Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction

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Teresa Sweet
Bureau Chief
325 West Gaines Street, Suite 432
Tallahassee, Florida 32399-0400

Phone: 850-245-9032
Fax: 850-245-0826

About Us

The Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction includes the offices of Healthy Schools, Humanities, Instructional Materials, Library Media Services and Instructional Technology, and Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM). Our mission is to provide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance for implementing legislation, State Board of Education policy and rule, and Department initiatives pertaining to curriculum and instruction for Florida students and teachers. Services are provided for district and school staff members, parents and students, Department of Education staff, other state agencies, college faculty, and professional education associations. Our goal is for all Florida students totaling more than 2.6 million to receive a high quality education that will prepare them to be active citizens, critical thinkers, and lifelong learners.

The Bureau is responsible for the development and implementation of Florida's Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for the Arts, Health Education, Physical Education, Science, and Social Studies, as well as the implementation of the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts/Reading and Mathematics. The Common Core also includes standards for Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Successful implementation of these rigorous and relevant standards will prepare Florida's students for college and career.

The Bureau also manages more than $30,000,000.00 in federal and state grants to support professional development for teachers and administrators throughout the state as well as the development of quality instructional tools.

Common Core State Standards

Florida’s timeline for implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, English/Language Arts, and Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects is available at Florida’s CCSS Implementation Timeline (PDF, 104KB).

Professional development opportunities to support the implementation of the Common Core State Standards include but are not limited to the following:

2013 Common Core State Standards Summer Institutes - Registration Open
The Florida Department of Education is pleased to announce that registration is now open for the 2013 Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Summer Institutes. Participants will have an increased knowledge of the CCSS and shifts in instruction to enhance learning opportunities and instructional delivery to support student success. This year there will be seven, two-day institutes held at high schools around the state.

Date	Location	Host District
June 18-19	Gulf Breeze High School	Santa Rosa
June 25-26	Boca Ciega High School	Pinellas
June 27-28	Boca Ciega High School	Pinellas
July 16-17	Santaluces High School	Palm Beach
July 18-19	Santaluces High School	Palm Beach
July 23-24	Atlantic Coast High School & First Coast High School (split)	Duval
July 25-26		Duval

Please visit http://www.regonline.com/2013CCSSI to register no later than April 1, 2013. Team registrations will be accepted and confirmed based upon the order in which they are received.

Additional information concerning the 2013 CCSS Summer Institutes is available at http://www.fldoe.org/schools/pdf/2013CCSI-RegMemo.pdf (PDF, 151KB).

Florida’s Department of Education will not provide crosswalks for English Language Arts/Reading and Mathematics between the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Sunshine State Standards. The implementation of the Common Core State Standards necessitates a change in instruction; hence, there is concern that if a teacher thinks a new standard is like an old standard, the instruction will not change, and the old lesson will stay the same. In this scenario, students would not reap the benefits of improved instruction with a clear focus on the new more rigorous standards. Districts are encouraged to adhere to the department’s implementation plan which includes a blended curriculum in 2013-2014.

Resources

The 2013-2014 "blended" course descriptions for mathematics aligned to the CCSS as well as Next Generation Sunshine State Standards for assessment purposes during this year of transition are now available on Florida's standards database (CPALMS) at http://www.cpalms.org/news/Announcement_blended_130116.aspx.

The Mathematics Formative Assessment System (MFAS) for K-3 Common Core State Standards contains a collection of formative assessment tasks and rubrics covering each of the Common Core State Mathematics Standards in grades K-3. These resources are now available at http://www.cpalms.org/RESOURCES/PublicPreviewResourceCollection.aspx?ResourceCollectionId=45.

Professional Development Toolkits (K-8) specific to the Florida English/Language Arts Formative Assessment System and Common Core State Standards provide teachers with a storehouse of information and resources to support teaching and learning. These resources support teachers in completing lessons and can enhance the Lesson Study process through differentiated instruction. These resources are available at http://deveqtkr.fldoe.org/access/home.do.

Teachers' Standards Instructional Tools (TSIT) to allow teacher to individually Collaborate Plan Align Learn Motivate Share (iCPALMS) are now available online. Sign-in or register online for an iCPALMS account at http://www.cpalms.org/login.aspx?ReturnUrl=%2fportal%2fdefault.aspx. Tools include but are not limited to the following:

Curriculum Mapping Tool
Lesson Planning Tool
Lesson Study Support System
Online Professional Development Modules
Standards Progression Mapping
Standards Visualizer

National PTA website, Parent's Guide to Success. Advice for parents on helping their children successfully master the Common Core State Standards at every grade level.

