Zearn, the publisher of a top-rated elementary math curriculum, today announced the launch of a new professional development (PD) series called Curriculum Study. This series is designed to support schools and districts with year-long professional development that builds a deep understanding of the Zearn Math curriculum.
Curriculum Study PD was built in collaboration with educators to address the need for high-quality professional development that is tailored to the daily math content teachers are teaching in their classrooms throughout the academic year. Zearn's Chief Academic Officer, Stephanie Ely, remarked, "So often, professional development for teachers involves an offsite training at the beginning of year, and then teachers are faced with the ongoing challenge of planning math instruction across a range of learning needs. In our new Curriculum Study PD, we built content that supports teachers in their ongoing work and provides resources that grade-level teaching teams can use to collaboratively explore the Zearn Math curriculum throughout the school year as they prepare to teach each new concept."
Curriculum Study PD is delivered through Zearn's digital platform and includes over 30 one-hour sessions that explore the concepts of each unit of the Zearn Math curriculum. Each session is designed for group learning, with videos and exercises that prompt teachers to analyze the ideas of the unit they are about to teach, assess student work to know what is expected for proficiency, and discuss problem-solving strategies with colleagues. Also included in each interactive session are detailed facilitator guides for administrators and coaches to facilitate the training with teaching teams and participant notes to support learning and takeaways.
Curriculum Study PD is a new addition to Zearn's on-demand professional development platform. In 2017, Zearn launched Classroom Implementation PD, which trains teachers on the Zearn Math rotational classroom model. The newly published Curriculum Study PD is designed to be used in combination with Classroom Implementation PD to support year-long implementation. Publishing professional development content that district and school communities can use to lead training is a key focus for Zearn, according to CEO Shalinee Sharma. "Zearn partners with districts and schools to provide excellent PD content that administrators, coaches, and teachers can deliver in their organizations throughout the academic year. Zearn Classroom Implementation PD and Curriculum Study PD are designed to support a full-year training calendar that builds expertise on implementing and teaching the Zearn Math curriculum."
Zearn PD is part of a suite of implementation tools Zearn offers districts and schools to help all students love learning math, the nonprofit's mission. Also available are School Accounts with administrator-level data and reporting and Printed Materials for students and teachers to use with the curriculum.
