| By Gale Staff |
As learners and curriculum standards change, textbooks alone aren’t enough to keep pace with today’s ever-evolving instructional demands. Educators need supplemental materials to engage students with diverse content, address learning gaps, and appeal to various learning styles.
However, only 25% of teachers feel that districts are providing the supplemental resources they need to address inadequacies in the core curriculum.1 This leaves the majority of teachers to source their own materials, leading to vastly different learning experiences—and student outcomes—from classroom to classroom and school to school.
Watch our Ed Talk with District Administration to learn how you can create a culture of consistency by aligning supplemental resources with district-wide goals. April Angel, district manager at Gale and former ELA educator, shares the challenges districts are facing to create consistent, high-quality learning experiences and how you can develop a district-wide approach to vetting effective supplemental resources.
Why Create a Culture of Consistency?
In most instances, districts provide the core curriculum that includes the scope and sequence aligned to a course’s standards. However, teachers often need more support to engage students with core curriculum topics, making supplemental resources an everyday aspect of instruction.
Current and diverse learning materials help spark students’ curiosity about the world around them and develop future-ready skills, especially as learning requirements evolve in areas like financial literacy and information literacy. If your district doesn’t have criteria for these essential supplemental resources, the materials may not be aligned to standards, may point students to unsafe online environments, and could create inconsistent experiences for learners across classrooms.
“Like a lighthouse, your district can provide the guidance that teachers need to promote consistent learning experiences for all students,” April says. By ensuring access to high-quality supplemental materials, you can create equitable experiences for every learner while driving strategic district-wide goals.
Get Your Guide for Vetting Supplemental Resources
So how can you start creating a culture of consistency in your district? Carefully choose supplemental materials that align with your district’s goals, meet the needs of students and educators, and support long-term success. When you watch Gale’s Ed Talk, you’ll get a downloadable guide for vetting supplemental resources.
This rubric will help your district evaluate materials based on key metrics, such as:
- Content Quality
- Instructional Design
- Long-Term Viability & Sustainability
- Ease of Use & Accessibility
Watch the Ed Talk to learn more about how you can improve student outcomes by selecting supplemental materials that drive strategic goals.
Note:
1. “State of the Instructional Materials Market,” EdReports, 2023.