The Common Core State Standards

Myths, Readiness,Challenges and Technology Solutions

adam@opened.ioTwitter: @openedio

Agenda

What are some myths about the Common Core?

Showing some readiness data

What are the big remaining challenges?

What are some technology solutions?

Myths About the Common Core

It’s a federal government plot and a “national curriculum”

The standards are too easy

The standards are too hard

It creates “cookie-cutter courses”

It forces teachers to teach outside their expertise

It’s a Federal Government Plot

The Common Core State standards were developed by the National Governor’s Association

But its tied to No Child Left Behind act right? But CCSS predates NCLB

Oh well its Race to the Top then? Race to the Top provides incentives for adopting internationally

recognized standards of which CCSS is one

But the federal government will take them over There are no such plans

This is our federal tax dollars being misused. Initial work was funded by both the states and the Gates

Foundation and others. With no federal funding

“It’s Too Hard Core”

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jamesmarshallcrotty/2013/08/16/is-common-core-too-hard-core/

“31% of New York students in grades three though eight met or exceeded math and English competency standards on tests given over six days this past April. In 2012, under the older, far easier, standards, 65% of New York students were proficient in Math and 55% proficient in English.”

Rigorous Standards Matter!

Is It Really Too Hard?

Yes there is a deeper conceptual base Word problems demonstrating full understanding

are important

The CC standards build on each other Fractions -> Algebra Algebra -> Statistics

And there are far fewer individual items than previous efforts e.g. California State Standards

CC Forces Teachers to Teach Outside Their Expertise

No doubt due to the “Common Core Literacy Standards”

I have seen “English teachers will be forced to teach Science and Social Studies” Not true

Science and Social Studies teachers will be called upon to teach reading and writing skills Presumably they were already but it is no longer

enough to be a “subject matter expert” there

Challenges of the Common Core

Most teachers self-assess as not knowing all the mandated material for their subjects

All students are expected to be exposed to their grade level standards

Especially in math, emphasizes conceptual understanding which can be more challenging to teach

It is by definition more interdisciplinary

It can be difficult to engage students in the nonfiction language content

Contrary to some perceptions, CC is LESS prescriptive, putting the burden on the teacher of “what to teach”

Technology Solutions

Flipping your classroom with video lectures and games can resolve an expertise problem

Videos can make nonfiction language content more engaging

We still need more video content: needs tools to enable easy content creation

Automated quizzing and games can get all students to basic standard mastery

The Ed Content Ecosystem

Edmodo

MoodleInstructure

CreateResourc

es

CompileCourses

ChooseResourc

esConsume/Use

Assess

Analyze

OpenEd Curriki

WatchKnowLearn

OERCommons

KhanAcademy

EdCanvas

Knewton

Agilix

adaptive learning

LMS studentinterfaces

BrightStorm

HippoCampus

LearnZillion

creationassistance

tools

HoodaMathMathChimp

catalogs LMSes

XPMath

Shmoop

BrainGenie

LRMI

Gooru

Knowmia

content sites

analytics and metrics Themeef

yUClass

asessmentproviders

EdCite

HippoCampus

Choose ResourcesFind Common Core videos, games and assessments by standard, grade, or subject in the largest K-12 ed resource catalog.

Take/Make CoursesStudents/Parents: signup for public or teacher assigned courses. Teachers: clone public courses to make them your own. OpenEd recommends resources for all your topics. Create classes of students.

Use/LearnWatch videos, play games, take quizzes assigned for courses. From the web, or our iPad or Android apps. Take assessments to determine mastery.

Assess/Analyze Students take assessments at end of topic. Track students progress on course topics. View resource usage for topics. OpenEd suggests resources based on results… * Requires subscription

OpenEd Addresses Several Parts of theCourses and Content Process

Some of the Interesting Remaining Problems

Content from the ground up focused on standard

Best ways to use class time when flipping (projects, problems, teams, questions)

How to find the best content for your topic and standard

Mapping between standards, to leverage content internationally

How to assess effectiveness of content in addressing standard

How to deal with SBAC/PARCC without “teaching to the test”

Questions for Teachers

What is the content needed for your students?

How do you find it?

How will you organize it?

How will your students get to it?

How will you assess its effectiveness for your students?