This annotated bibliography is reformatted and customized by the Center for Positive Practices. Some of the authors featured on this page include Danielle Fernandez, Jonathan Supovitz, Mahmoud Suleiman, Elizabeth Petroelje Stolle, Ariel Smith, Charlotte Frambaugh-Kritzer, Lawrence M. Lesser, Alexandria Sobolew-Shubin, Sarah J. Selmer, and Cathy Vatterott.
(2014). Teacher Leaders: Advancing Mathematics Learning, Teaching Children Mathematics. Four elementary school instructors offer insights into their classrooms, their unique professional roles, and their leadership approaches as they reflect on their journey to advance teacher and student mathematics learning. They note a "teacher leader" serves as an example to other educators and strives to impact student learning; consistently assesses and seeks evidence of student success; and is a learner, improviser, and innovator. These elementary school instructors all speak of the training they received via the Leadership Institute for Teachers (LIFT) partnership between a university and public school districts. They highlight the LIFT program that provided educational experiences that advanced their professional growth to support all students' learning. They participated in six semesters of rigorous course work designed and team taught by mathematicians and math educators. The diversity of K-grade 12 LIFT teachers offered opportunities for thinking about mathematics through research-based learning progressions and they are using these learned lessons in their individual classrooms. They agreed that to engage in mathematical reasoning to solve simple and complex problems resulted in their students having a solid understanding of the concepts and being able to explain their rationale with excellent articulation, using mathematical terms to do so. Student achievement scores were exceptional, and they were developing Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) practices that supported their continued learning. [More] Descriptors: Teacher Leadership, Mathematics Teachers, Mathematics Education, Elementary School Teachers
(2014). What Should We Grow in Our School Garden to Sell at the Farmers' Market? Initiating Statistical Literacy through Science and Mathematics Integration, Science Activities: Classroom Projects and Curriculum Ideas. Statistical literacy is essential to scientific literacy, and the quest for such is best initiated in the elementary grades. The "Next Generation Science Standards and the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" set forth practices (e.g., asking questions, using tools strategically to analyze and interpret data) and content (e.g., statistics) to guide the development of statistical literacy. This article portrays how statistical literacy can be initiated at the upper elementary level through integrated science–mathematics instruction in an authentic context: project-based learning focused on a farmers' market project and school gardening. The shared classroom examples illustrate how to scaffold students' understanding of statistical questions and develop their ability to formulate good survey questions. Science practices and science and mathematics content extend to analyzing, interpreting, and representing data as well as structure and function. This article helps teachers find an appropriate balance between offering students the freedom to explore on their own and providing them with guidance to achieve the goal of enhancing the statistical problem solving process. Student learning is extended through seed germination and related experimentation, raising produce, and vending at a local farmers' market. [More] Descriptors: Scientific Literacy, Elementary School Students, Science Instruction, Mathematics Instruction
(2014). What Writing Is and Isn't, Educational Leadership. "Let's keep this in perspective," writes Jeff Anderson." The Common Core State Standards are a guiding document." Anderson cautions readers to look beyond such artificial boundaries and dive into pedagogy, process, content knowledge, and research that reveals best practices for teaching writing. Educators, he notes, need to look deeply at how best practice can apply to standards rather than how the standards apply to best practice. A good start is defining writing–what it is and isn't. Writing isn't a kit or a program, test preparation, memorizing parts of speech, or something separate from reading. Writing is a transaction between writers and readers, a skill that can be learned, and an igniter of passion and freedom. "Writers need to be heard right now," the author writes, "right here in their words, discovering and becoming. Meet them there and no list of standards or high-stakes test will be out of the reach." [More] Descriptors: Writing (Composition), Writing Processes, Academic Standards, Best Practices
(2014). Pre-Reading Power: One Classroom's Experience, Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas. Because of the Common Core State Standards there is a renewed emphasis on the importance of visual literacies in today's classrooms. Students need prior knowledge before approaching these types of texts. This article describes the results of one 6th-grade language arts class's engagement in pre-reading prior to viewing a theatrical performance. The study examined whether obtaining background knowledge through print can be used effectively to increase the knowledge of drama, visual literacy, and nonprint text. The study utilized an experimental control-group design; t-test results revealed that using pre-reading as a comprehension strategy is more effective than just viewing drama. In addition, factorial ANOVA results showed that the treatment did not signficantly interact with reading ability or gender. Overall, this 6th-grade class's comprehension skills were enhanced with the help of pre-reading. This study indicates that pre-reading is a powerful strategy that can build background knowledge and ultimately increase comprehension of visual literacy for all students, and it and offers insight for a larger study. [More] Descriptors: Classroom Techniques, State Standards, Language Arts, Prior Learning
