This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Robin F. Schumacher, Rose Mary Zbiek, Leslie E. Laud, Russell Gersten, Leigh M. Harrell-Williams, Lawrence M. Lesser, Susan De La Paz, Donald L. Compton, Haiyan Zhang, and Niu Gao.
(2015). Teaching Strategies to Improve Algebra Learning, Mathematics Teacher. Improving student learning is the primary goal of every teacher of algebra. Teachers seek strategies to help all students learn important algebra content and develop mathematical practices. The new Institute of Education Sciences[IES] practice guide, "Teaching Strategies for Improving Algebra Knowledge in Middle and High School Students" (Star et al. 2015), provides teachers with specific, evidence-based recommendations that address the challenges of teaching algebra to secondary school students. The guide synthesizes the best available research, according to rigorous What Works Clearinghouse design standards (information about these standards is available at whatworks.ed.gov), and offers a list of actionable recommendations based on that evidence. In this article, the authors present three recommendations from the IES guide and associated actions. They add their review of the recommendations in terms of specific ways to use student work and examples, to capitalize on multiple representations and structure, and to engage students in alternative solutions. Whether they are implementing the Common Core State Standards or their own state standards and regardless of their adopted curriculum, teachers of algebra can benefit from collaborative instructional planning that uses these recommendations and actions. In addition, incorporating these ideas into teacher education programs can better prepare prospective teachers for their initial classroom experiences, which often are in algebra settings. [More] Descriptors: Teaching Methods, Algebra, Mathematics Instruction, Middle School Students
(2014). K-5 Literacy Education: A Comparison between American Common Core State Standards and Chinese National Curriculum Standards, Universal Journal of Educational Research. Literacy education is the most important part in school education and its efficiency determines the students' achievements in their future education and career. In 2010, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were released, which aimed to provide common standards for K-12 public school students in the whole country to improve the educational quality in the U. S. The goals of language literacy in CCSS were illustrated from four dimensions: standards for reading, writing, speaking and listening, and language, which was from the micro-perspective of language learning. In CCSS, English Language Arts Reading is emphasized and the teaching aims, teaching contents, language skills, and the function of new technology was proposed to guarantee the quality of the literacy education. In 2011, Chinese National Curriculum Standards (NCS) was released. The goal of NCS for language learning was designed based on three dimensions: knowledge and ability, process and methods, and emotion, attitude, and values, which was from the macro-perspective of language learning. This paper introduced the background of the implementation of the two curriculums, compared the components and goals between the American CCSS and Chinese NCS, as well as the characteristics of each curriculum to try to find out the implications for each other. [More] Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Literacy Education, Comparative Analysis, Academic Standards
(2015). Are California's Schools Ready for Online Testing and Learning?, Public Policy Institute of California. In addition to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), California is implementing a new, online assessment system: the California Assessment of Student Performance and Progress (CAASPP). Field tests were conducted last spring and the system is being rolled out this year, amid concerns about whether schools are technologically prepared. Using survey data from the California Educational Technology Professionals Association (CETPA), this report examines school districts' technology infrastructure and assesses their readiness for online testing. Three findings emerge. First, school districts express confidence in the quantity and quality of their hardware and network capabilities but remain concerned about software and training of instructional and IT staff. Second, there is sizable variation in readiness across districts, linked mainly to student enrollment and district expenditure levels. Third, a clear majority of the state's onetime CCSS Implementation Fund is going into non-technology spending such as instructional materials and teacher training. Regardless of their current readiness, districts will need targeted and ongoing support to upgrade "and" maintain their technology infrastructure. In the longer term, virtually all schools will need to upgrade their technology infrastructure in order to adopt and benefit from digital learning. [More] Descriptors: Online Courses, Educational Technology, Computer Assisted Testing, Technology Uses in Education
(2015). Inclusion versus Specialized Intervention for Very-Low-Performing Students: What Does "Access" Mean in an Era of Academic Challenge?, Exceptional Children. The purpose of this analysis was to examine achievement gaps on fractions for very-low-performing students as a function of whether they receive inclusive fraction instruction or specialized fraction intervention and with the shift to Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In three randomized control trials conducted in 3 consecutive years, 203 students who scored at or below the 10th percentile in mathematics (mean standard score ~75) at the start of fourth grade were randomly assigned at the individual level to 12 weeks of inclusive fraction instruction or specialized fraction intervention. In Year 1, the fourth-grade mathematics curriculum was guided by initial state standards; in Years 2 and 3, the state was transitioning to CCSS. In each of the 3 years on each measure, results indicated significantly stronger learning and markedly smaller post-intervention achievement gaps for specialized fraction intervention than for inclusive fraction instruction. Yet, the size of achievement gaps grew over the years in both conditions, as CCSS increased the depth and challenge of the fraction curriculum and produced differentially stronger learning in not-at-risk classmates. Implications are discussed in terms of the provision of services for students with learning disabilities in the era of CCSS and the meaning of "access to the general education curriculum." [More] Descriptors: Achievement Gap, Inclusion, Special Education, Intervention
(2015). Fracking: Drilling into Math and Social Justice, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Mathematical modeling, a focus of the Common Core State Standards for School Mathematics (CCSSI 2010) and one of the Standards for Mathematical Practice, is generally considered to be the process of exploring a real-world situation and making sense of it using mathematics (Lesh and Zawojewski 2007). Teachers need to create opportunities for students to use mathematics to make sense of real-world situations. Fracking is shorthand for hydraulic fracturing, a method of extracting natural gas from the earth. This is a current hot-button issue for the community in which the author lives and teaches. High levels of shale have recently been identified in the rural, high-poverty area, and oil and gas companies have begun offering landowners large sums of money to allow drilling on their land. In the following sections, the author will describe the challenges faced during a lesson that allowed her students to model a real-world situation using rich mathematics. This community-focused lesson that allows students to explore and model their findings with mathematics can also produce students who are aware of the environment. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Mathematical Models, Relevance (Education), Teaching Methods
(2015). Inclusion versus Specialized Intervention for Very-Low- Performing Students: What Does Access Mean in an Era of Academic Challenge?, Grantee Submission. The purpose of this analysis was to examine achievement gaps on fractions for very-low-performing students as a function of whether they receive inclusive fraction instruction or specialized fraction intervention and with the shift to Common Core State Standards (CCSS). In three randomized control trials conducted in 3 consecutive years, 203 students who scored at or below the 10th percentile in mathematics (mean standard score ~75) at the start of fourth grade were randomly assigned at the individual level to 12 weeks of inclusive fraction instruction or specialized fraction intervention. In Year 1, the fourth-grade mathematics curriculum was guided by initial state standards; in Years 2 and 3, the state was transitioning to CCSS. In each of the 3 years on each measure, results indicated significantly stronger learning and markedly smaller post-intervention achievement gaps for specialized fraction intervention than for inclusive fraction instruction. Yet, the size of achievement gaps grew over the years in both conditions, as CCSS increased the depth and challenge of the fraction curriculum and produced differentially stronger learning in not-at-risk classmates. Implications are discussed in terms of the provision of services for students with learning disabilities in the era of CCSS and the meaning of "access to the general education curriculum". [This paper was published in "Exceptional Children" (EJ1049289).] [More] Descriptors: Inclusion, Intervention, Special Education, Special Education Teachers
(2015). FIX: A Strategic Approach to Writing and Revision for Students with Learning Disabilities, TEACHING Exceptional Children. Teaching students in upper elementary school to revise their papers effectively requires a three-pronged approach. First, teachers provide instruction on a relevant genre or writing form (using the Common Core State Standards for English language arts or other relevant standards as a guide). Second, teachers help students to use four basic revising tactics (add, move, delete, and rewrite) in order to make changes to words, phrases and sentences, and longer portions of text. Third, using the FIX strategy, a metacognitive routine, helps students to manage the revising process. FIX uses the self-regulated strategy development (SRSD; Harris, Graham, Mason, & Friedlander, 2008) model of instruction. FIX works by teaching students to identify and solve "big-picture" problems in their writing rather than focusing on minor issues. In prior research, we found that students with and without learning disabilities who learned FIX made meaningful changes that improved their papers (De La Paz & Sherman, 2013). With this strategy, students can learn to effectively revise their essays and stories. [More] Descriptors: Strategic Planning, Writing Strategies, Revision (Written Composition), Disabilities
(2014). A Review of the Research: Common Core State Standards for Improving Rural Children's School Readiness, Early Childhood Education Journal. Although a plethora of research focuses on economically at-risk preschool children in general across the United States, little can be found that investigates methods for improving rural children's academic outcomes. This review of research is intended to provide a contextual understanding of the background and current conditions that exist for rural preschool children and their families in America, and to recommend strategies for improving adverse cognition and learning conditions, including a lack of early literacy skills, and low high school completion rates that frequently are found i this population, utilizing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) as a framework. Attention will be given to demographics, academic performance and scientifically-based practices proven to impact both teaching and learning for rural preschool children, particularly those from minority households, incorporating the newly developed CCSS. A comparison will be made between rural white and African American children's learning and cognition, highlighting significant disparities for African American students, despite the fact that they make up less than 10¬ % of all rural preschool children. For the scope of this study, rural communities will be defined as those with varying qualities situated outside of metropolitan areas. Results from this study reveal the conditions for rural preschool children, especially those from African American families with low-income levels. Findings indicate that providing training for teachers, administrators and families linked to rural schools; and infusing CCSS into the rural preschool curricula significantly improves school readiness, and decreases dropout rates. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, School Readiness, Rural Schools, Academic Achievement
(2015). Poetry Feedback That Feeds Forward, Middle School Journal. This article provides a description of three seventh grade English teachers' attempt to augment creativity, reading, and deep understanding, and the standards they used to come up with five essential questions surrounding an eight-week unit on poetry. Each of these questions helps to address the school standards and the Common Core State Standards (RL 7.4, 7.5 7.10) in reading, analyzing, and interpreting poetry (National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, 2010). As customary school practice, all teachers teaching the same subject in a grade were required to use the same standards and curriculum, but each could deliver instruction based on her/his preference. As a result, one of the teachers decided to use formative assessments to guide her instructional lessons throughout this unit. She used the following guiding questions to do so: (1) What is the poem about? (2) What is the mood or atmosphere of the poem? (3) What poetic devices have been used and what is their effect? Please discuss at least one poetic device. (4) What is the message in the poem? What does the poet want us to think about? (5) What is your opinion of the poem, and why? [More] [More] Descriptors: Poetry, Middle School Teachers, Middle School Students, Grade 7
(2015). Teachers Unions and the Common Core, Education Next. The media and observers across the ideological spectrum were surprised and, in some cases, disconcerted in July 2014, when at the annual American Federation of Teachers (AFT) convention in Los Angeles, the union's leadership team announced that its Innovation Fund grants of $20,000 to $30,000 were going to be made available to state and local affiliates to critique the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the massive multistate effort to improve student achievement. "It's a sign that teachers are frustrated and fed up-and they're making their anger heard, loud and clear," opined a July "Politico" story about the new initiative. "This is a huge step because this time last year, they were gung-ho for Common Core," said Fordham University's Mark Naison, a critic of the standards, also in "Politico." David Menefee-Libey, a political scientist at Pomona College, went even further: "It's all blowing up." [More] Descriptors: Unions, State Standards, Academic Standards, Teacher Attitudes
(2015). Disciplinary Literacy from the Perspective of One Beginning Social Studies Teacher Candidate, Literacy Research and Instruction. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) have increased expectations for stakeholders (students, teachers, teacher educators) to gain knowledge, skills, and dispositions related to discipline-specific ways of reading and writing. Despite the increased rigor, implementation of disciplinary literacy practices varies widely by content, grade level, and individual context. In order to better address the disciplinary literacy challenge, teacher education programs must reconsider traditional preparation of middle and secondary teacher candidates. In part, this shift requires a de-emphasis on the teaching of generic application of literacy strategies across content areas. In tandem with, or in place of the general application approach, disciplinary literacy holds potential for meeting the demands of the CCSS. The purpose of this research was to examine developing understandings of disciplinary literacy from the perspective of one beginning teacher candidate enrolled in a secondary literacy course with an embedded field experience. An analysis of the narrative of "Nathaniel Crandall" provides implications for teacher educators teaching and learning with a focus on disciplinary literacy. [More] Descriptors: Social Studies, Preservice Teachers, Student Teacher Attitudes, State Standards
