PA Common Core

PA Common CorePathways for Implementation &

Accelerating Achievement

Ryan T. Monaghan, Ed.D.Spring, 2012

AgendaSolidifying understanding of the design and organizational features of the PA Common Core State Standards.

Discovering how the content of the PA Common Core State Standards promote higher levels of thinking and rigor.

Evaluating & Critiquing the PA Common Core in order to provide leadership and thoughtful integration into what we are currently doing

Common Core Standards• Viewed as “Curmudgeon”

OR• Viewed as “Gold”

CurmudgeonTo tackle the achievement gap, focus on poverty

firstBudgets and class size cannot support raising

standardsQuestionable deign that all K-12 students should

be prepared for college Content is questionable for Informational Texts

and LiteratureResources published are being touted as

supporting CCSS implementation, when in fact they are not

ExpensiveCCSS claims to be research based, rather an

important hypothesis

GoldProvides a much needed wake-up callEmphasis on higher-level comprehensionEqual weight on reading and writingImportance of critical citizenshipEmphasis on complex textsClear design, with central goals and high

standardsIntellectual growth occurs through time, across

years, and across disciplinesCall for proficiency, complexity, & independenceCross-curricular literacy teachingAll students gain access to this workAll states have the same measuring stickSupports professional judgment of classroom

teachers

Implementing the CCSS

CCSS Promote• focus and coherence in

instruction and assessment

• access and acceleration• literacy as a shared

responsibility• leveraging “shared”

standards

CCSS Promote

• Increased expectations• critical thinking• higher levels of comprehension• accessing and analyzing information• the use of evidence and reasoned

judgment• effective oral and written communication

• Teamwork and collaboration

Lessons Learned• Reflect on your experiences

when standards were adopted in your state

• What are your own “lessons learned” for teachers, administrators, and policy makers?

• What do you know now about standards implementation that you wish you would have known then?

Learning from the Past• Too many standards, not enough

time• Standards and assessment not

aligned• Teacher ownership varied from

deep and pervasive to non-existent

• Superficiality and coverage rather than practice, feedback, depth, and rigor

Mistakes to Avoid1. Analysis Paralysis - Don’t wait

for Washington or for “the official answer” to every potential question

2. Abandon current standards-based teaching and assessment techniques – Don’t revert to a norm-based system

3. Try to do it all – it was too much 15 years ago and it’s too much now.

4. Check it off and move on

Power Standards• Leverage – standards in one subject

that support student success in other subjects

• Endurance – standards that help students across the years rather than respond to the testing of a single grade level

• Essential for next grade – standards that help students prepare for next level of learning

Understanding the Common Core: There Are No Shortcuts• The patterns and system that

make up the Common Core are intentionally designed.

• The document, however, is dense.

• You must “dig-in” and spend time with the document yourself – otherwise you would be relying on someone else to tell you their opinion about it.

RigorIn small groups, discuss your definition/understanding of

rigor. Be prepared to share out.

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Content v. Skills• Has less to do with how demanding the material the

teacher covers is

• Has more to do with what competencies students master as a result of the lesson.

“A mile wide and an inch deep”

Cognitive Demand

• The kind and level of thinking required of students to successfully engage with and solve a task

• Ways in which students interact with content

Rigor Myth• Myth #1: Lots of Homework

is a Sign of Rigor• Myth #2: Rigor Means Doing

More• Myth #3: Rigor is Not For

Everyone• Myth #4: Providing Support

Means Lessening Rigor

RigorSo, what is rigor?• The most concise definition of

rigor encountered is taken from Teaching What Matters Most: Standards and Strategies for Raising Student Achievement by Richard W. Strong, Harvey F. Silver and Matthew J. Perini, ASCD, 2001. According to Strong, Silver, and Perini, “Rigor is the goal of helping students develop the capacity to understand content that is complex, ambiguous, provocative, and personally or emotionally challenging.”

Rigor• Findings show “the decision to withhold

rigor from some students is one of the most important reasons why schools fail.” (Strong, Silver, Perini, 2001). We’re talking about instructional delivery methods like project based instruction which use an inquiry model to empower students to seek their own answers to important issues, create models that represent their findings, and explore ways their discoveries can make a positive difference in the world. We’re talking about classrooms that find ways to be connected to the world, whether or not they use the latest technologies, to help create those personal and emotional synapses that motivate students to embrace challenging curriculum. We’re talking about classrooms where students are taught the strategies they need to attack challenging text, detect bias, gather relevant information, and decide how to put what they’ve learned to work in a useful way.

