Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment – Staging
(80-100%)
Element: 21st Century Skills/Deeper Learning
Description: Curriculum, instruction, and assessment are based on clear expectations that all students will leave the education system well staged for college acceptance or for alternative paths to workplace readiness. These expectations mandate solid grounding in standards-based content, but also intentionally integrate elements of deeper learning, such as critical thinking, creativity and innovation, and self-direction; as well as providing opportunities for authentic learning in the context of today’s digital society.
Possible Next Step: District leaders communicate new expectations for college and career readiness that incorporate 21st Century skills/deeper learning. They begin awareness trainings to orient educators to new curricular scope and sequences, guides to 21st Century skills/deeper learning, and upcoming series of associated professional development. They pilot programs that incorporate the new vision for learning.
Element: Personalized Learning
Description: Educators leverage technology and diverse learning resources to personalize the learning experience for each student. Personalization involves tailoring content, pacing, and feedback to the needs of each student and empowering students to regulate and take ownership of some aspects of their learning.
Possible Next Step: District leaders prepare a plan for implementing personalized learning at all levels. This plan includes organizational tools, professional development, and examples of practice aimed at multiple levels and content areas.
Element: Collaborative, Relevant, and Applied Learning
Description: In digital learning environments, students do work similar to that of professionals in the larger society. They collaborate with educators, fellow students, and others outside of the school environment on projects that often (1) involve the creation of knowledge products, (2) foster deep learning, and (3) have value beyond the classroom walls.
Possible Next Step: Instructional leaders finalize a plan and assign responsibilities for implementing rich, collaborative authentic work that includes unit designs and templates, professional development, and support for teachers as they scale up new instructional practices.
Element: Leveraging Technology
Description: Educators in digital learning environments integrate learning-enabling technology seamlessly into the teaching and learning process. These educators have the skills to adopt multiple, highly effective learning technologies and adapt to diverse, evolving learning structures to assure that the use of technology adds value to the learning process.
Possible Next Step: Instructional leaders prepare a plan for proactively integrating technology into teaching and learning practices throughout the district. This includes professional learning plans and communities of practice. They pilot robust and effective integration of learning technologies within the curriculum.
Element:Assessment—Analytics Inform Instruction
Description: The district and its schools use technology as a vehicle for diagnostic, formative, and summative assessment. The school system has mechanisms (i.e., processes and digital environments) for using data to improve, enrich, and guide the learning process. Educators actively use data to guide choices related to curriculum, content, and instructional strategies.
Possible Next Step: With policies, budgets, and access to necessary technologies necessary to support these assessments in place district leaders have established a series of diagnostic, formative, and summative assessments. They have established analytics and mapped reports to expected learning outcomes. Education professionals are prepared to use the data generated by these assessments to track student progress over time, identify gaps, and make changes to improve results.