Ensuring Instructional Alignment

Professional Development Credit – This micro-credential may be eligible for continuing professional development credit in your state. Contact your state affiliate association to learn more.

Overview – The Ensuring Instructional Alignment micro-credential requires that the practitioner demonstrates proficiency of all the essential outcomes and the research-based subskills defined in the details. These include: a collaborative process and a commitment to continuous improvement at all organizational levels based on informal and formal data; provide support, resources, and on-going training for all stakeholders to build personal skills in effective and meaningful instruction; and provide for a collaborative, detailed for ongoing monitoring, analysis, and use of data for continuous organizational improvement.

Essential Outcomes – The Ensuring Instructional Alignment micro-credential identifies four essential outcomes:

1. Provide structures and processes that ensure congruency between instructional content, assessment, and instructional methods.
2. Utilize multiple means to effectively communicate to all stakeholders a clear understanding of the instructional alignment process, importance, and effect on student learning.
3. Create a school environment that is supportive and encouraging to the process of teaching and learning.
4. Provide a plan with strategies, implementation timelines, evaluation, and a monitoring process to establish best practices in collaborative instruction for organizational improvement.

Requirements

Part 1. Overview Questions

Develop a responsive narrative that answers the following questions (1,000-word minimum):

1. What collaborative practices and procedures have you implemented to align curriculum to national, state, and local standards?
2. How do you support the staff in the establishment of horizontal and vertical alignment of curriculum and the acquisition of necessary resources for alignment?
3. What processes have you put in place to evaluate instructional methods on a regular basis?
4. What collaborative practices are in place for shared instructional decision making with focus on instructional vision and great expectations for success?
5. In what ways have you ensured a safe, organized, and caring learning atmosphere and how does this affect the teacher/student instructional support system in your school?

Part 2. Skill Demonstration Product with Self-Analysis

Develop an artifact portfolio that captures the essential outcomes for the Ensuring Instructional Alignment micro-credential and complete the evidence self-analysis.

For each EO detail you will be required to reference an uploaded artifact(s) and guide the assessor to the specific evidence (page number, video time stamp, etc.) within the uploaded artifact(s).  An explanation of how the evidence demonstrates proficiency of the outcome detail is also required.  The practitioner must clearly and compellingly demonstrate proficiency of every detail under each essential outcome.

Part 3. Reflection & Application

Submit, in writing, a summary of your experience of Ensuring Instructional Alignment (500-word minimum).  Provide specific examples of how you applied all components of the essential outcomes.  This could include topics covered and other relevant information which demonstrated competencies.  Include a reflection about the impact of this skill on your professional practice and how you will continue to apply it in the future.