In the school in where I am doing my practicum the curriculum being used for reading and writing is Lucy Calkins Units of Study. In mathematics they use the Highline School District Curriculum, engageNY, and progress videos. In science they use highline kits, and STEM Next Generation Science Standards. For social studies story path is used and Newsela. What I have seen more in action when I am in the classroom has been the math and social studies portion. My experience with Newsela so far has been good, throughout my practicum I have alongside with the children dissected many newsela articles; I think they are very well written, they have a lot of information yet they aren’t too long that it makes it overwhelming for the children, and I absolutely love that many of the articles are also in Spanish, and the teacher has that option for the students. These articles also introduce some new vocabulary for the children and at the end there are sometimes multiple choice questions, in the class where I am at we haven’t really focused on answering the questions rather there is a focus in understanding the text, and the vocab being utilized. From my perspective and my experience in math with these curriculum’s I believe they are a little bit fast paced, in where one week we are learning something new and next thing you know the test is coming up and then we move on to the next new thing.
As I did a little bit more research on common core and how the state plans on using these as teaching and learning guidelines I came across the initiative on common core. Basically from state to state the standards varied quite a lot, and these standards did not prepare students for the college and career life specially if they wanted to go out of state, since the standards are different. In an approach to having everyone be on the same page or level common core helps set more clear focused goals. Based on the Common Core State Standards: Implementation, Activities, Timelines, Cost, and Input on enhancements there is a Washington Education Reform Plan Framework in where in order to implement this framework first there has to be a connection between state and federal education reform initiatives and the focus on preparing students for college and careers. To implement common core standards teachers have first understand the differences between the old and new standards, and align their material to the standards as well as understanding the new assessment methods.
When it comes to the debate about common core I find that the arguments for it are typically that it helps set clearer standards, that help students be career and college ready by gaining deeper skills. Also that common core sets a foundation for most states to be on the same level and close the gap that there is from state to state standards. For the opposing side, often saw that the transition into common core was difficult for both students and teachers. That it forces students to learn at a quicker pace, in where some can’t catch up some parents believe their children are too young for some of the assignments they are expected to do. I found that another parent, felt like her kid was losing confidence in himself and that the system was “dumbing down” her children because they are expected to use many steps in math for instance instead of using simple common sense steps to solve an equation. I found that some math problems were also worded in a way that made it difficult to understand what the problem was asking the student to do.
Education 240 