Open Up Resources curricula are free—so you can afford to invest in your team’s learning and success.
A growing body of research shows that pairing a curriculum adoption with strong professional development designed around the materials yields tremendous outcomes.
Our district partners agree that professional learning is a must:
95% of teachers who implemented the curriculum found in-person professional development helpful, and 21% shared that PD was an absolute necessity.
Hear from early users of the curriculum about the role of PD in their success below.
The Open Up Resources 6–8 Math program, authored by Illustrative Mathematics, is designed to elevate math practice, and success starts with supporting teachers with any necessary practice shifts.
We take a scaffolded approach to PD, meeting teachers where they are in their practice and building on their prior knowledge.
Our PD advances both instructional knowledge and professional practice, with options that help educators:
Ensure teachers connect with the curriculum and internalize “the math behind the math.” We recommend supporting educators through Curriculum Kickoff sessions, followed by Unit Launch sessions that offer year-long support right when it’s needed.
We also offer cutting-edge options like our phone-a-math-expert service, which offers individualized, safe support from master math professionals.
Support teachers with PD dedicated to instructional moves, from succeeding with the Five Practices to exploring effective facilitation techniques—shifting from “sage on the stage” to “guide on the side.”
Some districts want help building leadership capacity around mathematics, and arrange dedicated sessions to meet the needs of coaches and/or building leaders.
We offer both in-person and virtual delivery, and we support train-the-trainer implementations.
We tailor PD packages around district capacity and needs, and we’d love to speak with your team.
During the ‘16–17 school year, 175 teachers in six districts participated in the beta release of this curriculum.
Their insights on the role of PD in their success are instructive:
“I had to make real shifts in practice with this curriculum. First, I had to reduce the amount of time I speak. I had the habit of going over detail, so I had to learn to sit back and let kids work through the problems. I also had to stop jumping to a student’s rescue. Now I let them struggle and collaborate with others around problems, rather than bailing them out right away.”
– Deb Steffen Teacher, Evergreen Public Schools (WA)
“Make sure your teachers know that this curriculum is going to grow their instructional practices—which is fantastic, because presumably we all have a growth mindset and we want our students be successful. Yet districts that want to see fantastic outcomes must invest in the professional learning to accompany the curriculum, to support and encourage teachers along the way.”
– Corrine Williams Mathematics Curriculum Specialist, Evergreen Public Schools (WA)
“The district needs to fully support the time it’s going to take for teachers to get the PD that is going to be necessary for their support. That is one of the beauties that we’ve had in using OER resources is that it’s a lot less expensive—you’re not buying a book, you’re having worksheets or workbooks made for you which is a lot less expensive. So we’ve been able to take the money that we spent on books previously and put it towards teacher PD so that we can pay for more collaboration time, and more training for teachers, and more workshops, and more studio days, and sub days so that teachers can have the support they need to actually work on their practice and not just have a book in hand.”
– David Parascand Math Specialist, Tumwater School District (WA)
BetterLesson provides the guidance, strategies, and processes teachers need to create learner-centered classrooms. The model consists of three primary areas: personalized coaching, a continuous learning framework, and a professional learning platform consisting of thousands of proven instructional strategies.
Teaching Lab’s professional development implementation process mirrors the cycle of inquiry by working with its partners to identify needs, design and test solutions, monitor teacher and student learning, and adapt.