Forefront

Common Core

December15, 2015

Steans Family Foundation, 50 EastWashington, Suite 410

What Do Common Core State Standards (CCSS) Look Like in the Early Grades and Are They Appropriate?

The ForefrontCommon Core sub-group of the Education Group held a session entitled What Do CCSS Look Like in the Early Grades and Are They Appropriate? Jim O’Connor, Advance Illinois, introduced the session, which featured presentations from Yolanda Knight, Steans Family Foundation; Deb Hays, The Center: Resources for Teaching and Learning; Roberta Buhle, National Louis University; and Matt McLeod, Education Development Center.

One of the points of controversy about the Common Core educational standards is whether they are age-appropriate, especially at the younger ages. This session looked at the experience some educators are having with the standards and techniques used to engage students. The writing and math standards were both discussed, and examples of classroom practices that can lead to developing strength in the standards were provided in the session. During the discussion, participants made the following points:

  • Common Core standards define what students should know but do not mandate how to teach it. It is up to teachers and administrators to develop the best ways to connect students and standards.
  • One of the major concerns tied to Common Core standards is how assessments are used as part of the educational framework. If standards are not appropriate, then the assessments will not be appropriate either; assessments also need to be used for the purpose for which they are intended. Assessments are best used to help adjust educational practices, rather than making high-stakes decisions, like whether a student should be retained in a certain program or not. In particular, formative assessments can be built into instruction, and instruction can be adjusted based in assessment results.
  • Designing tasks that encourage (rather than require) collaboration can give teachers the chance to observe how students process ideas and share them with their peers. Tasks should be tailored to the text—for example, teachers can ask studentsto discuss the challenges that characters in stories faced and how they responded to those challenges. Teachers can read a story while helping students understand some vocabulary terms used, then students can have discussions. The whole process with a story can take place over three or four days.
  • Children can be encouraged to share their feelings and understanding of stories in a variety of ways—in writing, through verbal expression, through drawings, or other methods that help them share their thoughts.
  • When students are discussing in groups, teachers will not be able to watch the full participation of every student or see indications on how they are progressing through the full range of standards. They will have to combine impressions of what students do across a variety of projects to build an idea of how well the student is moving toward or meeting the standards.
  • Game-like activities, such as rolling dice and combining the rolls to get certain numbers (through whatever combinatory means students devise), can help show how students think about math concepts and how they approach numbers. This can also give a game-like feel to an assessment of student skills, making the process more enjoyable. Tasks like this can be done relatively quickly, as one part of classroom time rather than an entire period.
  • While getting to the right answer still matters, classroom practices and assessments need to dig deeper into the processes students are using to arrive at answers and help them see and master different ways of solving problems.
  • Schools benefit when principals are instructional leaders rather than just disciplinarians. Modeling best practices while providing teachers freedom to lead in their classrooms can help teachers develop confidence while also adjusting teaching practices to what works best for the students.
  • One of the most significant changes developing in classroom practice is moving from a “I do it, we do it, you do it” model and going right to “you do it,” while the teacher and peers help each other go through problem-solving processes.

Three takeaways from this session

  1. One of the major concerns tied to Common Core standards is how assessments are used as part of the educational framework. If standards are not appropriate, then the assessments will not be appropriate either; assessments also need to be used for the purpose for which they are intended.
  2. Children can be encouraged to share their feelings and understanding of stories in a variety of ways—in writing, through verbal expression, through drawings, or other methods that help them share their thoughts.
  3. While getting to the right answer still matters, classroom practices and assessments need to dig deeper into the processes students are using to arrive at answers and help them see and master different ways of solving problems.

Common Core, What Do CCSS Look Like in the Early Grades and Are They Appropriate?

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