(2015). Patterns in the Pythagorean Configuration and Some Extensions: The Power of Interactive Geometry Software, Journal of Mathematics Education at Teachers College. In this paper I describe classroom experiences with pre-service secondary mathematics teachers (PSMTs) investigating and extending patterns embedded in the Pythagorean configuration. This geometric figure is a fruitful source of mathematical tasks to help students, including PSMTs, further develop habits of mind such as visualization, experimenting, looking for and noticing patterns, conjecturing, inventing, constructing mathematical arguments, and posing problems. By carrying out these tasks, the PSMTs were also engaged in a plethora of mathematical practices recommended by the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI). The use of the Geometer's Sketchpad facilitated the accomplishment of most of these activities. As students of mathematics, these PSMTs were engaged in activities to reinforce some of their mathematical habits of mind and experienced learning new mathematical ideas and processes through practices that exemplify typical mathematical thinking. As future teachers, they were engaged in tasks so they can, in turn, design or adapt instructional tasks to develop further their own students' habits of minds and engage them in learning mathematics through the mathematical practices advocated by the CCSSI. [More] Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Mathematics Teachers, Geometric Concepts
(2015). STEM Gives Meaning to Mathematics, Teaching Children Mathematics. The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics' (NCTM's) "Principles and Standards for School Mathematics" (2000) outlines fi ve Process Standards that are essential for developing deep understanding of mathematics: (1) Problem Solving; (2) Reasoning and Proof; (3) Communication; (4) Connections; and (5) Representation. The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) include eight related Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMPs) (CCSSI 2010). Both standards documents articulate the notion that mathematics is more than just learning content knowledge–habits of mind are just as important as knowledge that is absorbed. How then can teachers help students see the importance of mathematics at the time that they are learning a new topic? This article describes how Douglas L. Jamerson Jr. Elementary School found one solution in the form of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) education. Developed by the classroom teachers with the assistance of local university professors, integrated engineering units of study allow for the application of mathematics skills in real-world contexts, removing engagement barriers and enhancing the development of NCTM's five Process Standards and the Common Core's eight Standards for Mathematical Practice. The purpose for learning is evident with a coherent, integrated curriculum, freeing students to reason about complex problems, analyze multiple solutions, and communicate ideas and results. They develop habits of mind along with the necessary mathematics skills. [More] Descriptors: Mathematics Instruction, Problem Solving, Mathematical Logic, Validity
(2015). Identifying Statistical Concepts Associated with High and Low Levels of Self-Efficacy to Teach Statistics in Middle Grades, Journal of Statistics Education. Previous mathematics and science education research indicates that knowledge and beliefs, including teaching efficacy, affect teachers' actions and effectiveness in a classroom. Our middle grades and high school Self-Efficacy to Teach Statistics (SETS) instruments, aligned with the statistical concepts in national and state guidelines such as the "GAISE Pre-K-12 Report and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM), were developed for use in teacher education research. This study focuses on the middle grades SETS instrument, which measures pre-service teachers' self-efficacy to teach topics at GAISE levels A and B as well as K-8 CCSSM statistics topics. The items ask teachers to rate their self-efficacy to teach a particular concept on a Likert scale from 1 ("not confident at all") to 6 ("completely confident"). Data were collected at four public institutions of higher education in the United States. Rasch modeling was used to order the items by difficulty of endorsement to gain knowledge regarding pre-service teacher perceptions of difficulty, with the goal of identifying priorities for increasing pre-service teachers' self-efficacy with statistical topics. [More] Descriptors: Statistics, Mathematical Concepts, Self Efficacy, Mathematics Instruction
(2014). Leveraging Genre Theory: A Genre-Based Interactive Model for the Era of the Common Core State Standards, Foreign Language Annals. Recent educational standards have refocused the goals of foreign language (FL) instruction on "the purpose of communication" (ACTFL, 2012, p. 1) across the three modes of communication (interpersonal, interpretive, and presentational). To this end, this article considers a linguistically based genre theory as a means of enhancing instruction of presentational (writing) communication that is linked to authentic model texts. The genre theory considers all language as texts (genres) that are realized in contexts (registers) through knowledge and use of a functional grammar for making meaning called Systemic Functional Linguistics (SFL) (Halliday & Matthiessen, 2004, 2013). Key research from English as a second language (ESL) and FL education in the United States establishes empirical evidence of the effectiveness of instructional approaches based in this genre theory. To articulate a genre-based model of instruction for FL education linked to the National Standards (2006), the genre theory is incorporated into the Interactive Model for Integrating the Three Modes of Communication (Shrum & Glisan, 2010). Finally, implications of genre theory are discussed and recommendations are made for next steps to meet the goals articulated for FL education in the era of the Common Core State Standards (ACTFL, 2012; National Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010). [More] Descriptors: Second Language Instruction, Second Language Learning, State Standards, English (Second Language)