Lessons from the Pandemic

Instructional Materials Have Greater Impact When They Incorporate Caregivers into Learning

• By David Nagel
• 07/27/21

A new report finds that high-quality instructional materials that incorporate technology, that are culturally relevant and that bring caregivers into student learning helped remote students meet or even exceed expectations during school shutdowns.

The report, from the Center for Public Research and Leadership (CPRL) at Columbia University, used survey data from nine school districts and charter school organizations.

"We learned through virtual schooling that educators' use of high-quality, culturally responsive instructional materials that are enabled by technology and educative for families can be a game changer," said Elizabeth Chu, executive director of CPRL, in a prepared statement. "Instead of families being 'passive recipients' of instruction, it's time for a new model in education that brings families fully into the instructional process by using high-quality instructional materials to help foster close coordination and collaboration between students, families and educators."

CPRL is recommending that institutions expand the definition of "high-quality instructional materials" to incorporate the three added factors that had a demonstrable impact on student achievement. According to CPRL: "Researchers from CPRL found that high-quality instructional materials are strongest and most impactful when dimensions of "high-quality" are expanded from being aligned to standards to also include being 1) tech enabled, 2) culturally responsive and sustaining, and 3) designed to enhance families' ability to guide student learning and instruction.

Hartford Public Schools was one of the participants in the study, which included 290 interviews. Said Director of Mathematics Mario Carullo, "In Hartford, we've learned how important it is for our students, the majority of whom are students of color and/or from families that are economically disadvantaged, to have access to high-quality instructional materials on a daily basis to foster strong academic partnerships with families."

Detroit Public Schools Community District was another study site. Superintendent Nikolai Vitti said: "The adoption and implementation of high-quality curriculum materials was an essential key to turning around the district and ensuring our students could reach their academic potential. The pandemic was not an excuse not to continue to ensure our students received access to these materials. Our district team worked hard to ensure all of those materials were fully accessible online when the vast majority of students were learning online. This was a commitment to equity for our students."

The complete report is freely available here.