Leading Effective Adoptions

The Center for Education Market Dynamics • August 14, 2024

A well-defined instructional vision is critical in the adoption of new math materials.

Before diving into the selection process, it’s essential to establish a clear, content-specific vision that aligns with your district’s goals for math instruction, student learning, and teacher support. This vision not only sets district-wide expectations but also serves as a guiding framework for evaluating and selecting high-quality instructional materials (HQIM).

This article emphasizes the importance of engaging a diverse group of stakeholders—including district leaders, teachers, and other community members—in the vision-setting process. Collaborative involvement ensures that your vision is widely supported and that the chosen math materials will meet the needs of both students and teachers. With a solid vision in place, districts can strategically map out the selection and implementation process, leading to a more cohesive and successful adoption of math HQIM.

[District leadership] needs to set a vision through a collaborative process and then ask their content experts to provide the look-fors and requirements for what it means in the content area and materials. Otherwise, how do we know that what we want for kids is in common?

– John Drake Endowed Director of the Teaching, Learning, and Instructional Leadership Collaborative, at the Orange County Department of Education (CA)

In this article, district leaders can expect to learn about:

• Developing a clear, content-specific vision that reflects your district’s beliefs about math instruction, student learning, and teacher support, serving as a foundation for curriculum selection.
• Engaging stakeholders in developing the vision to ensure broad support and alignment across your district.
• Mapping selection and implementation processes by leveraging the instructional vision to guide the evaluation and selection of math curriculum, ensuring that new materials align with your district’s educational goals and set the stage for a successful implementation.

Read Leading Effective Adoptions