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Catalina Foothills School District

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Core Professional Learning Offerings

Core Professional Learning Experiences

Book cover with the title 'Understanding by Design' against an abstract, golden background.

Understanding by Design

Developed by Jay McTighe and Grant Wiggins, UbD is an instructional planning approach that uses backward design to increase student understanding and transfer. UbD complements the CFSD professional learning model in that it “reflects a continual improvement approach to student achievement and teacher craft” (Wiggins and McTighe, 2011). CFSD teachers in Years 5-7 attend formal training with Understanding by Design experts.

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Collaborative Inquiry Teams

Collaborative Inquiry Teams (CITs) are CFSD's school improvement model. In this professional learning structure, educators work together in continuous improvement cycles to identify student learning needs, engage in professional learning, implement targeted instructional strategies, and use evidence to assess impact and refine practice.

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Curriculum Development as Learning

Teams of teachers engage in professional learning to build expertise in instructional and assessment practices as they revise, refine, and design curriculum. Teachers are also supported with job-embedded professional learning during the implementation process.