(2014). Under Construction: Benchmark Assessments and Common Core Math Implementation in Grades K-8. Formative Evaluation Cycle Report for the Math in Common Initiative, Volume 1, WestEd. Math in Common® (MiC) is a five-year initiative that supports a formal network of 10 California school districts as they implement the Common Core State Standards in mathematics (CCSS-M) across grades K-8. As the MiC initiative moves into its second year, one of the central activities that each of the districts is undergoing to support CCSS implementation involves putting in place new or revised student assessment processes or systems to better align with the new standards. This report examines the MiC districts' strategies and initial implementation efforts related to benchmark assessments used throughout the school year to assess student mastery of the CCSS-M and signal districts' progress. The report also highlights the range of approaches to developing and implementing benchmark assessments used across the MiC district community, in order to illuminate the challenges and headway that many districts in California, and perhaps beyond, are facing as they work to implement CCSS-M, specifically across grades K-8. [For Volume 2, see ED559582.] [More] Descriptors: Benchmarking, Formative Evaluation, Program Implementation, Middle Schools
(2014). The Magic of Words: Teaching Vocabulary in the Early Childhood Classroom, American Educator. Developing a large and rich vocabulary is central to learning to read. Children must know the words that make up written texts in order to understand them, especially as the vocabulary demands of content-related materials increase in the upper grades. Studies have documented that the size of a person's vocabulary is strongly related to how well that person understands what he or she reads, not only in the primary grades, but in high school as well. There are profound differences in vocabulary knowledge among young learners from different socioeconomic groups. Many children from high- poverty circumstances will have had fewer experiences with the academic language than the standards require. Children who enter school in these situations will need skillfully developed instruction that not only improves their word knowledge and concepts, but actually accelerates their vocabulary development, maximizing the limited time they have in school. The purpose of this article is to explain the authors' rationale for content-rich oral vocabulary instruction in the age of the Common Core State Standards, and how to effectively build children's vocabulary. First, they dispel some of the common myths about oral vocabulary development, which have often led to a lack of attention for this important topic in school instruction. The authors then move on to a set of instructional principles that should guide teachers' work. Included in this article is a sidebar, by the same authors, entitled "Evidence of Student Learning." [More] Descriptors: Vocabulary Development, Academic Discourse, Poverty, Reading Skills
(2014). Student-Owned Homework, Educational Leadership. No one teaches a toddler how to walk. No one moves his legs for him. We encourage him to stand, applaud his first step, and tell him it's OK when he falls. Yet when it comes to academic learning, writes Cathy Vatterott, we often fail to appreciate children's inborn desire for mastery or to trust their self-knowledge of how to get there. "And so we prescribe one method of learning, assign one task as homework, and simply require students to comply." This traditional approach doesn't encourage persistence or feelings of ownership–and it's not adequate to foster the deep thinking and application of complex knowledge that the Common Core State Standards are now demanding. Vatterott describes how we need to "overhaul" homework practices. The new purposes of homework, she writes, are checking for understanding and practicing the application of complex skills. She provides classroom examples of how teachers build self-assessment into homework and give students ownership of learning. [More] Descriptors: Homework, Student Participation, Teaching Methods, Student Responsibility
(2014). Critical Thinking Skills among Elementary School Students: Comparing Identified Gifted and General Education Student Performance, Gifted Child Quarterly. Education reform efforts, including the current adoption of Common Core State Standards, have increased attention to teaching critical thinking skills to all students. This study investigated the critical thinking skills of fourth-grade students from a school district in Texas, including 45 identified gifted students and 163 general education students. Identified gifted students outperformed general education students on both the Cornell Critical Thinking Test and the Test of Critical Thinking ("d" = 1.52 and "d" = 1.36, respectively). There was no evidence of main effects or interaction effects for gender in measures of critical thinking within these samples. Critical thinking scores of students in the three schools did not differ significantly, nor were differences in scores associated with length of exposure to the gifted education program. The association of higher ability with advanced critical thinking skills, but at the same time, the lack of evidence of an effect of the gifted education programs (which did not focus specifically on critical thinking skills) suggests that differentiation of curriculum and instruction for gifted or advanced learners might fruitfully include deliberate differentiation of instruction in this area. [More] Descriptors: Critical Thinking, Elementary School Students, Comparative Analysis, Academically Gifted