Race to the Top Projects

Florida Center for Research in Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (FCR-STEM) - Mathematics Formative Assessment System (MFAS)

The Mathematics Formative Assessment System for the K-3 Common Core State Standards (K-3 MFAS-CCSS) is designed to support effective teaching and learning of more rigorous K-3 mathematics concepts associated with the Common Core State Standards, and for all students, higher mathematics achievement and a stronger conceptual foundation essential to the development of advanced mathematical reasoning and problem solving. Teachers practicing formative assessment ask students to perform tasks, explain their reasoning and prove their solution. The evidence gathered enables teachers to differentiate instruction based on students' cognitive strategies rather than solely on incorrect answers. The system includes four interdependent components:

(1) For each K-3 Common Core State Standard in Mathematics, at least four tasks and rubrics will be available to assist teachers in gathering evidence of students' thinking in order to identify gaps in students understanding as well as misconceptions. The rubrics provide guidance to teachers in differentiating instruction as their students progress from the earliest stages of understanding concepts associated with each standard (Level I) through full understanding (Level 4).

(2) A web-based system and tools will provide teachers with full access to the standards and rubrics as well as four professional development modules focused on formative assessment and the use of MFAS-CCSS in the classroom. A fifth module will be available to support teachers in utilizing the system with English Language Learners. All will be available at CPALMS.org, Florida's official source for standard information and course descriptions.

(3) Eighteen (18) lesson study toolkits aligned to the domains of the grades K - 3 CCSS in mathematics will be available to support teachers as they work in collaboration to plan instruction related to the new standards. The toolkits are presented in the context of the Lesson Study Support System accessible at CPALMS.org.

(4) The results of two randomized studies designed to test the effects of formative assessment on students' mathematics achievement and teachers' mathematics content knowledge will be published.

Major milestones to date include:

For grade K and 1, the formative assessment tasks and rubrics for each of the Common Core State Standards in mathematics is available at CPALMS.org. For these two grades, the system includes 215 tasks and rubrics with at least four formative per K - 1 CCSS mathematics standard. Current development work is focused on extending MFAS to grades 2 - 3 and will be completed by June 30, 2013.
Four MFAS professional development modules are currently available at CPALMS.org. The fifth module focused on the instructional needs of ELL students will be available June 30, 2013.
Eighteen (18) lesson study toolkits aligned to the domains of the grades K - 3 CCSS and the Lesson Study Support System are currently being piloted by teams of teachers throughout Florida. The toolkits and the support system will be revised based on teacher feedback and available at CPALMS.org by June 30, 2013.
An eighteen week randomized study of formative assessment conducted January-May 2012 for grades 2 and 3 suggested positive effects for those teachers with relatively higher levels of implementation of formative assessment. Specifically, students of teachers who implemented five or six tasks and differentiated instruction related to the tested benchmarks scored significantly better than control students on the NGSSS math benchmark test. On average, approximate effect sizes were 0.6 between non-use and high-level use (~.7 in Grade 2 and ~.55 in Grade 3). In grade 3, implementation of nine tasks followed by differentiated instruction was associated with closing the gender gap between males and females on FCAT. A year-long test of the effects of the MFAS-CCSS for trades K and 1 in currently underway in three Florida school districts. The results of this study will be available in late summer and early fall 2013.

Panhandle Area Education Consortium (PAEC) - STEM for Gifted and Talented in Rural Districts

The purpose of this project is to provide gifted and talented students in small rural districts with an opportunity to participate in particularly unique and innovative rigorous learning experiences related to content in the areas of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) and to have access to highly effective mathematics and science teachers, professors, researchers, and business persons to provide instruction and mentorships to Florida's most gifted and talented students. Major milestones to date include:

