Guidance for Selecting or Curating High-Quality Instruction…

material may have digital components, a technology integration specialist should be included, as well.

When adopting supplemental materials, the type of material being adopted and the number of teachers who will be using it should dictate the makeup and size of the selection committee. To secure buy-in for the new material selected, the committee should consist of a representative sample of the teachers who will be using it and staff who will be supporting its implementation. Including both experienced and inexperienced teachers will help ensure that the material selected will support teachers with a wide range of experience.

In addition to the makeup of the committee, it is important to document attendance requirements and how selection committee members will be replaced if they are unable to meet those requirements.

Distribute a Needs Assessment

Creating opportunities for all stakeholders to participate in the adoption processes fosters support for and mitigates opposition to the materials. Distributing a needs assessment is an effective way to accomplish that. A needs assessment is a survey for gathering

feedback about the features stakeholders believe are necessary (“must have”) and desirable (“nice -to- have”) in the new material(s). Distributing a needs assessment gives all stakeholders, not just the selection committee, a voice in the process.

Practice Tip

When developing the needs assessment survey, we have observed that it is helpful

to first ask stakeholders about the features they value in the current

materials before asking about features they believe the new materials must have.

For the adoption of core materials, the needs assessment should be distributed to • All teachers who will be using the newly adopted material, including teachers who provide support services