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Educator Actions

Elements

Creating Culture and Support for Excellence for All

Inquiry as the Primary Mode of Learning

Practice of Constitutional Democracy and Student Agency

Assess, Reflect, Improve

Stakeholders

Student Engagement

Educator Actions

School Leadership Actions

Community, Family, and Caregiver Engagement

Educator Actions

The IDS Framework provides specific actions teachers, librarians, school counselors, coaches, sponsors and other certified staff can takes to promote IDS elements and values across the school system.

Creating Culture and Support for Excellence for All Inquiry as the Primary Mode of Learning

 

 Practice Constitutional Democracy and Student Agency Assess, Reflect, Improve
1TAa. COMMUNICATE, with clear expectations, support, and care, that all students can and will become fully prepared citizens of this world through both in school and extracurricular activities. 2TAa. DESIGN and SCAFFOLD opportunities for students to engage in civic inquiry aligned to content standards and course mandates, differentiating and scaffolding instruction to ensure accessibility and rigor for all learners that may include language and cognitive support.

 

 3TAa. PROVIDE students the opportunity to practice democratic skills in the classroom, school, and extracurricular activities through co-creating success criteria, norms, and options for civic engagement in and out of school. 4TAa. ASSESS student knowledge and skills using a variety of modalities throughout lessons/units to help students improve their own learning.
1TAb. INTEGRATE and MODEL activities to cultivate student motivations in order to improve and develop a growth mindset in students. 2TAb. WEAVE and MODEL media literacy throughout the curriculum to help students be wise producers and consumers of information in and out of the classroom. 3TAb. FACILITATE opportunities for students to take informed action aligned to content standards and course mandates in their communities, interacting with community leaders, initiatives, and issues.

 

 4TAb. ENCOURAGE students to reflect on and improve their work by providing timely feedback as well as facilitating peer to peer collaboration in classroom work and extracurricular activities.
1TAc. BUILD relationships with and among students by showing interest in learning more about students and their families and communities. 2TAc. EMBRACE students’ lived experience and background as a critical starting point for inclusive instruction aligned to course mandates and participation in extracurricular activities, centering student voice in asking questions to guide instruction and coaching.

 

 3TAc. ENGAGE students in sharing successes with the larger community (in and out of school) to educate others and raise awareness of civic learning acorss the disciplines. 4TAc. REFLECT on student performance data, as well as formal and informal student feedback, to identify where instruction and coaching can be scaffolded and differentiated to serve all students’ needs
1TAd. ADVOCATE for broader systems changes that promote civics integration throughout school experiences, policies and practices (in and out of school) to support student leadership and civic excellence for all. 2TAd. EMBED student reflection throughout the inqury process in order to collaborate with students on how to build upon successes and address challenges. 3TAd. EMBED opportunities through a variety of discussion structures and protocols (dialogue, active listening, writing, and art as expression) for students to understand diverse perspectives, collaborate to solve challenges through productive disagreements and conflict-resolution in and out of school.

 

 4TAd. COLLABORATE with cultural institutions (museums, historical societies, libraries, etc.) and civic learning partners in professional development to utilize resources to prepare students for college, career, and civic life that is inclusive of historically underrepresented and economically excluded groups.
1TAe. CREATE a climate that facilitates civil dialogue, empathy for multiple viewpoints, and student processing of emotionally difficult events. 2TAe. INCORPORATE opportunities to analyze diverse forms of evidence and perspectives, including images, art, media as well as texts. 3TAe. DESIGN experiences to support student research skills including data collection, conducting interviews, and reporting findings. 4TAe. BE ACTIVE IN professional learning communities focused on support, sharing resources, collaboration and mentoring to promote a continuous cycle of improvement and courageous engagement in dialogues and discussions that result from school wide civic learning.

