The first big idea of United We Learn’s vision for the future of public education in Kentucky is “creating a more vibrant experience for every student.” How do educators provide vibrant student learning experiences? What is needed to establish a system that equitably supports these types of learning opportunities within Tier 1 instruction? The Kentucky Department of Education (KDE) Office of Teaching and Learning is creating a series of resources designed to build understanding of the interaction between deeper learning and a local curriculum through the lens of learning science to help promote access to vibrant learning experiences for all students. Specifically, these resources aim to:  

• Examine deeper learning and the role of a local curriculum anchored in high-quality instructional resources (HQIRs) in enabling deeper learning experiences in Tier 1 instruction;  

• Explore how understanding of education research and learning science can inform effective integration of deeper learning and HQIR within a local curriculum; and 

• Provide modules to support curriculum integration according to learning science. 

The first resource in this series is an introduction: Integrating HQIRs and Deeper Learning to Strengthen Tier 1 Instruction. The modules to follow will be released for each of four stages–Priming for Learning, Surface Learning, Deep Learning and Transfer Learning–to support district curriculum teams in applying educational research and learning science in order to strengthen their local curriculum for Tier I instruction. Each module will build understanding of learning science principles for its phase, establishing connections to deeper learning and then providing indicators for analyzing the local curriculum and making smart adjustments.  

Please watch the Standards Newsletter for more information and to access the modules as they are released.