Webinar: Critical Features of Science Instruction Materials Design
EdReports and NextGenScience have documented the successes and challenges faced by curriculum developers and by educators. These efforts have clarified the design features that are the most challenging to articulate as well as those that are most critical to incorporate in order to achieve high-quality, standards-aligned science curriculum.
Join us for this webinar to walk through a new resource co-developed by EdReports and NextGenScience describing trends on what to look for when designing or selecting materials to ensure students and teachers have curricula that meet the full intent of today’s science standards. (The resource will be publicly available on ngs.wested.org on July 15.)
School districts and states will also benefit from the information in this resource as they navigate the selection, adoption, and adaptation of high-quality instructional materials. They play a pivotal role in creating the demand for any developer of science content to incorporate critical NGSS features to meet local needs, including the expectations of their state standards.
Date: July 21, 2021
Time: 12pm PT / 3pm ET
Past Webinar Series
Research shows that high-quality instructional materials can make a difference for students—yet less than 33 percent of materials used in classrooms are aligned to standards. This is a critical issue for schools and districts, particularly ones that serve students with marginalized identities and those impacted by poverty. We believe that the process used to select new materials is as important as the materials themselves. Curriculum can be a key lever for ensuring every student has access to a high-quality education. In this free, four-part webinar series, EdReports will share tools that support key components of an equity-centered instructional materials adoption and feature expert educators who will discuss their experiences adopting new materials.
Webinar 1: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Why Materials Matter
Date: April 8
Time: 11:00am PT / 2:00 ET
Guests: Josh Parker (UnboundEd’s recently released Equitable ELA Instruction), Bailey Czupryk (TNTP’s The Opportunity Myth)
"At this place in time with all the challenges in education, curriculum is the lever to make sure we're addressing equity. It's about equitable access to high level learning." – Sonja Santaleses, CEO of Baltimore City Public Schools. Disparities based on race and income are not new, and inconsistent access to high-quality content is widespread. In a single school year, the average student spends 581 of 720 hours of their instructional time on assignments that are not aligned to college and career-ready standards. This is particularly significant for students of color and students living in poverty who have less access to high-quality materials than their peers. Join us for this webinar where we’ll dive into recent studies signaling the urgent need to provide every student and teacher with high-quality curricula.
Webinar 2: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Designing an Instructional Vision
Date: April 22
Time: 11:00am PT / 2:00 ET
Guests: Dr. Todd Davis (Aldine, TX ISD), Jesse Melgares (New Teacher Center, previously Alliance & KIPP)
How does your vision of instruction drive the why and what of your adoption? An instructional vision helps to communicate the expectations for teaching and learning and creates a foundation for what the district considers effective instruction in a classroom. This vision acts as a guide through your adoption process and serves as a critical lens through which all potential materials are viewed. It will guide all decisions districts, school leaders, and teachers make about classroom experiences—such as instructional material adoptions and teacher professional development. In this webinar, you will hear from a district leader on the process her district took to create an instructional vision, and how this work has impacted their materials adoption process. We will then share a tool to help your district develop its instructional vision.
Webinar 3: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Establishing Adoption Priorities
Date: May 6
Time: 11:00am PT / 2:00 ET
Guests: Paula Dillon (Barrington Public Schools, RI), Francisco Villegas (Partnership for Los Angeles Schools)
What does your data tell you about the students that are being served by your district and those that are not? How can your data help determine the priorities for your adoption? Join this webinar to learn how you can apply your district’s data to establish local priorities and lift up the importance of high-quality standards to guide your investigation and selection of new materials. We’re proud to welcome Paula Dillon from the Barrington Public Schools and Francisco Villegas from the Partnership for Los Angeles Schools to discuss the importance of knowing your students and community and how this knowledge can influence districts to select new materials that better serve students who had previously been marginalized.
Webinar 4: Adopting Materials Through an Equity-Focused Lens: Stakeholder Engagement
Date: May 20
Time: 11:00am PT / 2:00 ET
Guest: Janise Lane & Samantha Ashby (Baltimore City Public Schools)
Centering the voices of diverse stakeholders in your next materials adoption will build support for and investment in your work. It will also ensure that the perspectives of those most impacted by the selection of new materials—students, teachers, and families—are also informing the process. This webinar brings together educators who have successfully included diverse perspectives, experiences, and ideas in their materials work. We’ll also hear about one district’s work to communicate with stakeholders throughout every step of their adoption process.