Personnel from Florida's three educational consortia, the Panhandle Area Educational Consortium, Heartland Educational Consortium, and North East Educational Consortium are currently working with twenty-seven small and rural school districts that have identified almost 1000 gifted and talented students to take part in project activities.
Project advisory boards have brought individuals from school districts, higher education, business and industry, workforce, and economic development together to join forces to explore issues related to the STEM talent gap from the various perspectives and to collaborate in order to provide STEM-related learning experiences.
Since January 2012, FloridaLearns STEM Scholars participants have taken part in 51 regional forums on the campuses of community colleges, regional colleges, or universities. Forums have provided opportunities for students to interact with faculty members, scientists, STEM business and industry professionals and take part in collaborative problem-solving and leadership development activities. As of February 2013 forum participation was 2,719.
The project's distance learning initiative is up and going. Florida Virtual School rigorous STEM online courses are being promoted and two-way interactive distance learning equipment is being used to deliver rigorous STEM courses, such as AP calculus, Honors Chemistry, and Dual enrollment math in five districts.
During the summer of 2012 students from across the consortia took part in one of seven Summer Challenge experiences where they spent multiple days delving deeply into a variety of open-ended STEM problems, enriching knowledge and skills, interacting with higher education faculty, and learning more about STEM careers. Content for an eighth Summer Challenge has been developed. This summer students will again have the opportunity to take part in Summer Challenges and content already developed will be tweaked, so that school districts, regional colleges, community colleges, or universities may use the curricula in order to sustain this project activity with a minimal investment.
The FloridaLearns STEM Scholars Talent Development Initiative is underway! By the end of February, approximately 300 STEM-related businesses had been contacted and 79 had signed on to provide a variety of talent development opportunities that include tours, career coaching, shadowing, mentoring, or internship experiences.
The STEM Talent Development initiative will increase the intensity of experiences offered in summer of 2013 as teacher/student teams will be afforded opportunities to spend eight days in a STEM-related workplace or at a field site. Project personnel are currently working to identify businesses, institutions, and agencies willing to provide these experiences.

Florida State University - Teacher Standards Instructional Tools (TSIT)

By the 2012-2013 school year, teacher support tools to implement the CCSS will be accessible to all teachers in Florida through CPALMS. CPALMS is an online toolbox that helps teachers effectively implement teaching standards through providing them information, resources, tools, and professional development. CPALMS is also the State of Florida's official source for standards information and course descriptions. The CCSS have been integrated within Florida's standards database and all the tools (e.g., lesson planning tool) available on CPALMS. Major milestones to date include:

Thousands of Freely available Instructional/Educational Resources to Support the Implementation of the Standards
CPALMS provides thousands of standards-aligned teaching resources and original content. All resources have been recommended, created, and have undergone a rigorous review process that includes educators and subject area experts prior to their publication on the website.
Published resources are freely accessible and can be found on the standard or course description pages. By locating a course or standard, you will find all the available resources related to it.

Resources on CPALMS include a wide range of variety such as: full lesson plans and units of instruction, Model Eliciting Activities (integrated STEM lessons and activities), virtual manipulatives, games/simulations, videos, formative and other type of assessments, lesson study toolkits, learning progression maps, professional development modules, and several others.

More than 9,000 resources have been submitted and undergoing review, approximately 4,000 have been published, 2,500 aligned to the CCSS, and thousands more to come through the following CPALMS initiatives:
- Lesson Plan Development: Educators and subject area experts from across the state are engaged in teams to add more than 2,000 full model lessons specific to the mathematics, science, and English language arts standards. More information on lesson plan development
- Model Eliciting Activities (MEAs): MEAs are open-ended, engineering-based interdisciplinary problems (e.g., science, mathematics, English language arts) that require students to create solutions in the form of mathematical and scientific models that reveal their thinking about concepts embedded in the problem. Dozens of MEAs are now available and more than 500 will be added by June 2014. An introduction video and sample MEAs
- Standards Progression Maps: The CPALMS standards progression maps are interactive visual representations of the flow of concepts and skills contained in educational standards. The interactive maps for the CCSS mathematics and English language arts have been developed in 29 total maps. The science standards will be mapped by June of 2014. Access the standards progression maps
- Perspectives - a standards-based brief video series: 4-6 minute brief videos featuring CCSS mathematics and NGSSS science standards discussed by experts, teachers, professionals, and skilled enthusiasts! Resources for professional development, lesson/ curriculum development, and classroom viewing. More than 40 are currently available and a total of 200 will be created by June 0f 2014. Learn more about Perspectives and access sample videos
- Lesson Study Toolkits & Support System: One of the project goals is to produce four toolkits by June of 2014 for each of the following subjects: mathematics, science, and English language arts. Several toolkits have been published and many more will be added throughout 2013. A Lesson Study Support System was added to iCPALMS and provides a step-by-step guide and collaboration platform for teams of teachers engaged in lesson study cycles. More information on lesson study toolkits and the support system
- Rating the CCSS for Content Complexity: CPALMS developed and published a common description for the four different levels of content complexity, the ratings for each of the standards, an introduction video on the ratings and process, and a PD module specific for teachers. More information about rating the CCSS for content complexity
Planning Tools and iCPALMS
iCPALMS is the individualized portion of the system and it is a web 2.0 platform with embedded web apps, services, content, and professional development that together help bridge standards, curriculum, instruction, and assessment through collaboration and customization by individual users. Access to iCPALMS requires setting up a free account. iCPALMS currently has 14 web apps that include:
- My resources: provides recommendations for instructional resources that you can use in the classroom. It also provides you access to build and submit resources (e.g., lesson plans) to share on CPALMS.
- My Planner: helps you create an interactive curriculum plan.
- Standards Visualizer: that enables you to interact with the standards like never before.
- Lesson Study Support System: guides you through and serve as a collaborative tool through lesson study cycles.
- Standards progression mapping tool: enables you to view the published CCSS maps and build your own.

