A Manual for Assessing Open-Ended Statements of Concern about an Innovation

You can download a PDF copy from eric.ed.gov.

When a new program is implemented at a school, teachers often respond by expressing their concerns about the change. With a command of the Stages of Concern (SoC) About the Innovation, part of the Concerns-Based Adoption Model, or the CBAM, you can anticipate and resolve the personal concerns that teachers often voice in this situation.

This manual equips you with procedures for analyzing and understanding teachers' concerns when presented as open-ended statements. This useful manual describes:

• How to use the CBAM to predict teacher behavior
• How to identify and analyze teachers' concerns
• What framework to use when attending to teachers' concerns
• A sample of data collection forms
• Several illustrations and scored examples of the various Stages of Concern 

Other CBAM Publications:

SEDL offers several publications so you can apply the CBAM when you introduce a new program, undertake research in a school setting, or launch an innovation in a school. The complete set of CBAM literature includes:

• Taking Charge of Change - a readable introduction to the CBAM method.
• Measuring Implementation in Schools: The Concerns-Based Adoption Model
  • Measuring Implementation in Schools: The Stages of Concern Questionnaire
  • Measuring Implementation in Schools: Levels of Use
  • Measuring Implementation in Schools: Innovation Configurations
• A Manual for Assessing Open-Ended Statements of Concern about an Innovation
• Measuring Change Facilitator Stages of Concern: A Manual for Use of the CFSoC Questionnaire

To facilitate data collection and analysis, SEDL now offers an online version of The Stages of Concern Questionnaire.

CBAM Training:

SEDL delivers CBAM professional development sessions where participants learn to:

• Recognize the seven different reactions that educators experience when implementing a new program
• Use the Stages of Concern Questionnaire (SoCQ) to evaluate staff’s reactions, feelings, and attitudes
• Apply the Levels of Use (LoU) to document the extent of implementation
• Describe the ways that educators adapt innovations to their situations
• Use Innovation Configurations (IC) to measure how individuals are implementing a program or practice