(2014). Mixing Strategies to Compare Fractions, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Strictly teaching algorithms or procedural computations can "encourage children to give up their own thinking" (Kamii and Dominick 1998). Although such procedures are valid for finding solutions, students often know only how to use them, and they lack the understanding of why a procedure works. In 2001, the National Research Council (NRC) published a report suggesting that mathematically proficient students have five strands of knowledge. These include strategic competence, or the ability to problem solve; adaptive reasoning, or the ability to explain and justify; conceptual understanding, which is understanding why an idea is important and how it connects to other ideas; procedural fluency, or knowing how to solve problems efficiently; and productive disposition, which is seeing mathematics as a worthwhile activity (NRC 2001). Only one strand pertains to students' ability to use a procedure to solve problems; in other words, it alone will not be enough to allow students to be successful with mathematics (NRC 2001). This article describes teaching strategies to support students in becoming mathematically proficient. The examples originate from a class of prospective teachers. The instruction focused on having the prospective teachers understand more than just a procedure for comparing fractions through experiences similar to what they will then have to implement in their own classroom, as outlined by the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. [More] Descriptors: Secondary School Mathematics, Middle School Students, Mathematics Instruction, Teaching Methods
(2014). A Comprehensive Approach for Promoting Literacy and Academic Skills in English Language Learners, Online Submission. The growing diversity in schools dictates alternative approaches to meeting the need of all students. In particular, the changing demographics coupled with the increase in linguistically diverse student populations pose a challenge for teachers and educators alike. Thus, teacher education programs must integrate necessary ingredients to prepare prospective teachers to work effectively with English language learners (ELLs). The process should involve building relevant knowledge and professional skills in teacher preparation programs based on the unique needs of the linguistically and culturally diverse learners. This session draws on efforts by Teacher Education Programs and Teacher Quality initiatives to promote necessary skills in teachers to effectively address ELLs in diverse schools. A comprehensive approach for preparing culturally competent teachers will be discussed. Tips and techniques to better prepare teachers to meet the needs of linguistically and culturally diverse students will be suggested. Moreover, key reform elements in teacher education as they pertain to ELLs will be addressed. Pedagogical implications will be drawn for teachers and teacher educators within the current trends and practices especially those dictated by the Common Core State Standards. [More] Descriptors: Teacher Education Programs, Literacy, Student Diversity, Language
(2014). The Role of the Common Core in the Gubernatorial Elections of 2014, Consortium for Policy Research in Education. After the Spring 2014 primaries, the Common Core State Standards were viewed as a political hot potato. As former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee said, "the Common Core has become toxic, I think it's radioactive…It has become an incredibly controversial topic on both the left and the right." Even so, the Common Core turned out to play a role in some of the governor's races in November, 2014. In this analysis of candidate positions and the role of the Common Core across the 36 gubernatorial races of 2014, CPRE researchers Bobbi Newman, Jonathan Supovitz and Arial Smith used campaign websites, debate transcripts, State of the State addresses, Twitter accounts, and candidate interviews, to identify the positions of 62 of the 81 candidates (including 3rd party representatives). Our findings show that support for, and opposition to, the Common Core was pretty evenly split, mostly across party lines. Arguments in support of the Common Core tended to emphasize economic benefits, while opposition emphasized Federal intrusion and the importance of local control. In a few races, the Common Core became a substantial issue. Contains the following table: Summary of 2014 Candidates and Their Positions on the Common Core. [More] Descriptors: State Standards, Academic Standards, Alignment (Education), State Government
(2014). Putting Professionalism Back into Teaching: Secondary Preservice and In-Service Teachers Engaging in Interdisciplinary Unit Planning, Action in Teacher Education. Recently, interdisciplinary instruction has come back to the educational scene, specifically supported through the Common Core State Standards. As teacher educators and former middle-level teachers, the authors see this as a positive move to enhance learning for adolescents. This qualitative study sought to answer: How do secondary preservice and in-service teachers respond to interdisciplinary instruction? Findings provide key insights into how interdisciplinary instruction, when implemented successfully within a content area literacy course, empowers preservice and in-service teachers, and brings about a more professional environment. That is, data shows designing interdisciplinary instruction provided the teachers space to take up an identity as teaching professional–acting as specialist, acting as agent, and acting as regulator. Based on the authors' analysis, the authors believe interdisciplinary instruction has the potential to elevate the professional status for teachers, and teacher educators can lead and guide secondary preservice and in-service teachers toward new understandings and paradigms surrounding interdisciplinary methods as we seek to evolve and improve secondary-level curriculum. [More] Descriptors: Preservice Teachers, Secondary School Teachers, Interdisciplinary Approach, Literacy Education
