5.3 Selecting and Using High-Quality Instructional Materials (HQIM)

High-quality instruction can not occur without High-Quality Instructional Materials. High-quality instructional materials are defined by their focus on rigorous, grade-level skills that creates explicit connection between various standards. Strong high-quality instructional materials in tutoring can create a more consistent student learning experience that relies less on the individual experience of the tutor. Section 5.3 contains content about HQIM selection, implementation, and HQIM monitoring and adjustment.

BEFORE YOU BEGIN

To effectively plan for the integration of high-quality instructional materials, ensure you have completed the following tasks:

HQIM SELECTION
Key RecommendationsCorresponding Resources
  • Assemble a review team that includes leaders, content-area experts, educators, and community members in the curriculum selection process.

Playbook Subsection: 3.3 Engaging Stakeholders

Website: Curriculum Support Guide-Develop the rubric 

  • Build understanding of high-quality instructional materials characteristics within the team.

Reading: Guidance for Selecting and Implementing Early Literacy Instructional Materials 

  • Set criteria to ensure materials align with grade-level standards, rigor, foundational skills, and student goals.
  • Prioritize resources that support equitable learning opportunities for all students, regardless of subject area.

Website: Tutor Training Library items on HQIM

Website: 4 Ways to Elevate Cultural Responsiveness in a Materials Adoption

Template: Culturally Responsive English Language Arts Curriculum Scorecard

  • Select instructional materials that are research-based, culturally responsive, and user-friendly.

Website: EdReports

Example: Math Resource Appendix

Example: Tennessee Foundational Skills Early Grades Literacy Supplemental Resources

Example: Saga Education Math Curriculum for Upper Grades 

HQIM IMPLEMENTATION
Key RecommendationsCorresponding Resources
  • Develop a rollout plan with clearly defined, timed milestones and assigned responsibilities.
Checklist: Implementation Planning and Responsibilities (Word Document Available)
  • Define goals around HQIM implementation that clearly define the data that will be collected to assess success. Integrate goals into a larger tutor performance rubric that is shared with the tutor.

Template: Data-Driven Goals for HQIM Implementation (Word Document Available)

Checklist: Tutor Performance (PDF Available)

  • Train tutors to adapt and modify HQIM without compromising the level of rigor necessary through content, process, or product to support the personalized needs of students (e.g., scaffold prerequisite knowledge, chunk material, provide culturally-relevant examples).

Reading: Early Literacy Tutor Professional Learning Framework

Example: Deans for Impact Tutor Training

HQIM CONTINUOUS IMPROVEMENT
Key RecommendationsCorresponding Resources
  • Use student and tutor feedback to refine both materials and tutoring strategies.
Survey: Tutoring Surveys for Students and Tutors
  • Collect data regularly to assess student progress and tutor effectiveness in literacy and math.

Template: Assessment and Progress Monitoring Plan 

Template: Standard Data Review Protocol

  • Track and address implementation challenges.
Reflection Guide: Root-Cause Analysis
PLANNING FOR LONG TERM
  • Train and support tutors to implement the curriculum materials effectively.
  • Collect data on material implementation to inform continuous improvement.
  • Build in time to regularly align tutoring sessions with curricula and instructional strategies.
Tutoring Quality Standards and Self-Assessment Indicators
Take the free, 15-minute, and research-based Local Education Agency (LEA) Self-Assessment. This subsection addresses these tutoring quality standards and Self-Assessment indicators.
Instruction
High-Quality Instructional Materials		The program uses high-quality instructional materials (HQIMs) that are user-friendly, rigorous, and research-based.
3d.1 | Instructional materials that are aligned with state standards and/or the school’s curriculum
3d.2 | Instructional materials that are easily modified without compromising the level of rigor necessary to support the personalized needs of students
3d.3 | Instructional materials that are free from bias and culturally responsive - emphasizing the cultural capital, strengths, and resilience of students from diverse racial, ethnic, and linguistic groups
3d.4 | Instructional materials that are integrated with the program’s assessment strategy and performance measures