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HQIR District Bright Spot
 Suzanne Farmer, Chief Academic Officer of Danville Independent Schools, and her team recognized the need to strengthen science instruction across her district. When the Kentucky Department of Education launched the Designing High-Quality Local Curriculum pilot focused on science, she and her team eagerly joined. This initiative used the Model Curriculum Framework to guide districts in selecting and implementing a high-quality instructional resource (HQIR) in science.
Danville Independent Schools formed a team to gather stakeholder input and create an instructional vision for their science instruction. Through this collaborative process, the team gained a deeper understanding of the science standards and the role of phenomena-based learning in engaging students. They conducted a thorough evaluation of the district’s current practices and identified gaps between where they were and where they wanted to be. This comprehensive approach laid a strong foundation for selecting the right high-quality instructional resource to align with their goals.
After a thorough vetting process, the district evaluated various resources to ensure alignment with their instructional vision—focusing on how students should learn and engage with science. Ultimately, the district selected OpenSciEd for secondary and Smithsonian for elementary because they provide rich, hands-on, phenomena-based experiences that foster deeper learning.
“We like that OpenSciEd encourages students to take ownership of their learning by generating questions and actively participating in scientific inquiry,” Farmer explained.
Through their work with the Designing High-Quality Local Curriculum pilot and the Model Curriculum Framework, Danville Independent Schools has laid groundwork for lasting improvement in science instruction by ensuring that students engage in rigorous, inquiry-based learning that will continue to benefit them for years to come.
For more information on HQIRs and implementation guidance, please visit the high-quality instructional resources page on kystandards.org.
Elementary Webinar Series: What do the Kentucky Academics Standards (KAS) for Social Studies look like in practice?
The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) has partnered with several organizations to showcase what a social studies learning experience aligned to the KAS for Social Studies looks like in practice. This webinar series is designed to deepen participants’ social studies content knowledge and pedagogy.
In these presentations, representatives from the KDE will support teachers in breaking down a disciplinary standard. Then, a partner educational organization will engage participants in a sample learning experience using resources from their organization. These learning experiences are designed for participants’ use in their own classrooms with their students.
The following are the scheduled webinars for this fall:
TODAY, October 9: Grade 2 Kentucky Economics Focus with the Kentucky Historical Society
October 16: Grade 5 History Focus with the Bill of Rights Institute
October 23: Grade 2 Economics Focus with the St. Louis Federal Reserve
October 30: Kindergarten Kentucky Geography with Kentucky Agriculture and Environment in the Classroom (Teach KY Ag)
Want to know what this learning experience is like prior to attending this fall? Visit our Social Studies Elementary Webinar Series webpage to view past webinars, including the recordings, slides and lesson plans.
REGISTER NOW for the FREE Using Anchoring Phenomena to Drive Three-Dimensional Science Teaching and Learning Virtual Workshop Series!
The Kentucky Department of Education Office of Teaching and Learning science program consultants will be offering a virtual workshop series for participants to take part in the new Anchoring Phenomena professional learning module.
This virtual workshop series provides multiple opportunities for K-12 science educators across the state of Kentucky to engage with one another as learners and practitioners, considering how to provide students with authentic learning opportunities anchored in a phenomenon requiring students to utilize all three dimensions of the Kentucky Academic Standards for Science to make sense of the world.
Following this professional learning, participants will be able to:
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Develop a working definition and criteria of what is considered phenomena;
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Experience how launching an anchoring phenomenon at the beginning of a learning experience can support students in sensemaking;
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Explain how utilizing an anchoring phenomenon assist students in growing their science ideas and skills within the context of Kentucky Academic Standards (KAS) for Science;
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Analyze how a cohesive storyline can be built around an anchoring phenomenon; and
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Identify and explore local phenomena to make connections and bundle disciplinary core ideas.
This virtual workshop series will consist of five, 1.5 hour sessions paired with asynchronous tasks to complete between each session. Within each session, participants plan their next steps for implementing an anchoring phenomenon routine. Facilitators will utilize an open educational resource to provide participants with a learning experience symmetrical to the classroom where an anchoring phenomenon is used.
Workshop Dates are the following:
Session 1: Tuesday, Oct. 15, 2024, 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET
Session 2: Tuesday, Oct. 29, 2024, 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET
Session 3: Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2024, 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET
Session 4: Tuesday, Nov. 26, 2024, 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET
Session 5: Tuesday, Dec. 3, 2024, 5 to 6:30 p.m. ET
Complete the Using Anchoring Phenomena to Drive Equitable Three-Dimensional Science Teaching and Learning Virtual Workshop Registration Form by October 8th to reserve your spot.
Depending on district policies and if approved at the local level, participants may receive up to 12 hours of professional development credit for their participation in the workshop and asynchronous learning opportunities. Please work with your district or principal to determine if these hours are eligible. The Kentucky Department of Education will provide participants with a certificate following the completion of the workshop and asynchronous tasks.
Please submit any questions about this professional learning module to kdescience@education.ky.gov.
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