These are only few of the available apps on iCPALMS.

Additional information on iCPALMS apps | Login/Register for an account | Open a tutorial for setting up an account

Professional Development Opportunities
The CPALMS team has provided hundreds of face-to-face and web-based training sessions to educators around the state and is available to do the same at your school/district. The following PD programs are currently available to all schools and districts in Florida:
- Workshops and Conferences: CPALMS has provided more than 50 presentations so far and plans to continue presenting at statewide teacher conferences related to math, science, English language arts, and technology.
- Regional Coordinators: the CPALMS regional coordinators are available to provide training sessions to districts, coaches, or even a group of educators interested in leveraging CPALMS/iCPALMS. Request your customized session today by filling the online request form.
- iCPALMS Champions: The Champions is a network of expert CPALMS users who will serve as the professional development coordinator within their local school/district. There are currently 48 champions throughout the state and this number will double in the upcoming year.
- Custom Webinars: More than 80 webinars have been provided to educators around the state. Request your customized webinar today by filling the online request form.
- Online Tutorials: a series of online tutorials is available to support the website users with the use of the different tools and components of CPALMS. You can access these tutorials under the iCPALMS section of the website by clicking on "Related tips/tutorials". Many more tutorials are added to support the different website functionalities and tools.

Course Requirements K-12

Florida Statute, 1003.42, provides for required courses and instruction to ensure that students meet State Board of Education adopted standards. Most specifically, members of the instructional staff of the public schools, subject to the rules of the State Board of Education and the district school board, shall teach efficiently and faithfully, using the books and materials required that meet the highest standards for professionalism and historic accuracy, following the prescribed courses of study, and employing approved methods of instruction.

State Board of Education Rule 6A-1.09412 Course Requirements - Grades K-12 Basic and Adult Secondary Programs reads: A course description directs district personnel by providing the essential content and course requirements for each course in grades K-12 contained in the "Course Code Directory and Instructional Personnel Assignments" adopted by Rule 6A-1.09441, F.A.C. Course requirements approved by the State Board of Education and are (available) online.

Course descriptions (requirements) define content standards for all subject area and grades K-12. For additional information, please contact any subject area specialist within the Bureau of Curriculum and Instruction.

Offices

Office of Healthy Schools - The mission of the Office of Healthy Schools is to create supportive school environments that provide students and staff the opportunity to develop positive health related decision-making skills, leading to optimal academic success and quality of life. Staff members in our office are available to assist with health education curriculum, physical education curriculum, and the creation of healthy school teams.

Office of Humanities - The Office of Humanities provides curricular and instructional leadership in the areas of the fine arts, the language arts, the social sciences and gifted education. Its mission is to enhance instruction and learning in these areas through curricular articulation and integration, as well as through innovative K-12 content organization and instructional pedagogy.

Office of Instructional Materials - The Office of Instructional Materials implements the Statute driven State Instructional Materials Adoption process. The mission of the office is to ensure that the highest quality instructional materials, aligned to the Next Generation Sunshine State Standards (Common Core) are available to Florida’s students and teachers.

Office of Library Media Services and Instructional Technology - The mission of Library Media Services and Instructional Technology is to collaborate with all stakeholders to assist schools in providing a quality education for all students and to provide guidance in delivering excellent library media and instructional technology programs. Specifically, through library media and instructional technology programs, students will become active and creative locators, evaluators, and users of information.

Office of Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) - The Office of STEM works collaboratively with the Division of Career and Technical Education (CTE) and is charged with defining research-based state education policy and programs for the state of Florida to increase student knowledge and performance in STEM related content areas.

Florida Department of Education