Accessing and Evaluating High-Quality and Equitable Resources
| Title: Accessing and Evaluating High Quality and Equitable Resources | Authors: Sheboygan Area School District- Middle School English Language Arts: Tamara Damrow, Andrea Daun, Jane Doll, Caiti Dust, Julia Leeson, Megan Neitzke, Amy Renzelmann, Jim Renzelmann, Tina Thone, Jennifer Zalewski |
| Subject: 6th-8th grade Writing | Total Time: approximately 2 hours |
Overview/ Description of Resource:
- “The evidence is clear that instructional interactions between students and teachers are framed by the instructional materials that teachers are provided by their schools and districts.”
- “There is strong evidence that the choice of instructional materials has large effects on student learning—effects that rival in size those that are associated with differences in teacher effectiveness.”²
With the understanding that instructional materials matter, a team of ELA teachers from the Sheboygan Area School District set out to develop a process that would enable us to determine if the materials being used or materials we plan to use in the future are considered to be high-quality resources and will lead to equitable instruction.
The process outlined below identifies the work developed through a WISElearn grant in the Winter and Spring of 2019. The resources supplied were developed as a result of research and investigation into the work of EdReport.org, Achievethecore.org and various other resources that support the work of equity. In addition, the group utilized the book 180 Days: Two Teachers and the Quest to Engage and Empower Adolescents, by Gallagher and Kittle (2018) to build a common understanding of the effective practices needed to support the implementation of these materials and to impact instruction in Reading and Writing.
The process that we outline is intended to help teams evaluate resources that support major shifts in the Common Core State Standards specific to writing instruction. The tools linked in the process are adaptable to various grade levels and subject areas providing the team has unpacked the subject/grade level standards and share a common understanding of the skills and expectations in those standards.
1, 2 Chingos , M., Whitehurst, G. (2012). Choosing Blindly: Instructional Materials, Teacher Effectiveness, and the Common Core. Retrieved from Brown Center on Education Policy at Brookings: https://www.brookings.edu/wp-content/uploads/2016/ 06/0410_curriculum_chingos_whitehurst.pdf