Instructional guidance

Schema last updated September 22, 2026.

Overview

Instructional guidance entities and relationships are referenced in the Learner Variability Navigator and English Learners Success Forum Guidelines datasets.

Instructional guidance includes:

Grade- and subject-specific learner models
Research-backed factors that influence learning or performance
Instructional strategies that support a variety of factors and learner models
Guidance describing what instructional materials should do to support learners (vs. what students should know)

Entities

`LearnerModel`

Grade band and academic subject pair that describes a specific learner profile (e.g., Math 3–6, Literacy 4–6) Each LearnerModel has relevant Factors and Strategys that help contextualize what’s important for student success for that grade and subject.

Property	Description	Type	Cardinality
`academicSubject`	Academic subject	`AcademicSubjectENUM`	1
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY); specifies how the creator should be attributed in accordance with the license terms	`String`	1
`author`	Author of content	`String`	1
`content`	Materials that make up a learner model along with additional information (if available)	`String`	0..1
`description`	Description of the learner model	`String`	0..1
`gradeLevel`	Specifies the educational grade for which the curriculum component is intended	`Array of GradeLevelENUM`	0..n
`identifier`	Identifier of the learner model, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links	`String`	1
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name	`String`	1
`name`	Name of the learner model	`String`	0..1
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer	`String`	1

`Factor`

Characteristic that influences learning or performance (e.g., Working memory, Algebraic reasoning)

Factor category	Examples
Context	Background, environment, access to resources, attention, working memory
Skills	Decoding, fluency, algebraic reasoning

Property	Description	Type	Cardinality
`academicSubject`	Academic subject	`AcademicSubjectENUM`	1
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY); specifies how the creator should be attributed in accordance with the license terms	`String`	1
`author`	Author of content	`String`	1
`category`	Grouping for factors within a LearnerModel	`String`	0..1
`citations`	References to research that supports the factor	`Array`	0..n
`content`	Materials that make up a factor along with additional information (if available)	`String`	0..1
`description`	Description of the factor	`String`	0..1
`gradeLevel`	Specifies the educational grade for which the curriculum component is intended	`Array of GradeLevelENUM`	0..n
`identifier`	Identifier of the factor, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links	`String`	1
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name	`String`	1
`name`	Name of the factor	`String`	0..1
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer	`String`	1

`Strategy`

Instructional practice that supports a variety of Factors and LearnerModels (e.g., Peer teaching supports factors like Math communication and Long-term memory)

Property	Description	Type	Cardinality
`academicSubject`	Academic subject	`AcademicSubjectENUM`	1
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY); specifies how the creator should be attributed in accordance with the license terms	`String`	1
`author`	Author of content	`String`	1
`category`	Grouping for strategies within a LearnerModel	`String`	0..1
`citations`	References to research that supports the strategy	`Array`	0..n
`content`	Materials that make up a strategy along with additional information (if available)	`String`	0..1
`description`	Description of the strategy	`String`	0..1
`gradeLevel`	Specifies the educational grade for which the curriculum component is intended	`Array of GradeLevelENUM`	0..n
`identifier`	Identifier of the strategy, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links	`String`	1
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name	`String`	1
`name`	Name of the strategy	`String`	0..1
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer	`String`	1

`GuidanceFramework`

Root of a subject-specific instructional guidance tree with 4 levels: Framework → Area of Focus → Guideline → Specification Each GuidanceFramework organizes Areas of Focus, Guidelines, and Specifications for a particular academic subject.

Property	Description	Type	Cardinality
`academicSubject`	Academic subject	`AcademicSubjectENUM`	1
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY); specifies how the creator should be attributed in accordance with the license terms	`String`	1
`author`	Author of content	`String`	1
`description`	Description of the item	`String`	0..1
`identifier`	Identifier of the item, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links	`String`	1
`inLanguage`	Language of the content	`LanguageENUM`	1
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name	`String`	1
`name`	Name of the item (e.g. “ELSF Guidelines for Improving Mathematics Materials for English Learners”)	`String`	1
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer	`String`	1

example.json

{
  "type": "node",
  "identifier": "db5be5f7-e4d0-5920-ba75-d2ad37d59f40",
  "labels": ["GuidanceFramework"],
  "properties": {
    "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "attributionStatement": "Knowledge Graph is provided by Learning Commons under the CC BY-4.0 license. Learning Commons received this content under CC BY-4.0 from the English Learners Success Forum (ELSF).",
    "identifier": "db5be5f7-e4d0-5920-ba75-d2ad37d59f40",
    "provider": "Learning Commons",
    "name": "ELSF Guidelines for Improving Mathematics Materials for English Learners",
    "inLanguage": "en-US",
    "author": "English Learners Success Forum",
    "academicSubject": "Mathematics"
  }
}

`GuidanceFrameworkItem`

Individual statement or structural element within an instructional guidance framework GuidanceFrameworkItems are Areas of Focus, Guidelines, or Specifications, distinguished by statementType.

