Home > Implementation for Educators Blog
How to use Learner Pathways on the AI Hub
Are you a practitioner new to implementation science and could use guidance to organize your study of implementation practices, resources, and tools? Or are you an experienced practitioner who wants to deepen your knowledge or explore tools and resources around a specific implementation framework or practice? Are you interested in earning badges in implementation science through SISEP’s Micro-Credentialing Program?
NIRN’s Active Implementation (AI) Hub is a free online learning environment for anyone interested in implementation science. It offers over 200 experiential learning activities, tools, and resources developed to increase knowledge and support implementation. Wherever you are on your implementation journey, the recently developed Active Implementation Learner Pathways and Implementation Support Practitioner Core Competencies Learner Pathway can support your learning and engagement with learning activities and resources available on the AI Hub.
What is a “learner pathway?”
A learner pathway is created to support learners in progressively building knowledge and skills as they work through a linked set of activities. A pathway serves as a roadmap, outlining the route to navigate learning activities to address specific goals, build new skills, or expand on current knowledge. This efficient and personalized approach to learning allows an individual to tailor their exploration and study based on their unique needs, whether they need to build fundamental knowledge across content or engage in deep-dive exploration to support application and practice.
Using the Implementation Science Learner Pathways
Implementation science is complex, encompassing research and practice, so we can adapt and apply what we know is best practice from research in real-world settings to achieve improved outcomes (Ramaswamy et al., 2019). Implementation science refers to various methods, techniques, and strategies that allow us to adopt and implement new practices effectively and sustain them over time (Proctor et al., 2013). The AI Hub offers a wealth of resources, from learning lessons to practical tools and guides derived from rigorous research to support effective implementation and drive continuous improvement. While resources available on the AI Hub are designed to support implementation within the field of education, the available learning activities and tools can be applied across the health and human services industry.
The implementation science Learner Pathways available on the AI Hub were designed to equip you with the expertise and resources needed to bridge implementation research to practice. The Learner Pathways were created as a roadmap, providing a structured route to support you in developing the necessary knowledge, skills, and competencies to implement evidence-based practices in real-world settings. The Pathways allow you to choose the best course, allowing for personalization in learning according to your implementation needs and current context (Crosslin, 2021). Developed as a detailed learning sequence, the Learner Pathways can support you in developing foundational knowledge and skills for implementation and progressively building skills for application. As an individual with some experience with implementation science, the Learner Pathways can help you examine your current knowledge and skills to identify any potential knowledge gaps, providing tools and resources to support deeper learning. Let’s explore the different Learner Pathways.
Learner Pathways on the AI Hub
Active Implementation Learner Pathways
The Active Implementation Learner Pathways have been developed to include a pathway for the Active Implementation Formula and each of the Implementation Frameworks: Usable Innovations, Implementation Drivers, Implementation Stages, Implementation Teams, and Improvement Cycles. The core components of the formula and the frameworks were used to create the Pathways. Each core component is detailed with a learning goal to set direction and support you in developing your path for learning. Each core component contains a sequence of learning experiences designed to develop theoretical knowledge through content modules and learning lessons, progressing to practical tools and experiential activities to support use and application in practice. Just as when creating a route when traveling, decisions need to be made on how to proceed on this journey, with the potential to explore new directions. The Learner Pathways provides this opportunity with each core component, identifying opportunities for continued learning, including additional learning lessons, tools, application activities, blogs, briefs, podcasts, and video series. You can engage in these activities based on your individual learning needs and preferred learning style.
Implementation Support Practitioner Core Competencies Learner Pathway
Implementation support practitioners (ISPs) play a critical role in implementation as they guide and support organizations in building the capacity needed for effective implementation (Metz et al., 2020). To support your development in this role, an ISP Core Competencies Learner Pathway was developed around the principles and competencies practitioners need to support and sustain implementation effectively. The ISP Core Competencies Learner Pathway first focuses on an ISP’s overall role and functions, providing a learning sequence to support learning around the competencies practitioners need to develop effective implementation support. These competencies are then focused on individually within the Learner Pathway by Co-Creation and Engagement, Ongoing Improvements, and Sustaining Change. A learning goal is provided for each domain, and learning activities are provided to support you in developing knowledge and insight for competencies within the domain. Each competency is then detailed with a learning sequence to support gaining knowledge and skills for application in practice. Additional resources and activities are provided to foster deeper learning according to your needs and preferences. To support you as an ISP practitioner in applying the core competencies in practice, a list of implementation tools to use with teams is provided for each competency.
Implementation is a journey; the Learner Pathways serve as a roadmap to support your learning and development with this complex process. The detailed sequence of learning lessons, tools, and experiential learning activities within the Pathways support you as a learner in progressively gaining knowledge, skills, and competencies to implement evidence-based practices in real-world settings. The Learner Pathways can also help you identify where there may be gaps in your knowledge and skills or where you want to go deeper with your learning and development. Any journey is always more enjoyable when you discover the options along the way. The Active Implementation Formula and Frameworks and the ISP Core Competencies Pathways can help you personalize your implementation science journey. You can use the Learning Pathways as a roadmap to self-map your course through learning activities to meet your learning needs and implementation context.
The Active Implementation and ISP Core Competencies Learner Pathways are living documents. The Learner Pathways will continue to be updated as resources are added to the Active Implementation Hub. Be sure to revisit these often to support your continued learning and growth with implementation science.
Check out the Active Implementation Hub for these Learner Pathways:
- Active Implementation Learner Pathways
- Implementation Support Practitioner Core Competencies Learner Pathway
- SISEP’s Micro-credentialing Program
References
Crosslin, M. (2021). Self-Mapped Learning Pathways: Theoretical Underpinnings and Practical Course Design for Individualized Learning. Current Issues in Education, 22(1 (Sp Iss). Retrieved from https://cie.asu.edu/ojs/index.php/cieatasu/article/view/1900
Metz, A., Louison, L., Burke, K., Albers, B., & Ward, C. (2020). Implementation support practitioner profile: Guiding principles and core competencies for implementation practice. Chapel Hill, NC: National Implementation Research Network, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.
Ramaswamy, R., Mosnier, J., Reed, K. et al. (2019). Building capacity for Public Health 3.0: introducing implementation science into an MPH curriculum. Implementation Sci 14(18). https://doi.org/10.1186/s13012-019-0866-6
Proctor, E.K., Powell, B.J. & McMillen, J.C. (2013). Implementation strategies: recommendations for specifying and reporting. Implementation Sci 8(139). https://doi.org/10.1186/1748-5908-8-139