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High Quality Instruction

Everyone wants learners to get a great education and be college and career ready. Delivering high-quality instruction means we use instructional materials, teaching practices, and learning environments that lead to learner success.

Leading learners to college career readiness through rigorous instructional materials

Delivering high-quality instruction starts with identifying the academic and early learning standards, behavioral expectations, and social and emotional competencies valued by the community for learner college and career readiness.

Providing teachers with access to high-quality, standards-aligned instructional materials and curriculum-based professional learning can result in improved learner outcomes.

Teaching practices and environments for academic, behavioral, emotional, and social knowledge, skills, and habits

Through words and actions, educators convey messages of high expectations and care for each learner. High-quality teaching is best delivered in settings where learners feel:

  • Safe,
  • supported, and
  • proud to be themselves.

Educators employ high-leverage, evidence-based teaching practices, delivered through an agreed-upon instructional framework for inclusive, well-managed learning environments. Specifically, they:

  • Design and deliver instruction that helps learners achieve success in mainstream society while sustaining their identities, home culture, and language,
  • develop learners’ academic, behavioral, emotional, and social knowledge, skills, and habits,
  • ensure learner identities are positively represented in curricular materials and throughout the physical environment,
  • respect and take time to learn about beliefs, practices, and experiences of learners and families, and
  • use rigorous and relevant academic, and social and emotional curriculum aligned to school or district values and standards.

Wisconsin Academic Standards

All learners should receive high-quality, culturally responsive universal academic and behavioral instruction differentiated for learner need and aligned with the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for mathematics and English language arts and state and local standards.

Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction’s academic standards provides consistent grade-level benchmarks.

Connecting Universal Design for Learning

Educators use Universal Design for Learning principles and culturally-responsive practices to inform the development and delivery of instruction in well-managed classrooms to reach, challenge, and engage every learner.

Social Emotional Learning

Teaching social, emotional, and behavioral expectations to all learners is key to creating safe environments that support wellness; and teaching expectations is a critical element of a strong universal level of support. Social emotional learning is the way a child develops the ability to experience, regulate, and express emotions; form close, secure relationships; explore the environment; and learn.

How you know your system has high-quality instruction in place

  • Instruction is based on academic standards, behavioral expectations, and social and emotional competencies valued by the community and that lead to college and career readiness
  • Academic, behavioral, emotional, and social curriculum are rigorous, relevant, and aligned to values and standards
  • Teaching practices use high-leverage, evidence-based, and agreed-upon instructional frameworks that develop learners’ academic, behavioral, emotional, and social knowledge, skills, and habits
  • Teaching strategies are differentiated, universally designed, and culturally responsive
  • Instruction is delivered in well-managed settings where learners feel safe, supported and proud to be themselves
  • Learner identities are positively represented in curricular materials and throughout the physical environment
  • Messages of high expectations and care for each learner are conveyed
  • Instruction is designed and delivered with understanding of and respect for the beliefs, practices, and experiences of learners and families
  • Learners’ success in mainstream society is achieved while sustaining learner identities, culture, and language
  • Delivery of instruction is supported through professional learning and coaching
  • Effectiveness of instruction is regularly reviewed through learner outcome and system implementation data at each level of support and adjusted as needed

Resources for this Key System Feature