The Cedar Rapids Community School District (CRCSD) is implementing new rules regarding changes in curriculum structure.
One of the district’s new programs is instructional learning packages. These packages are given to teachers to help create a thought-out curriculum that will help students succeed.
“For math, it’s called imagine learning (IL),” Kennedy math teacher Emily Vest said. “It is a platform based on illustrative mathematics. This platform is very similar to Google Drive, where you can watch your classes and get dashboards. I can see how the students are doing and what they have done, I can see their responses, so it is easy to monitor.”
Not only does this program help teachers monitor and observe how students are performing and progressing, but it also allows them to see exactly how long a unit should take along with specific lessons.
“They have some decent features, like giving you a scoping sequence,” Vest said. “This shows you how long the unit should take and the course overview and resources. Within it, it just will give you all the lessons and features.”
However, these changes affect aspects of students’ education. Teachers find that the learning packages are limiting students’ learning ability by assuming students have more background knowledge and experience than they do. This makes it difficult for teachers to create lesson plans and worksheets that students can efficiently learn from.
“It isn’t like a traditional teacher who stands up there and lectures. It is very much full of gaps and students are having to fill those in,” Vest said. “It is really hard for me to make lesson plans and not know what they had previously been taught.”
Other educators around the district agree with Vest’s critical view. They believe that the district just isn’t ready for all of this change. Many CRCSD staff and a majority of Kennedy math teachers are unwilling to speak on the topic due to concern for their jobs. This raises questions about how this math curriculum will help or hurt the district.
“These are new changes that we are not ready for,” an anonymous CRCSD educator said. “It decreases the value of my degree. It ensures that teachers can no longer provide extended knowledge or feedback to students.”
This change not only affects the way the teachers are teaching but also the material students are learning. These new learning packages may affect the students’ learning by limiting teachers’ ability to edit the curriculum for each specific class of learners.. This makes it harder for the students to fully grasp the material if they are missing previous skills.
“It doesn’t give you the missing gaps,” Vest said. “I do not know one hundred percent why they changed it, but I know that there was some discussion and I know that some test scores have been broadcasted.”
Leaders around the CRCSD are trying their best to give us the answers. To ensure students, staff and parents are being informed promptly, there have been meetings held specifically for answering questions about district changes.
“I think a thing that we want to continue to communicate is that we’re trying to add to the opportunities, not take anything away,” CRCSD Magnet Coordinator Jillian Schulte said. “And just have it be more by design and more intentional, a little more organized so that no matter where you go to school, you have the opportunities to have experiences that set you up for success beyond high school.”
