Recording of March 2021 Leadership Meeting Now Available
In order to provide equitable learning environments for all students, it is important for schools and districts to translate the Kentucky Academic Standards into a guaranteed and viable curriculum. Additionally, it is critical that students receive strong, standards-aligned instruction supported by high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs).
The regional educational cooperatives, in partnership with the Kentucky Department of Education, hosted live virtual meetings in March for district and school leaders to examine tools and resources available to create equitable learning environments at the local level. The session focused on research-based practices that support standards implementation, promote student equity and help accelerate student learning in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Key practices include:
- High-Quality Instructional Resources (HQIRs) and High-Quality Professional Learning (HQPL)
- Professional Learning Communities
- Balanced Assessment
- Kentucky Multi-Tiered System of Supports Framework
A recording of the March 2021 Leadership Meeting is now available, including access to the accompanying materials in the March 2021 Participant Folder. Effective Instructional Leadership Act credit is available for this session.
High-Quality Instructional Resources Promote Equity for Students and Teachers
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) is committed to the core values of equity, achievement, collaboration and integrity and believes that all students deserve an education that empowers and equips them for a successful future. This means that classroom instruction must align to, and support, the learning expectations provided in the Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS).
The KAS address a foundational framework of what is to be learned and contain the minimum requirements of what students should know and be able to do in kindergarten through grade 12. Local schools and districts determine the curriculum, which addresses how learning experiences are designed, and select instructional resources, including print, nonprint or electronic media designed to assist in student learning.
A key part of standards-aligned instruction is the use of high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) to support student learning. The KDE is providing new support to local schools and districts to inform the curriculum development process outlined in the Model Curriculum Framework, which includes the evaluation and selection of HQIRs that support standards implementation and promote student equity.
What are High-Quality Instructional Resources?
KDE defines High-Quality Instructional Resources (HQIRs) as materials that are:
- Aligned with the KAS;
- Research-based and/or externally validated;
- Comprehensive to include engaging texts (books, multimedia, etc.), problems and assessments;
- Culturally relevant, free from bias; and
- Accessible for all students.
Why are they needed?
Instructional resources are critical for student success. Students deserve access to standards-aligned instructional resources and grade-level assignments to help them reach the intended learning outcomes aligned with the KAS. They deserve HQIRs that are engaging, accessible and inclusive of the cultural diversity and perspectives of their communities. Students are entitled to HQIRs to use, learn from and guide their practice.
Teachers also deserve to have access to HQIRs so they can better meet the needs of their students. HQIRs increase teachers’ content knowledge, provide guidance to inform strong instruction and support implementation of grade-level appropriate assignments. Access to comprehensive HQIRs enables teachers to adapt lessons to meet the diverse needs of students and to focus their time, energy and creativity on bringing lessons to life and engaging students with the content.
KDE has created the HQIR flyer to help promote the definition and rationale of High-Quality Instructional Resources. Instructional Resources Alignment Rubrics also are available on the High-Quality Instructional Resources page to aid in the evaluation and selection of high-quality instructional resources aligned to state standards.
New Kentucky Academic Standards for Technology
704 KAR 8:090 adopts into law the Kentucky Academic Standards for Technology, and it is now available at KYstandards.org.
Today’s society is witnessing an unprecedented explosion of information and use of digital resources. In an environment where information is doubling at an incredible rate, digital, distance and remote learning resources are becoming an increased component of the classroom and the workplace, where students face both increased opportunities and difficult challenges all aided by technologies. The successful students, workers and citizens of tomorrow will be digitally connected agents of their own learning.
Therefore, the Kentucky Education Technology Systems (KETS) Master Plan for Education Technology (2018-2024) identified updating the current Technology Standards as an area of emphasis and priority for the Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) in collaboration with local school districts and professional partners. The plan's vision for student learning highlights equitable, personalized, applied and engaged digital, distance and remote learning for all students. Digital tools can enhance student learning as they connect efforts to identify what students should know and be able to do as well as help students and educators assess progress toward achieving academic goals. Strong technology skills can also help students perform, apply and demonstrate what they have learned.
To meet the needs of today's students and to ensure they are transition ready, schools are encouraged to be innovative in providing student learning experiences, adopting technologies and instruction in ways which meaningfully engage the digital generation. KDE engaged with state and local partners to develop the Kentucky Academic Standards(KAS) for Technology, which focuses on providing students with opportunities to develop fundamental skills essential to all transition paths, which can stimulate Kentucky’s economy and workforce.
The KAS for Technology is organized in specific grade bands (K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12). This organization enables teachers to create grade level or course-specific student expectations derived from the standards. Additionally, connections exist between standards in different grade bands and demonstrate how one concept builds on another to provide vertically aligned learning experiences for students.
The KAS for Technology represents knowledge and skills that should be demonstrated through the transition of each grade band (i.e. grades 2, 5, 8 and 12). While middle school and high school students generally have the opportunity to demonstrate technology skills and concepts through dedicated technology-empowered projects, students in elementary school may be more likely to learn technology skills integrated throughout the local curriculum in all content areas. Therefore, grade-by-grade indicators are included, per standard, for kindergarten through grade 12.
Moreover, one of the stated requirements of 704 KAR 3:305, minimum requirements for high school graduation, is centered on a students’ demonstrated performance-based competency in technology prior to graduating.
Key Points:
- The KAS for Technology assists in defining competencies.
- The KAS for Technology is required for ALL students pursuant to 704 KAR 3:305.
- The KAS for Technology has a completely different focus than early technology standards. New Technology Standards have modernized how we think about these skills and have evolved over time.
Standards Newsletter Archive
Did you miss last week's Standards Newsletter? You can access all previous editions of the Standards Newsletter on the Standards Newsletter Archive webpage.
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