Welcome to the UFT Learning Connection

What is the UFT Learning Connection?
The UFT Learning Connection is a curriculum initiative that seeks to improve instruction in New York City classrooms by providing teachers with the necessary tools to teach students to high standards.

The project was launched in May 1999, when UFT President Randi Weingarten committed the union to a five-year project to develop, field test, revise, publish, and disseminate grade-by-grade curriculum resource guides in the major subject areas, and then provide professional development for their use. In addition to investing its own money, the union is seeking outside funding to support and sustain this unprecedented initiative.

The goal of the curriculum resource guides is aligning standards, instruction, and assessment so that all New York City teachers will understand and know how to implement state and city standards in their classrooms. The guides include learning experiences for teachers to use in their classrooms, and to serve as models for teachers to develop and adapt their own material.

Why did the UFT decide to take on this curriculum initiative?
The UFT was a strong, early supporter of the new standards movement and remains so today. But we also recognize that standards are essentially meaningless unless teachers have the appropriate support needed to implement them in their classrooms. The standards provide the ultimate destination, but not a roadmap for getting there.

While the state and city established the standards and assessments, neither provided the curriculum that teachers said they needed. Teachers found themselves being held accountable for ensuring that all students achieve high standards without being given the necessary tools and support to get them there.

A curriculum that is aligned with the standards is clearly a top education need. It is critical for students, and it is critical for teachers. The union took the bold step to develop the curriculum resource guides to address that need. The effort, the first of its kind in the nation, turned out to be extremely challenging — labor-intensive, intellectually stimulating, very expensive, but ultimately necessary and worth it.

How will the curriculum resource guides help teachers?
The curriculum resource guides are “how-to” books. They will assist teachers with creating a standards-based learning environment that supports high achievement for all students. Written by teachers for teachers, the curriculum resource guides are structured but not prescriptive. Teachers at all levels of experience will find them useful while encouraging their personal creativity and innovation. In fact, in order to support student achievement even further, teachers are encouraged to modify and adapt the material in the guides.

What is the current status of the initiative? (as of September 2002)

Books – The UFT has completed and printed the first set of curriculum resource guides – English Language Arts (Grades K-12). ELA is the first of four subject-area guides that the union is developing.

CD-ROM – A CD-ROM also has been developed that contains all of the information from the printed version of the ELA guides. The books and/or CD-ROM will be disseminated for implementation by New York City teachers during the 2002-03 school year.

Website – A website is planned that will allow teachers to navigate through the guides and selectively print those portions that best meet their needs. The website also will serve an important function by allowing teachers to access new content as it becomes available, and eventually will provide a forum for teachers to learn from each other by sharing their experiences with the guides.

Professional Development – The union is placing a high priority on providing professional development for teachers surrounding the use of the curriculum resource guides. Through its Teacher Centers – the professional development branch of the union – the UFT will utilize its network of staff developers to ensure that the guides are modeled for teachers, and that there is an ongoing system of professional support to sustain their use over the long term. Most important of all, the professional development will help teachers and schools develop their own capacity to create new learning experiences based on the models we have provided.

How are the ELA Curriculum Resource Guides organized?
The ELA Curriculum Resource Guides have been divided into two separate volumes of material:

_ Volume I is grade-specific, the essence of which is a series of “learning experiences.” These learning experiences provide teachers with units of study for use in their classrooms, and clearly identify which standards are being addressed. New teachers, in particular, can use the learning experiences as written to help them get started with their students. Volume I is divided into four separate books – one each for grades K-2, 3-5, 6-8 and 9-12.

_ Volume II is appropriate for all teachers (K-12) and is a comprehensive reference book of supplementary ELA material. It features chapters on teaching approaches, strategies and activities, visual/structural organizers, and assessment. It also includes an extensive bibliography and glossary.

_ Teachers will receive two books – the grade-specific volume for the grade(s) they are teaching and the reference book.

_ A CD-ROM of the guides also will be included so that teachers can use the materials in print or electronically.

What is planned for the future?
In addition to ELA, the union plans to complete similar curriculum resource guides in mathematics by the end of the 2002-2003 school year. Within the next two years, the UFT hopes to complete curriculum resource guides in science and social studies.

All subject-area guides will continue to be expanded over time to allow for the addition of new learning experiences and other materials. Feedback from teachers will help shape the future development of the guides.

For more information on the English Language Arts Curriculum Resource Guides, please contact the UFT Teacher Center Program at 212.475.3737.