank you