This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Kenneth R. Chelst, Paul T. Sindelar, Tanya Santangelo, Nathan Burroughs, Tina Matuchniak, Allison Wynhoff Olsen, Steve Graham, Mary Theresa Kiely, Leland S. Cogan, and Alan H. Schoenfeld.
(2015). Summative and Formative Assessments in Mathematics Supporting the Goals of the Common Core Standards, Theory Into Practice. Being proficient in mathematics involves having rich and connected mathematical knowledge, being a strategic and reflective thinker and problem solver, and having productive mathematical beliefs and dispositions. This broad set of mathematics goals is central to the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. High-stakes testing often drives instructional practice. In this article, I discuss test specifications and sample assessment items from the two major national testing consortia and the prospects that their assessments will be positive levers for change. For more than 20 years, the Mathematics Assessment Project has focused on the development of assessments that emphasize productive mathematical practices, most recently creating formative assessment lessons (FALs) designed to help teachers build up student understandings through focusing on student thinking while engaging in rich mathematical tasks. This article describes our recent work. [More] Descriptors: Summative Evaluation, Formative Evaluation, Mathematics Tests, Educational Objectives
(2015). Research-Based Writing Practices and the Common Core: Meta-Analysis and Meta-Synthesis, Elementary School Journal. In order to meet writing objectives specified in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), many teachers need to make significant changes in how writing is taught. While CCSS identified what students need to master, it did not provide guidance on how teachers are to meet these writing benchmarks. The current article presents research-supported practices that can be used to meet CCSS writing objectives in kindergarten to grade 8. We identified these practices by conducting a new meta-analysis of writing intervention studies, which included true and quasi-experiments, as well as single-subject design studies. In addition, we conducted a meta-synthesis of qualitative studies examining the practices of exceptional literacy teachers. Studies in 20 previous reviews served as the data source for these analyses. The recommended practices derived from these analyses are presented within a framework that takes into account both the social contextual and cognitive/motivational nature of writing. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, State Standards, Writing Instruction, Elementary Education
(2015). Where's the Rhetoric?, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. At the university level, rhetoric dominates conversations surrounding writing pedagogy, yet preservice English language arts teachers are not typically instructed to teach rhetorically. Although the stated exigence of the Common Core State Standards is to prepare students to be college and career ready, this analysis suggests misalignment. This research analyzed how "rhetoric" is used in the Common Core and how the Standards indicate what is necessary for writing in college. Findings indicate that "rhetoric" is used implicitly rather than explicitly and as a tool rather than a theory. The Common Core also promotes a progression of prescriptive writing tasks, a language of power, and a preference for logic over emotion. Rather than promote readiness, the Standards perpetuate the gap between secondary and postsecondary writing experiences. [More] Descriptors: Rhetoric, Language Arts, English Curriculum, State Standards
(2015). Rethinking the High School Diploma, Education Next. As states move to implement the Common Core State Standards, key challenges remain. One is how to make sure a high school diploma acknowledges what students have achieved. Should states adopt a two tiered diploma, in which students who pass internationally aligned Common Core exams at a career- and college-ready level receive an "academic" diploma, while students who fail to meet that bar receive a "basic" diploma? Yes, say three prominent thinkers who have long wrestled with questions of standards, testing, equity, and excellence. This article features a discussion with Chester E. Finn, Jr., a distinguished senior fellow at the Thomas B. Fordham Institute, Richard D. Kahlenberg, author of the definitive autobiography of Albert Shanker, and Sandy Kress, who advised President George W. Bush on the No Child Left Behind Act. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Graduation Requirements, High School Graduates, High School Equivalency Programs
(2015). Common Core: Teaching Optimum Topic Exploration (TOTE), Contemporary Issues in Education Research. The Common Core has become a household term and yet many educators do not understand what it means. This article explains the historical perspectives of the Common Core and gives guidance to teachers in application of Teaching Optimum Topic Exploration (TOTE) necessary for full implementation of the Common Core State Standards. An effective teacher must be a facilitator of learning, not a guardian of knowledge. The teacher should open the door for students to explore, create and think. Exceptional educators of the past–e.g. Piaget, Vygotsky, and Dewey – provide the education field with thoughts verifying the critical importance of the involvement of both educators and students in the learning process. This article gives current educators suggestions from the research of past experts to create strong lessons using the Common Core. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Guidance Programs, Educational History, Educational Policy
(2015). Supporting Classroom Instruction: The Textbook Navigator/Journal, Phi Delta Kappan. Researchers at the Center for the Study of Curriculum at Michigan State University have developed a tool to help teachers implement the Common Core State Standards in mathematics by letting standards, not textbooks, guide their instruction. Using the web-based Textbook Navigator/Journal, teachers can pick a standard and ask which portions of the textbook cover it, or they can use the Navigator to identify which Common Core standards are embodied in a particular lesson in the textbook. The Navigator lets teachers control their mathematics instruction, liberating them from rigidly following textbooks and allowing them to focus on teaching the content their students are expected to learn. The Navigator is based on the results of careful analyses of 34 textbook series and 185 individual mathematics textbooks. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Program Implementation, Instructional Innovation, Teaching Guides
(2015). Envisioning the Future of Special Education Personnel Preparation in a Standards-Based Era, Exceptional Children. The authors consider the future of special education personnel preparation by responding to an overarching question: "What frameworks might teacher educators use as a basis to promote special education teacher effective performance now and in the future?" In answering this question, they summarize current trends in the context of schooling and special education (i.e., Common Core State Standards [CCSS], multi-tiered systems of support [MTSS]) and what these contexts demand of special education teachers. The authors propose a practice-based model for fostering effective special education teacher performance. Grounded in the science of learning, the model includes approaches in teacher education that align with this literature. Implications for implementing the model are provided, which recognize current constraints on schools and colleges of education, to better promote this model for fostering effective performance. [More] Descriptors: Special Education Teachers, Teacher Education, Teacher Effectiveness, Teacher Education Programs
(2015). English Learners, Writing, and the Common Core, Elementary School Journal. Adopted by 46 states, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) present a vision of what it means to be literate in the twenty-first century and call for all students, including English learners, to develop critical reading skills necessary for a deep understanding of complex texts, and critical writing skills to write about those texts. This article addresses how teachers can prepare English learners to meet the CCSS for writing in grades K-8. It considers the degree and type of additional scaffolding English learners need to write at a level required in the standards, gives examples of best practices for teaching English learners, and provides specific lessons and activities for the types of writing emphasized in the standards. In addition, the relevant research on English-learning writers in grades K-8 as well as on effective interventions geared toward helping English learners attain higher level academic literacy is reviewed. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Elementary School Students, Middle School Students, Writing Skills
(2015). The Root of the Problem, Mathematics Teacher. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics expect students to build on their knowledge of the number system, expressions and equations, and functions throughout school mathematics. For example, students learn that they can add something to both sides of an equation and that doing so will not affect the equivalency; however, squaring both sides can lead to extraneous solutions. For students to make sense of the situations presented in this article, teachers must provide students with a solid foundational understanding of radicals and noninvertible processes. Teachers can help students by being more rigorous in their own algebraic manipulations and explanations and by requiring students to be more precise in theirs. Although plus-minus signs may seem minor at first, they can lead to misunderstandings as students progress in the algebra curriculum. Teachers need to know when to expect these misunderstanding, why they occur, and how they might help students make sense of these situations. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Problem Solving, Mathematical Concepts, Concept Formation
(2015). Investigating Integer Restrictions in Linear Programming, Mathematics Teacher. Linear programming (LP) is an application of graphing linear systems that appears in many Algebra 2 textbooks. Although not explicitly mentioned in the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics, linear programming blends seamlessly into modeling with mathematics, the fourth Standard for Mathematical Practice (CCSSI 2010, p. 7). In solving a linear programming problem, we always seek to find the optimal solution, which might be a maximum or a minimum depending on the nature of the problem. When the variables are restricted to integer values, as often happens in the real world, the problem is then an example of integer linear programming (ILP). In this article, we show why this distinction matters and how it might provide an interesting classroom investigation. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Algebra, Problem Solving, Mathematical Concepts
(2015). Finding a Place for CCSS Literacy Skills in the Middle School Social Studies Curriculum, Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. With the increased emphasis on college and career readiness resulting from the adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the need for students to be able to read and write proficiently has become well established. Social studies teachers are now expected to teach nonfiction reading and writing skills in their content-area courses. Many middle school teachers do not have a background in teaching literacy and are reluctant to incorporate literacy strategies into their curriculum because they feel ill prepared or inadequate to the task. They may also feel that their content instruction will suffer because of the time and instructional demands imposed on them by adding literacy to an already long list of learning objectives. The purpose of this article is to provide specifics on how middle school social studies teachers can incorporate content-area literacy skills without abandoning the curriculum and content of their classes. [More] Descriptors: Academic Standards, Core Curriculum, Social Studies, Middle School Teachers
(2015). Strategies for Teaching Self-Determination Skills in Conjunction with the Common Core, Intervention in School and Clinic. College and career readiness for all students includes supporting the needs of students with disabilities. Ensuring students with disabilities are college and career ready goes beyond academics and must include self-determination skill development. As schools adapt to the implementation of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and multi-tiered systems of support (MTSS), it is necessary for teachers to identify ways to teach self-determination skill instruction in conjunction with the CCSS, while considering the needs of students in a MTSS. This article provides teachers with step-by-step instructions for implementing two evidence-based strategies for teaching self-determination skills in the general curriculum supporting students in an MTSS. [More] Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Educational Strategies, Educational Practices, Skill Development
(2015). An Inside Track: Fostering Mathematical Practices, Teaching Children Mathematics. Classroom teachers may not initially consider games as opportunities for students to engage in deep mathematical thinking. However, this article reveals how a second grade veteran teacher used Attribute Trains, a game adapted from NCTM Illuminations, to foster his students' thinking related to key ideas within the Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) from the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 2010). Incorporating mathematical games into the instructional period can be a valuable use of class time by providing a context for students to explore and manipulate mathematical ideas when teachers incorporate higher-order discussion questions that engage children in reflection and representation. When teachers construct guiding questions that encourage students to "reflect on and represent the mathematical ideas that emerged in their play" (NAEYC/NCTM, 2010), they present students with opportunities to use critical thinking while emphasizing content, all in the context of having fun. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Critical Thinking, Teaching Methods, Grade 2
(2015). Gamification: Questing to Integrate Content Knowledge, Literacy, and 21st-Century Learning, Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy. This article showcases the use of gamification as a means to turn an existing curriculum into a game-based learning environment. The purpose of this article is to examine how gamification, coupled with effective pedagogy, can support the acquisition of 21st-century skills. Gamifying content allows students to earn experience points, badges, and awards to "level up" through the curriculum by completing quests. We discuss the theoretical framework, New Literacies theory, which has informed our case study of one teacher's journey using gamification. We align our case study within two educational reforms and initiatives: the Common Core State Standards and Partnership for 21st Century Skills. Survey results and teacher interview data are provided. [More] Descriptors: Educational Games, Instructional Effectiveness, Skill Development, Rewards
(2015). Order of Operations: The Myth and the Math, Teaching Children Mathematics. Many of us embrace the order and beauty in mathematics. The order of operations is an iconic mathematics topic that seems untouchable by time, reform, or mathematical discoveries. Yet, think for a moment about a commonly heard statement in teaching the order of operations: "You work from left to right." At another point in the curriculum, when working on properties of the operations, we say, "You can add numbers in any order" (commutative property). How can both of these statements be true? Preparing students to "do mathematics" means that they have an integrated understanding of rules and properties in mathematics. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) (CCSSI 22010) introduces the order of operations in grade 3, and applies it in all later grades. This article discusses six thought-provoking issues that challenge misconceptions about the the order of operations. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods, Misconceptions, Mathematical Concepts