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Learning Excellence - Authentic Learning

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Learning Excellence

Authentic Learning

RATIONALE:

Bismarck Public Schools believes authentic learning experiences empower learners to develop agency, efficiency, and passion.

DEFINITION:

Authentic learning allows students to explore, discuss, and meaningfully construct concepts and relationships in contexts that involve real-world problems and projects. This can take the form of learning trips, projects, capstones, internships, alternative pathways for graduation, or other learning opportunities that result in relevant and useful products or experiences.

GOAL:

Every learner has access to a variety of experiences that facilitate meaningful connections to relevant real-life situations.

OBJECTIVES:

  • Design and implement a model for developing authentic learning experiences.
  • Collaborate with community partners to develop authentic learning experiences.
  • Ensure that experiences are grounded in and connected to standards.

Learning Excellence - Effective Teaching Practices

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Learning Excellence

Effective Teaching Practices

RATIONALE:

Bismarck Public Schools believes that all learners deserve effective teaching that supports them in growing to their full potential.

DEFINITION:

Effective teaching is the application of evidence-based practices based on collaboration and intentional, reflective planning. To optimize learning, experiences are inclusive of supportive relationships, clarity of purpose, and appropriate challenge.

GOAL:

All educators implement research-based instructional strategies, inclusive of social emotional support, culturally responsive practices, success skills, and disciplinary literacies.

OBJECTIVES:

  • Increase competence of all staff in implementing effective teaching strategies in all tiers represented within each school’s instructional framework.
  • Ensure all staff participate in professional learning opportunities aligned to personal professional development goals.
  • Expand our existing coaching model to include more co-teaching and peer coaching.
  • Build internal capacity to facilitate professional learning and PLC collaboration.

Learning Excellence - Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Academics (MTSS-A)

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Learning Excellence

Multi-Tiered Systems of Support for Academics (MTSS-A)

RATIONALE:

Bismarck Public Schools believes in empowering all learners to be choice-ready through a tiered systems framework.

DEFINITION:

Multi-Tiered System of Supports (MTSS) is an integrated framework for continuous improvement of high-quality instruction, data- driven decision-making, collaboration, and shared leadership to provide all students with the best academic opportunities to succeed.

GOAL:

Every student experiences growth through multi-tiered instruction and assessment practices inclusive of differentiated learning paths and supplemental support.

OBJECTIVES:

  • Ensure that all students experience core instruction that is responsive to their needs.
  • Ensure that intervention and enrichment opportunities support students by closing achievement gaps and accelerating growth.
  • Focus the work of Professional Learning Communities (PLCs) in each building on the essential questions of high functioning PLCs.

Learning Excellence - Personalization

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Learning Excellence

Personalization

RATIONALE:

Bismarck Public Schools believes personalization honors who learners are, how they learn, and what they aspire to do.

DEFINITION:

Personalization is a relationship-based approach that provides learners with more choice in how they demonstrate mastery. Instruction is tailored for each learner’s culture, strengths, needs, and interests - including enabling voice and choice in what, how, when, and where they learn. Personalization empowers exploration, practice, agency, communication, creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and efficiency.

GOAL:

Every learner has access to personalized learning paths.

OBJECTIVES:

  • Foster skills and dispositions that support staff, student, and stakeholder engagement in personalized learning.
  • Identify alignment and clarify or revise inconsistencies in policy, infrastructure, curriculum, instruction, and professional development needed to systemically support personalized learning across the district.
  • Expand learning environments for all learners to include supports that accelerate personalized competency-based learning (i.e. blended learning, flexible time, multiple learning paths).

Learning Excellence – Standards-Based Education

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Learning Excellence

Standards-Based Education

RATIONALE:

Bismarck Public Schools believes standards drive instruction and that all students need to meet or exceed proficiency on North Dakota state standards.

DEFINITION:

Standards-based education is a systemic approach to delivering high quality, equitable learning experiences inclusive of instruction, assessment, grading, and academic reporting practices deliberately focused on students demonstrating mastery of skills and understandings inherent in the standards.

GOAL:

Deliver a high quality, equitable, standards-based education that is consistent across grade levels and courses.

OBJECTIVES:

  • Increase all stakeholders’ (e.g. staff, students, families, community) understanding of the components of effective standards-based education. (SBE Pocket Guide/Parent Guide)
  • Establish and maintain a K-12 curriculum review and revision cycle that aligns to budget priorities.
  • Establish and communicate clear and consistent grading practices that are supportive of learning, bias resistant, and intrinsically motivating.