Asset-Based Implementation of Structured Adaptations in an Online Third-Grade Content Literacy Intervention

This article examines how structured, asset-based adaptations can strengthen the implementation of evidence-based literacy interventions in online learning contexts while maintaining fidelity to core instructional principles. Using a cluster randomized trial during COVID-19 school closures, the study compares a core implementation of the Model of Reading Engagement (MORE) with an adaptive condition in which teachers were supported to make bounded, principled adaptations through Team-Based Learning (TBL). Findings show that students whose teachers implemented structured adaptations demonstrated higher engagement in digital and print-based reading activities, stronger student–teacher interactions during synchronous Zoom lessons, and modest but significant gains in science background knowledge and science reading comprehension, particularly on near-transfer tasks. The study highlights how structured adaptations—grounded in teacher collaboration, autonomy, and professional judgment—can enhance equity, engagement, and learning without diluting the integrity of research-based instruction, offering a scalable framework for bridging fidelity and responsiveness in diverse instructional contexts.