Property	Description	Type	Cardinality
`academicSubject`	Academic subject Mapped from source `subject` values: `ela` → “English Language Arts”, `math` → “Mathematics”, `science` → “Science”	`AcademicSubjectENUM`	1
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY); specifies how the creator should be attributed in accordance with the license terms	`String`	1
`author`	Author of content	`String`	1
`description`	Description of the item Areas of Focus include a thematic title (e.g., “Leveraging Students’ Assets”) Guidelines and Specifications carry full statements	`String`	1
`gradeLevel`	Specifies the educational grade for which the guidance is intended; set to K–12	Array of `GradeLevelENUM`	1
`identifier`	Identifier of the item, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links	`String`	1
`inLanguage`	Language of the content	`LanguageENUM`	1
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name	`String`	1
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer	`String`	1
`statementCode`	Short, human-readable code that identifies the item within its subject; codes are unique within a subject Area of Focus: Roman numerals I–V Guideline: Integers 1–15 Specification: Guideline code + lowercase letter a-j (e.g., 1a–15c) Guideline numbering runs continuously through a subject and crosses Area boundaries.	`String`	1
`statementType`	Classification for the item’s role in the hierarchy: Area of Focus, Guideline, or Specification	`String`	1

example.json

{
  "type": "node",
  "identifier": "f09c9d99-79e4-5722-8a7c-d77667b325aa",
  "labels": ["GuidanceFrameworkItem"],
  "properties": {
    "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "gradeLevel": "["K", "1", "2", "3", "4", "5", "6", "7", "8", "9", "10", "11", "12"]",
    "attributionStatement": "Knowledge Graph is provided by Learning Commons under the CC BY-4.0 license. Learning Commons received this content under CC BY-4.0 from the English Learners Success Forum (ELSF).",
    "description": "Interdependence of Mathematical Content, Practices, and Language",
    "identifier": "f09c9d99-79e4-5722-8a7c-d77667b325aa",
    "provider": "Learning Commons",
    "inLanguage": "en-US",
    "author": "English Learners Success Forum",
    "academicSubject": "Mathematics",
    "statementCode": "I",
    "statementType": "Area of Focus"
  }
}

Relationships

`hasFactor`

Connects a LearnerModel to a relevant Factor (e.g., Math 3–6 → Working memory)

Source node	Target node
`LearnerModel`	`Factor`

Property	Description
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY)
`author`	Author of this content
`dateCreated`	Date the item was created
`dateModified`	Date the item was most recently modified
`description`	Description of the item
`identifier`	Identifier of the `hasFactor` relationship, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer
`relationshipType`	Normalized value that defines the semantic meaning of the connection between the source and target entities
`sourceEntity`	Entity type from which the relationship originates (starting node in the connection)
`sourceEntityKey`	Source entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset
`targetEntity`	Entity type to which the relationship points (ending node in the connection)
`targetEntityKey`	Target entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset

`hasStrategy`

Connects a LearnerModel to a relevant Strategy

Source node	Target node
`LearnerModel`	`Strategy`

Property	Description
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY)
`author`	Author of this content
`dateCreated`	Date the item was created
`dateModified`	Date the item was most recently modified
`description`	Description of the item
`identifier`	Identifier of the `hasStrategy` relationship, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer
`relationshipType`	Normalized value that defines the semantic meaning of the connection between the source and target entities
`sourceEntity`	Entity type from which the relationship originates (starting node in the connection)
`sourceEntityKey`	Source entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset
`targetEntity`	Entity type to which the relationship points (ending node in the connection)
`targetEntityKey`	Target entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset

`interactsWithFactor`

Connects Factors that influence each other (e.g., Working memory ↔ Attention)

Source node	Target node
`Factor`	`Factor`

Property	Description
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY)
`author`	Author of this content
`dateCreated`	Date the item was created
`dateModified`	Date the item was most recently modified
`description`	Description of the item
`identifier`	Identifier of the `interactsWithFactor` relationship, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer
`relationshipType`	Normalized value that defines the semantic meaning of the connection between the source and target entities
`sourceEntity`	Entity type from which the relationship originates (starting node in the connection)
`sourceEntityKey`	Source entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset
`targetEntity`	Entity type to which the relationship points (ending node in the connection)
`targetEntityKey`	Target entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset

`targetsFactor`

Connects a Strategy to a Factor that it supports or improves (e.g., Peer teaching → Math communication)

Source node	Target node
`Strategy`	`Factor`

Property	Description
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY)
`author`	Author of this content
`connectionType`	Specifies whether the strategy supports or improves the target factor
`dateCreated`	Date the item was created
`dateModified`	Date the item was most recently modified
`description`	Description of the item
`factorCategory`	Category of the target factor
`identifier`	Identifier of the `targetsFactor` relationship, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer
`relationshipType`	Normalized value that defines the semantic meaning of the connection between the source and target entities
`sourceEntity`	Entity type from which the relationship originates (starting node in the connection)
`sourceEntityKey`	Source entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset
`targetEntity`	Entity type to which the relationship points (ending node in the connection)
`targetEntityKey`	Target entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset

`relevantToStandard`

Connects a Factor to a related academic standard

Source node	Target node
`Factor`	`StandardsFrameworkItem`

Property	Description
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY)
`author`	Author of this content
`dateCreated`	Date the item was created
`dateModified`	Date the item was most recently modified
`description`	Description of the item
`identifier`	Identifier of the `relevantToStandard` relationship, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer
`relationshipType`	Normalized value that defines the semantic meaning of the connection between the source and target entities
`sourceEntity`	Entity type from which the relationship originates (starting node in the connection)
`sourceEntityKey`	Source entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset
`targetEntity`	Entity type to which the relationship points (ending node in the connection)
`targetEntityKey`	Target entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset

`hasChild`

Indicates that one entity serves as the parent of another Every node and relationship is scoped to a single subject — no edge connects nodes across frameworks.

Source node	Target node
`GuidanceFramework`	`GuidanceFrameworkItem`
`GuidanceFrameworkItem`	`GuidanceFrameworkItem`

Relationship property	Description
`attributionStatement`	Textual credit that acknowledges the source or creator of a work, included when required by the content’s license (e.g., Creative Commons BY)
`author`	Author of this content
`dateModified`	Date the item was most recently modified
`description`	Description of the item
`identifier`	Identifier of the item, either as textual strings or as URL (URI) links
`license`	License that applies to this content, as a URL or a license name
`provider`	Service provider, service operator, or service performer
`relationshipType`	Normalized value that defines the semantic meaning of the connection between the source and target entities (`hasChild`)
`sourceEntity`	Entity type from which the relationship originates (starting node in the connection)
`sourceEntityKey`	Source entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset
`targetEntity`	Entity type to which the relationship points (ending node in the connection)
`targetEntityKey`	Target entity’s property that contains its unique identifier; used to locate and reference the entity in the dataset

example.json

{
  "type": "relationship",
  "identifier": "90e8c355-6cf0-5635-8ecc-e9d2d55b946d",
  "label": "hasChild",
  "properties": {
    "license": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/",
    "targetEntity": "GuidanceFrameworkItem",
    "attributionStatement": "Knowledge Graph is provided by Learning Commons under the CC BY-4.0 license. Learning Commons received this content under CC BY-4.0 from the English Learners Success Forum (ELSF).",
    "description": "A hasChild relationship indicates that one entity serves as the parent of another, representing a hierarchical connection in which the target entity is a direct child of the source entity",
    "identifier": "90e8c355-6cf0-5635-8ecc-e9d2d55b946d",
    "provider": "Learning Commons",
    "sourceEntity": "GuidanceFramework",
    "sourceEntityKey": "identifier",
    "author": "English Learners Success Forum",
    "targetEntityKey": "identifier",
    "relationshipType": "hasChild"
  },
  "source_identifier": "db5be5f7-e4d0-5920-ba75-d2ad37d59f40",
  "source_labels": ["GuidanceFramework"],
  "target_identifier": "f09c9d99-79e4-5722-8a7c-d77667b325aa",
  "target_labels": ["GuidanceFrameworkItem"]
}

Schema release history

Date	Changed
September 22, 2026	Added `GuidanceFramework`, `GuidanceFrameworkItem`, and `hasChild`
January 28, 2026	Added `relevantToStandard` relationship
December 8, 2025	First release

Learner Variability Navigator dataset

Explore coverage, use cases, and download details for the Learner Variability Navigator dataset.

English Learners Success Forum Guidelines dataset

Explore coverage, use cases, and download details for the English Learners Success Forum Guidelines dataset.

Standards schema reference

Connect learner factors to the standards they are relevant to.

Curriculum schema reference

Pair instructional strategies with curriculum lessons and activities.

Understanding Knowledge Graph

Getting Started

Using Knowledge Graph

Datasets

Schema Reference

Resources

Overview

Entities

`LearnerModel`

`Factor`

`Strategy`

`GuidanceFramework`

`GuidanceFrameworkItem`

Relationships

`hasFactor`

`hasStrategy`

`interactsWithFactor`

`targetsFactor`

`relevantToStandard`

`hasChild`

Schema release history

Learner Variability Navigator dataset

English Learners Success Forum Guidelines dataset

Standards schema reference

Curriculum schema reference

​Overview

​Entities

​LearnerModel

​Factor

​Strategy

​GuidanceFramework

​GuidanceFrameworkItem

​Relationships

​hasFactor

​hasStrategy

​interactsWithFactor

​targetsFactor

​relevantToStandard

​hasChild

​Schema release history

​Related topics

Learner Variability Navigator dataset

English Learners Success Forum Guidelines dataset

Standards schema reference

Curriculum schema reference

Overview

Entities

`LearnerModel`

`Factor`

`Strategy`

`GuidanceFramework`

`GuidanceFrameworkItem`

Relationships

`hasFactor`

`hasStrategy`

`interactsWithFactor`

`targetsFactor`

`relevantToStandard`

`hasChild`

Schema release history

Related topics