 

Glossary of Terms
  • Assessment Mechanisms/Formats: Different ways to measure how well you understand something. Examples of these:  tests, projects, presentations, discussions.
  • Civic Competencies: The skills and knowledge you need to be an active and informed citizen. This includes things like critical thinking, communication, and problem-solving.
  • Civic Engagement: Taking part in your community and government. This can involve things like voting, volunteering, attending meetings, being a good neighbor, or  starting your own initiative.
  • Civic Inquiry Experiences: Learning activities that encourage you to ask questions, research, and analyze issues that affect your community.
  • Civic-mindedness: Having a strong concern for the well-being of your community and a willingness to contribute to its improvement.
  • Civic Responsibility: The duties and obligations you have as a citizen, like obeying the law and participating in civic life.
  • Civics: The study of the rights, duties, and principles of citizenship. It’s about how governments work and how citizens can participate.
  • Civics Integration: Bringing civics lessons into other subjects, like science or literature, to show how they connect to real-life situations.
  • Civil Dialogue: A respectful conversation about a topic, even if there are disagreements.
  • Co-creating: Working together with others to make something new, like a project or solution to a community problem.
  • Collaborate: Working together with others to achieve a common goal.
  • College, Career, and Civic Engagement (C3): A program of National Council for Social Studies which emphasizes the acquisition and application of knowledge to prepare students for higher education, career, and civic life.
  • Communities of Practice: Groups of people who share a common interest and learn from each other.
  • Community Stakeholders: People or groups who are affected by decisions or issues in a community.
  • Community Voice: The collective opinions and needs of the people in a community.
  • Conflict Resolution: Finding a peaceful way to settle disagreements.
  • Constructive Compromise: Reaching a solution that meets some of the needs of all parties involved in a disagreement.
  • Democratic Classroom: A learning environment that encourages participation, discussion, and respect for diverse viewpoints.
  • Democratic Skills: The abilities needed to participate in a democracy, like critical thinking, public speaking, respectful listening and compromise.
  • Dialogue: A two-way conversation where everyone has a chance to be heard.
  • Dispositions: Your attitudes, behaviors, and habits related to civic life. For example, a disposition towards civic engagement would be a willingness to volunteer or participate in local government.
  • Diverse Family Structures: Recognizing that families come in all shapes and sizes, and everyone can contribute to civic life.
  • Equitable Access: Making sure everyone has a fair chance to participate in civic life, regardless of background.
  • Extracurricular Activities: Activities outside of regular classes that allow one to pursue a special interest, meet new people, and develop a new skill set. 
  • Faculty Senate: A group of teachers who represent the faculty and have a say in school policies.
  • Formative Assessment: Regularly checking understanding throughout the learning process, allowing you to adjust your learning approach.
  • Global Citizen: Someone who understands the interconnectedness of the world and takes responsibility for global issues.
  • Growth Mindset: Believing that your abilities can be developed through effort and learning.
  • Historically Underrepresented and Economically Excluded Groups: Communities whose voices haven’t traditionally been heard in government or civic life, and who may face economic challenges.
  • Informed Action: Taking action based on knowledge and understanding of the issue.
  • Inquiry Learning: Learning by asking questions, researching, and analyzing information.
  • Media Literacy: The ability to critically evaluate information you see and hear in the media.
  • Media Literacy Creators (or Producers): People who create media content.
  • More Perfect Union: This phrase comes from the preamble to the U.S. Constitution. It reflects the idea that the founders aimed to create a constantly improving system of government, better than any that had come before.
  • Norms for Individual Tasks: These are the unwritten rules or expectations for how to complete specific tasks or behave in certain situations. For example, the norm for taking a test might be to work quietly and independently.
  • Participatory Budgeting: This is a process where community members directly decide how to spend part of a budget. It allows people to have a say in how their tax dollars are used.
  • PBIS stands for Positive Behavioral Interventions and Supports. It’s a framework for creating a safe and positive school environment by focusing on rewarding good behavior and providing support to prevent problems.
  • Place-based Learning: This approach to education connects what you learn in the classroom to the real world by using your local community as a context for learning.
  • Productive Disagreements: Disagreements where people listen to each other, focus on the issue, and work towards finding a solution that considers all viewpoints.
  • Recursive: This means something that repeats itself, but with changes based on what was learned from previous iterations. 
  • Schoolwide Civic Learning: Efforts to integrate civic education throughout a school, not just in civics class. This can involve things like student government, service learning projects, and discussions about current events.
  • Student Voice: Giving students opportunities to express their ideas, opinions, and concerns about their world. 
  • Wise Producers and Consumers: People who create and consume media responsibly, with an awareness of potential biases and the impact of their choices.

 

Examples of Elements in Practice

Coming Soon!