Curriculum, Instruction, and Assessment

A strong curriculum acts as a roadmap for teachers to lead students to success. Partnering with district leadership and teachers, DCIU curriculum specialists provide support in writing, revising, and evaluating curriculum scope and sequence, standards alignment, and assessment. DCIU’s philosophy of writing curriculum addresses achievement for all students, providing support and scaffolds to help teachers attain this goal.  

DCIU curriculum specialists can develop and deliver a curriculum in collaboration with a school or district or provide professional learning to support curriculum and teacher teams in developing curriculum themselves. Customizable workshops include: 

• Workshops in Rigorous Curriculum Design and Understanding by Design 
• Prioritizing Standards 
• Standards-aligned Assessments 
• Supporting curriculum for student groups (English Learners, Special Education, Gifted) 
• Supporting teachers in the implementation of a new or revised curriculum 

Just as teachers encourage students to become lifelong learners, DCIU believes and supports growth for all professionals. Through our academic coaching services, DCIU coaches partner with teachers in a nonevaluative, confidential relationship to reflect on and improve instructional practices to benefit student success. Whether it is classroom management, instructional practices, or assessment, our coaches meet teachers where they are to move them forward toward student achievement. Services include: 

• Coach-Mentor Collaborative Networking 
• Development of a systematic district-wide coaching model 
• Content specific coaching support for ELA, Math, and Science 
• Practice-based coaching in classroom management, instructional practices, differentiation, and assessment  
• Intervention or core program specific coaching (such as Fundations, Acadience, AimswebPlus, Math Intervention Programs, etc.) 

Understanding how to collect, interpret, communicate, and use data to make informed decisions is important at all school levels. DCIU provides support at macro and micro scales for districts and schools in order to use data to analyze curriculum, assessment, instruction, organization, etc. DCIU offers guidance in working with state assessment data (PVAAS) as well as classroom-based assessment.  

Customizable workshops include: 

• PVAAS 
• CDT 

Our integrated approach to supporting gifted education helps build rigorous programs that will challenge students in both regular classroom settings and enrichment opportunities. DCIU specialists can work with your team in the following areas: equitably determining giftedness, GIEPs, differentiating for gifted in the general education classroom, and supporting the social-emotional needs of gifted learners. 

DCIU supports school teams with initial planning, implementation, and monitoring of academic areas in multi-tiered systems of support, which include: 

• Strong and engaged leadership 
• District-wide adoption of an assessment and data system 
• Utilization of a problem-solving process 
• Curriculum-aligned instruction and intervention driven by student need 
• Capacity building and ongoing professional learning 
• Collaboration and communication  
• Support in selecting Tier 2 intervention programming, diagnostic assessments, and progress monitoring tools 

Customizable workshops for MTSS Academics include: 

• Overview of Multi-Tiered Systems of Support 
• Data Analysis and Problem-Solving Process 
• Assessments for a Multi-Tiered System of Support 
• Tier 1 Instructional Strategies in Literacy and Math 
• Tier 2 Interventions, Diagnostic Assessments, and Progress Monitoring Tools

Literacy is the keystone to every child’s education. From foundational skills in the primary grades to discipline-specific strategies across content areas in the secondary grades, all teachers benefit from using effective strategies in supporting literacy growth in students. DCIU strives to be thought partners and support for our districts through professional development, coaching, and consultation to reflect on and improve program usage, curriculum revision and alignment, interventions, and implementation strategies. Services are customized to meet district needs and plan pathways to success.  

Services include:  

• Reading Specialists Network 
• Literacy Leaders Network 
• Support and training in Structured Literacy, TDAs, writing instruction, and disciplinary literacy 
• Wilson Reading Program, Fundations, DIBELS, Acadience, and aimswebPlus 
• Instructional strategies and interventions for struggling readers 

Our Teaching & Learning department has experienced specialists dedicated to collaborating to increase the math outcomes for all students. We collaborate and support from a perspective that is standards-based, embedded in data analysis, and student-focused. Areas of support include: 

• Flexible grouping 
• Learning/instructional hierarchy 
• Teacher-level content development 
• Analysis and selection process of core, intervention, and assessment systems 
• Curriculum development 
• Prioritizing mathematics standards 
• Collaborating with teachers to enhance student learning from the classroom level 
• Collaborating with special education teachers 
• Building, creating, or enhancing Family Math Nights 

Customizable workshops include: 

• Using Data-based Individualization for Students With and Without IEPs 
• Assessment Systems (Acadience, aimswebPlus, MAP) 
• Explicit Instruction 
• Concrete-Representational-Abstract (CRA) 
• Increasing Student Engagement through Response Opportunities  
• Building Procedural Fluency through Conceptual Understanding 

As schools transition to the new Pennsylvania Science, Technology, Engineering, Environmental Literacy, and Sustainability (STEELS) standards, the vision for Teaching and Learning in Science is that all educators are well-prepared to implement culturally relevant, phenomenon-based, 3-dimensional learning. All students are empowered to make sense of the world around them and solve problems relevant to their lives so that they are prepared for 21st century careers and to make their community and the world a better place.  

Customizable workshops include: 

• Building Leadership Knowledge to Lead STEELS Implementation 
• Science Teacher Leaders Institute 
• Taking Critical Actions 
• Impacting Teaching and Learning 
• Sustaining Implementation for STEELS