The Iowa State Teaching Standards

Standards 7 and 8 of the InTASC Model Core Teacher Standards address the Instructional Practice of planning for instruction and instructional strategies. Standard 7 states: “ The teacher plans instruction that supports every student in meeting rigorous learning goals by drawing upon knowledge of content areas, curriculum, cross-disciplinary skills, and pedagogy, as well as knowledge of learners and the community context.” Standard 8 states: “The teacher understands and uses a variety of instructional strategies to encourage learners to develop deep understanding of content areas and their connections, and to build skills to apply knowledge in meaningful ways.” As I read Standards 7 and 8, I think about the importance of planning for each

The word curriculum can mean something different to different people, even to different teachers who use the term almost daily (Manning & Butcher, 2012). However, it boils down to curriculum being what a student learns, both in terms of core subject content, as well as though social activity and elective/activity courses. However, there has often been a disconnect between different states and districts over what exactly should be in the curriculum for various grades and what is needed to prepare students for life beyond school, as well as providing little basis for comparing the US to other countries. That’s where Common Core State Standards (CCSS) come in. According to Teaching in the Middle School (2012), the Common Core standards were created in an attempt to provide curriculum standards that are “rigorous, internationally benchmarked, and aligned with college and work expectations”. Since its implementation in 2009, 42 US states and the District of Columbia have integrated the standards into their curriculums. (Core Standards, 2015)

The first standard of the Ohio Standards for the Teaching Professional is, teachers understand student learning and development and respect the diversity of the students they teach. To apply this standard into my practice I plan on being able to observe the students I work with and understand how each student learns. To demonstrate that I am adhering to this standard I will find different ways to reward each student for being them and being strong for pushing through their obstacles.

What specifically do you want the students to be able to know and/or do by the end of the lesson? (must align with content standard(s) above)

For example, teachers make sure the practice assessments they give out to their students mirror the format of the state assessments. Especially in third grade, where students are taking the test for the first time and have some troubles with filling out bubble sheets and following directions. Across classrooms, teaching practices are aligned to the curriculum and reflect and express set of beliefs about how students learn best through student work products and discussions. In a math lesson, some students worked with the teacher in the front of the room answering a series of tiered questions using large visual representations and some worked with their tables as well. This helps keep students not only engaged but, working together as a team.

Adopted by forty-two out states in 2010, the Common Core State Standard Initiative strives to provide an educational structure which details what English language arts and mathematics should be taught from kindergarten through twelfth grade. The initiative is the federal government’s attempt to ensure all students who graduate from high school are adequately prepared to enter a two or four year college or the workforce. Despite their intentions, the Common Core has caused much controversy in the education community. The thought behind Common Core is very valid and has the potential to help students, however changes must be made to unrealistic standards and wordy statements. Common Core must first be rewritten so that the language is clear and can be easily understood by the general public. Next ask experts on childhood development and elementary school teachers to review the standards and rewrite standards they see as unneeded or irrelevant as well as unrealistic.

Teachers in Tennessee are given a set of standards to teach young children. The standards are a crucial aspect of curriculum because they drive what students must know. Therefore, it is important that all teacher candidates have a clear understanding of the standards before going out into the field. The standards were created in a particular fashion for each grade level and subject area.

After reviewing the North Carolina Professional Teaching Standards and the experiences of this class, I have been able to see how the standards are used in a real-life school. Each standard goes into detail on how a teacher could incorporate them into their classroom. However, through my experiences I have noticed that some of the standards are not meant for the actual classroom. So, I will be focusing on the first standard; leadership, the third standard; teachers need to know the content they teach, and some standards that I believe should be in the NC Standards. Lastly, I will talk about how my opinion on the NC Standards has changed and how I plan to incorporate them into my future classroom.

In 2009, states around the country began adopting the Common Core State Standards. These standards were put in place to ensure that each child was on the same academic level by high school graduation. As the global marketplace becomes increasingly more competitive, the United States hopes that Common Core will enable the coming generations to be better prepared. As of right now, my working thesis is Common Core is overall unsuccessful in its effort, and discontinuing or, at the least, replacing it would improve the testing scores /academic progresses, mental health, and attitude towards school of the children in the United States. My two articles, “Reading Don’t Fix No Chevys (Yet!): Motivating boys in the age of the Common Core,” by Jeffrey D. Wilhelm and Michael W. Smith (2014), and “Why Massachusetts Gave Up on Common Core,” by Mary Clare Reim (2015), both provide evidence on Common Core to support my thesis.

requires students to develop higher critical thinking skills. Jobs may be on the line if students do

The Common Core State Standards are considered to be a high-quality group of academic standards. Before the standards were developed, it seemed as if the progress of the students in the United States was remaining stagnant and that America students were falling behind their international peers. The blame for this setback has fallen on the fact that standards are not consistent and from state-to-state students are required to know different things at different grade levels. As a result students are not graduating with the same set of skills (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014).

A political issue right now being argued over is if Common Core national education standards should be adopted by all states. The majority of Democrats support the adoption of Common Core standards while the vast majority of Republicans are against it. The Common Core State Standards states what K-12 students should know in Math and English at the end of the each grade, and to put in standardized tests. Whether or not these standards are put in place can determine if students succeed. Common Core will not allow teachers to individualize their lessons to help students learn the way they will understand best. These standards should not be adopted by all states.

The Common Core State Standards are a state attempt to create strong educational standards. The standard are created to ensure that students in the country are learning and grasping the information that are given in the classrooms for them to succeed academically. The Common Core plan included governors and education commissioners form forty-eight states and the District of Columbia. They wanted to make sure the standards are relevant, logical and sequential. For content all subjects must have critical-thinking, problem-solving, and communication skills. Some positive aspects of this policy is that it prepares our students for a competitive global jobs. It can provide national connections in education. Designed to shape the best standards so that all states will be taking a step ahead in education. These standards had been created after extensive research by professional educators for excellence in education. The CCS focus on what students expectations of learning, and achievements. Educators do not need to worry that the standards will make their jobs look redundant because they are in charge of creating lessons to teach their students the content and skills that the CCS demands. The teachers do not feel that the standards are one-size-fits-all. Some negative aspects of the policy are that is a program created by solely the government. The CCS is a program put together on idyllic situations in education by individuals who have subsidy and students ahead of the learning

In a time of educational reform, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) was heralded as being the new path to academically successful students who would thrive in the 21st Century. The CCSS were drafted by experts and teachers in the industry with the goal of preparing students for today’s students entering the workforce, college, or training program. In addition, the CCSS focused on clear, consistent guidelines and standards that would foster critical thinking and problem solving skills for students to be successful (Common Core State Standards, n.d.). However, the CCSS have had many critics since its debut in 2010, but it has also attracted followers as well. One such proponent, Vartan Gregorian, President of Carnegie Corporation of New York hailed the CCSS as “a necessary step in the process of reform” and “create a competitive edge in the 21st century world that requires innovative educational strategies that will enable students to succeed in a global economy.” (Common Core State Standards, n.d.). As such, I do believe that the CCSS creates opportunities to encourage

According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative, their curriculum “provide[s] clear and consistent learning goals to help prepare students for college, career and life” (“Preparing America’s Students for Success”). However, Kim Burke, who owns a tutoring company in North Carolina, states, “‘There’s not a person alive who can read Common Core from page to page and understand it’” (Bonner). The Common Core State Standards are supposed to be clear and understandable, but teachers, students and parents alike can not understand them and what they are ask of the student. Common Core was launched in 2009, in hope to create a common curriculum across the United States and to compete with other nations that have one curriculum. Since 2009, Common