Five lessons for scaling targeted instruction from implementation research in Ghana

key learnings for implementing targeted instruction drawn from the DL+ experience

This article was originally posted on unicef.org on May 21, 2025 by Marco Valenza and Thomas Dreesen, UNICEF Innocenti, and Christin McConnell, UNICEF Ghana.

Since 2018, the Ghanaian Ministry of Education has utilized a targeted instruction programme to strengthen foundational literacy and numeracy in Grades  two to six. The MoE has refined this programme over time resulting in the Differentiated Learning Plus (DL+) model. The DL+ is a remedial education programme that uses Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles, groups learners by ability and utilizes play-based pedagogy in the classroom. The model also has a strong emphasis on mobilizing communities to support schools. With UNICEF’s support, the DL+ model has progressively reached over 55 districts and 650 schools.  

Below are five key lessons for implementing targeted instruction drawn from the DL+ experience:  

1. Trainings should focus on practical activities that fit the classrooms teachers teach in. A key success factor in district-wide capacity building was the focus on hands-on activities including delivering mock classes, and observing experienced colleagues through videos or field visits. In the classroom, however, significant teacher shortages and limited access to teaching and learning materials (TLMs) were key barriers to implementation fidelity. Large classes in remote areas had up to nine students sharing the same materials, while some hard-to-staff schools combined multiple ability levels because of teacher shortages. When teachers practice with the exact challenges they face - crowded rooms, understaffing, limited supplies - they leave training with realistic, immediately usable strategies. Training should prepare teachers to develop lesson plans that can be completed in classes of 50+ students and wherever possible to use locally available materials as manipulatives and teaching aids.  
    
2. Changes in classroom pedagogy require multiple rounds of training. After the first DL+ district-wide workshop, which lasted one week, teachers showed improved understanding - but classroom practice lagged. Post-training classroom observations showed difficulties in following protocols for assessing students’ ability, delivering phonics sessions, and applying UDL principles. Holding a one-week refresher session during the second term bridged gaps and re-energized both teachers and district education officers. Daily testing of participants and focus group discussions showed meaningful improvements in theoretical knowledge, and helped focus workshop activities on competence-areas requiring improvement. Additionally, after the refresher, School Improvement and Support Officers (SISOs) made more observations of DL+ classes and could provide coaching more closely aligned with its pedagogy.   
    
3. School-based capacity building is essential to complement district-wide training. Organizing district-wide training is costly, requires substantial coordination efforts, and sometimes disrupts school calendars. These workshops cannot reach every teacher or take place often enough to prevent backsliding. Leveraging school-based support systems like the Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) where school actors come together regularly was a cost-effective practice to complement district-wide training in Ghana. Engaging PLCs in the DL+ rollout allowed additional training sessions with teachers who missed the district wide training, while also enabling more peer learning and accountability. PLCs also had a multiplier effect, as DL+ best practices such as using manipulatives and play-based learning spread organically across grades and subjects not initially targeted.  
    
4. When teachers see learning gains it is a big motivator. Students in DL+ classes showed steady improvements in English and Math over time. The chart below shows how pupils progressed in English over the second term in the Builsa North District. 10 per cent of students went from being non-readers to word-readers; and nearly 15 per cent reached the level of story or paragraph readers. Teacher feedback consistently pointed out that seeing that their students were achieving learning gains was their main motivation to continue the DL+ method. Teachers indicated that the interactive nature of DL+ and the use of play-based activities and integration of teaching and learning materials (TLMs) were key drivers promoting stronger attendance, focus on task and learning.  

5. There is no single “middle tier”. The DL+ programme engaged actors across all levels of the education system. While our research team worked with district education officers it became clear that they had different data collection methods. Some district officers, used digital tools to collect data, enabling faster analysis and identification of schools in need of targeted support. Others, used paper forms, which were harder to collate and then use for decision making.   

This variation didn’t stop at data collection and use but continued to the support the middle tier provided to schools. Monitoring frequency and quality varied between districts. Districts with larger budgets or where schools can be reached easily provided more regular and tailored support. Elsewhere, schools went weeks without a visit, limiting opportunities for feedback and professional growth.  

Recognizing this diversity and responding with tailored support strategies for under-resourced districts—will be essential in the scale up to ensure that proper support reaches the schools that need it most.  

These insights and more will feature in a forthcoming research brief. This research was made possible through the generous support of the FCDO and the Jacobs Foundation.