Why Is the Common Core Different than Other Educational Reforms?

By Sharon Coletti, InspirEd Author

 

     From all we’ve seen and heard, it seems there’s a LOT of confusion about the Common Core Standards. So we at InspirEd Educators decided to devote a series of blog entries to examining “issues” surrounding the Common Core. We hope to become both a source of ideas as well as offer a forum for inspired educators everywhere to share their insights. We decided to start with the basics: the MAIN difference between then, BCC – Before the Common Core, and now, ACC.

 

     Learning takes place when new information or skills are integrated into a person’s existing framework of knowledge. And while each student may learn differently and see things their way, certain “teaching methods” have been shown to work with wide ranges of students. And they ALL have one thing in common, AN EMPHASIS ON CRITICAL THINKING!

 

    A 1950’s study (Benjamin Bloom, et al) found that the vast majority of classroom activity was spent at the knowledge level in which students spend most of their time memorizing content for tests. (shown below left). But numerous studies and practitioners have found that students “retain” FAR more content if they’ve examined it critically in some way. Therefore, it makes sense for students to spend more time thinking critically as shown on the right in the diagram below. Plus, we’re also teaching useful skills they’ll need to function in the 21st century world!

 

 

   Critical thinking is what the Common Core is all about. Each specific standard requires students to go beyond fact-based knowledge and demonstrate skills that will help them across the curriculum, in college, their career, and in life.

 

   Years of brain research has proven among other things that learning occurs more readily when the brain is challenged (Cain, Cain, et al). Posing thought-provoking, multi-faceted questions that require students make a choice and defend it enables them to “process” content and see “the point” of what they’re learning. Simple examples to use in the Social Studies classroom include: analyzing a historical decision, serving as an “advisor” to a famous leader on a key issue, or collaborating with others to solve a local problem. And of course students must support their ideas with relevant text or other content! The simple requirement that students express AND SUPPORT their ideas complies with the Common Core and fosters interested, involved students in the process!

 

What is your state or district doing to implement the Common Core? Have you had staff development, received new resources, had new positions created? Tell us about your situation and its reception in the schools!

 

This sample lesson offers an example:

   

Poetry & Fluency - Stopping traffic at TCEA!

We're wrapping up our last day at the TCEA conference.  We met so many great educators here in Austin! It was a great venue to introduce our new “I Think: Language Arts” series. The first unit Poetry & Fluency stopped traffic all day long. Very well-received by all for its strong focus on reading and the common core standards. 

 

Next stops?

Missouri Social Studies on 2/23 and

North Carolina Social Studies on 2/28.

http://shop.inspirededucators.com/1701-Poetry-and-Fluency_c143.htm

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Common Core: REAL Educational Reform!

I have been in education a very long time, almost 40 years in and outside the classroom. In all that time I’ve seen my share of educational “efforts,” each one promising to be “the answer.” I personally was a product of “New Math,” which refutes the success of that trend. Later I was plopped into the classroom at a time when almost anything went and somehow survived that, though I’m not sure about my early students. By the 80’s we were told “Whole Language” would revolutionize education. And don’t even get me started on NCLB!!! Anyway, at this point it’s probably fair to say that there is no magic bullet.

But we do have an opportunity to solve at least SOME problems with the Common Core. From all I can tell with my somewhat jaded professional eye, the Common Core Standards really DO represent the first real shift in educational process. They move “instruction” from teacher-directed content dissemination into an active, engaged, student-centered process of thinking, sharing ideas, and learning. And it’s really pretty simple! It’s a change on our part from structuring lessons with low-level questioning to high-level thinking, asking ourselves, “How can we put the ball in the kids’ court? What can we ask THEM to figure out?”

Of course critical thinking is nothing new! As a social studies educator, I can attest to the fact that we’ve been pushing it for decades, as has Gifted Ed. I took my GT certification classes about 20 years ago. The class began with a projected graphic depicting the distinction between regular ed. and gifted. It showed Bloom’s triangular taxonomy flipped upside-down. In other words, instead of the bulk of educational time being spent on memorizing facts like Bloom, et al found, it noted that the greatest amount should be spent on creating new products and ideas and evaluating solutions.

And I thought, “Why should critical thinking just be the domain of the gifted?” In fact, low-performing students are the very ones who CAN’T or WON’T TRY to do low-level stuff! The pressure of “not believing they can get the right answer anyway,” is in fact at least partially to blame for many discipline issues. Kids, like the rest of us, thrive on challenge and excitement! They, like we, find enthusiasm infectious. That’s what the Common Core suggests. The more enthusiastic teachers are about ideas and the more they challenge their students to do and more importantly THINK; the better. Classes are more interesting and fun, students are more engaged and logically, happy, engaged students remember more and perform better.

All this from the Common Core? Yes! Take the first standard, for example. Instead of placing the emphasis on getting answers explicitly stated in text, the goal is to guide students to make inferences from the stated clues. BIG difference! In teaching, this means the questions change from what happened, who said what, or why, if stated. These are replaced by: “Which event do you think had the greatest impact and why?” “Who, if anyone, do you think deserves credit and why?” and any other open-ended offerings that allow students to insert themselves and their views into the content.  


(Click here for a lesson example.)


We’ve used this simple approach and find it works beautifully! And now, we’d like to hear what other InspirEd Educators have to say!

 

 

How are YOU, your school, your district, and state implementing the Common Core?
 

What are your colleagues saying about it? What’s working? What isn’t?
 

How do YOU elevate the thinking processes in your classroom? How do students react?
 

We’re teachers and educational reformers. We believe problems can be solved; and an InspirEd community can change things if we work together and share ideas! So let’s get the dialogue started!

By: Sharon Coletti