Conceptualizing Virtual Instructional Resource Enactment in an Era of Greater Centralization, Specification of Quality Instructional Practices, and Proliferation of Instructional Resources

Abstract

This article conceptualizes the enactment of virtual instructional resources. We propose a framework that combines traditional concepts of curricular enactment (e.g., the designated, intended, and enacted curriculum) with concepts more salient to the implementation of virtual instructional resources. More specifically, we develop a model that considers the purpose of virtual instruction resources (core or supplemental), the social organizational contexts (e.g., district administrators, teacher professional communities, individual teachers) that shape the enactment of virtual instruction resources, and the process—from creation to enactment—through which virtual instructional resources impact classrooms. We first offer a brief overview of the greater specification of desirable instructional practices and greater centralization, because it is our assertion that virtual instructional resource enactment can best be understood in the context of other important changes and contexts in education more broadly. Next, we introduce our conceptual model of virtual instructional resource enactment. We then specify the concepts of purpose, social organization, and process and situate these concepts in our model. Third, we explain how purpose, social organization, and process influence different aspects of life in schools, including sensitivity to specific contexts, teacher learning, affordances for search and transfer, opportunities for participation in professional communities, and consistency of implementation. We conclude with a discussion in which we articulate the potential tensions and provide direction for future research.