Impacts• Curriculum

• Instruction

»Assessmentand

• Professional development

So what does rigor look like in the classroom?

• What are teachers doing?

• What are students doing?

• What does student work look like at different grade levels?

Ask students• What is the purpose of this lesson?• Why is this important to learn?• In what ways are you challenged to think in

this lesson?• How will you apply or communicate what

you’ve learned? • How will you know how good your work is

and how you can improve it?• Do you feel respected by other students in

this class?• Do you feel respected by the teacher in this

class?

Something to contemplate…Imagine that you were accused of a serious crime you did not commit and were on trial for your life. How confident would you be of getting a fair trial if the members of your jury had merely met the intellectual standards of our college-prep courses as they exist today? Certainly they would know how to memorize information and perform on multiple-choice and short-answer tests. But would your jurors know how to analyze an argument, weigh evidence, recognize bias (their own and others), distinguish fact from opinion, and be able to balance the sometimes competing principles of justice and mercy? Could they listen with both a critical mind and a compassionate heart and communicate clearly what they understand? Would they know how to work with others to seek the truth?

Adapted from Wagner, T. (2006). Rigor on trial. Education Week, 25(18), 28-29.

Design and Organization of ELA

Five Standards• Foundational Skills• Reading Informational Texts• Reading Literature• Writing• Speaking and Listening

An integrated model of literacy

Technology/Media requirements blended throughout

MATHEMATICS K-12

Common Core OrganizationStandards for Mathematics• Two components

• Standards for Mathematical Practice

• Standards for Mathematical Content

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Common Core Organization

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•Standards for Mathematical Practice• Describe varieties of expertise that should be

developed in students• Rely upon longstanding important processes

and proficiencies• Articulate the behaviors of truly

mathematically competent citizens

Common Core Organization

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•Standards for Mathematical Content• Are a balanced combination of procedure and

understanding• Need to connect mathematical practices to

mathematical content

Standards for Mathematical Practice

Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them.• Look for entry points to

solutions

• Consider analogous problems

• Understand approaches of others

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Standards for Mathematical Practice

Reason abstractly and quantitatively.

• Ability to decontextualize• Represent problem symbolically

• Ability to contextualize• Probe referents for the symbols

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Standards for Mathematical Practice Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others.

• Analyze situations

• Recognize and use counterexamples

• Respond to the arguments of others

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Standards for Mathematical Practice

Model with mathematics.• Routinely interpret mathematical

results in the context of a situation• Reflect on whether the results make sense• Improve model if it has not served its purpose

34Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, pp72.

Standards for Mathematical PracticeModel with mathematics.

• High School Example• Student might use geometry to solve a

design problem or use a function to describe how one quantity of interest depends on another

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Standards for Mathematical Practice Model with mathematics.

• Middle School Example• Student might apply proportional

reasoning to plan a school event or analyze a problem in the community

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Standards for Mathematical Practice

Model with mathematics.• Early Grades Example

• Student might write an addition equation to describe a situation

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Standards for Mathematical Practice

Use appropriate tools strategically.

• Pencil and paper, concrete models, ruler, protractor, calculator, spreadsheet, computer algebra system, statistical package, geometry software

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Standards for Mathematical Practice

Attend to precision.

• Use clear definitions in discussion with others

• State meaning of symbols

• Express numerical answers with appropriate degree of precision

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Standards for Mathematical Practice Look for and make use of structure.

• Can see algebraic expressions as single objects or as being composed of several objects

• In x2 + 9x + 14 …– See 14 as 2 × 7 and 9 as 2+7

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Standards for Mathematical Practice Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning.

• Maintain oversight of the process while attending to details

• Notice if calculations are repeated

• Look for general methods and shortcuts

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Standards for Mathematical Content

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Personal Professional Learning Reflections• What information validates and

affirms your thinking and planning for implementation of the CCSS?

• In what areas do you feel challenged?

• What new ideas or strategies will you integrate into your CCSS implementation plan?

• What questions do you still have?