(2014). Validation of Scores from a New Measure of Preservice Teachers' Self-Efficacy to Teach Statistics in the Middle Grades, Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment. The influential "Common Core State Standards for Mathematics" (CCSSM) expect students to start statistics learning during middle grades. Thus teacher education and professional development programs are advised to help preservice and in-service teachers increase their knowledge and confidence to teach statistics. Although existing self-efficacy instruments used in statistics education focus on students, the Self-Efficacy to Teach Statistics (SETS) instrument measures a teacher's efficacy to teach key CCSSM statistical topics. Using the results from a sample of "n" = 309 participants enrolled in a mathematics education or introductory statistics course, SETS scores were validated for use with middle grades preservice teachers to differentiate levels of self-efficacy to teach statistics. Confirmatory factor analysis using the Multidimensional Random Coefficient Multinomial Logit Model supports the use of two dimensions, which exhibit adequate reliabilities and correspond to the first two levels of the "Guidelines for Assessment and Instruction in Statistics Education" adopted by the American Statistical Association. Item and rating scale analyses indicate that the items and the six-category scale perform as intended. These indicators suggest that the SETS instrument may be appropriate for measuring preservice teacher levels of self-efficacy to teach statistics. [More] Descriptors: Self Concept, Statistics, Mathematics Instruction, Self Efficacy
(2014). It's a Zoo out There!, Science and Children. The People Learning Urban Science (PLUS) program creates partnerships and coordinates efforts involving a local zoo, university, and school district, seeking to instill within students a sense of the natural environment. Even though the majority of students live among concrete and metal structures, their eyes and ears can be trained to make careful observations of nature. Encouraging this collaboration between formal and informal science by partnering with community members via the PLUS program, teachers may extend the classroom learning beyond the four walls and heighten their students' scientific knowledge and skills. This article describes how a typical field trip to the local zoo is suddenly transformed into an exercise in authentic inquiry. The classroom teacher, local zoo curator, a PLUS partner university biologist, and the PLUS program coordinator have designed and together implement an experience that addresses the fourth-grade performance expectation 4-LS1-1 of the "Next Generation Science Standards" ("NGSS)" recognizing that students are expected to "construct an argument that plants and animals have internal and external structures that function to support survival, growth, behavior, and reproduction" (NGSS Lead States 2013, p. 38). The PLUS Program includes the local zoo curator who serves as one of the community partners in the design and implementation of the fourth-grade ethogram activity (Table 1). Two Common Core State Standards for fourth grade language arts are also addressed in this lesson. [More] Descriptors: Partnerships in Education, Zoology, College School Cooperation, Outdoor Education
(2014). Problem Solve with Presidential Data, Mathematics Teaching in the Middle School. Motivating middle school students to learn can be challenging. One proven method for doing so is through an integrated curriculum. Educational philosophers and curriculum theorists have long noted the benefits of an integrated curriculum, which recognizes that the subject areas within the curriculum are connected to one another and to the real world. The National Middle School Association (NMSA) has argued that a school curriculum needs to be integrated to help adolescents make sense of life experience and connect school experience to their lives outside the classroom. A recently documented example of this integrated curriculum style of teaching occurred in an interdisciplinary activity that connected mathematics and art from the Barnes Foundation museum in Philadelphia. In that experience, the teachers reported that mathematics teachers were able to enthusiastically engage seventh-grade and eighth-grade students in an interdisciplinary activity focused on scaling, proportional reasoning, and measurement by recreating artwork from a famous private collection. This experience combined art and mathematics into motivating lessons for middle school students. Curriculum integration is often achieved through the design of integrated thematic units or the study of a specific topic. In this article, the authors sought to integrate social studies and mathematics through the development of this activity. They focused their lesson on the average age of a president at his inauguration and featured the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) content area of statistics and probability (CCSSI 2010). [More] Descriptors: Middle School Students, Problem Solving, Integrated Curriculum, Interdisciplinary Approach