It's the Iowa Core Curriculum Implementation Plan which is due on July 1 that brings me to the topic of this blog. The Iowa Core is not only a list of essential concepts and skills which we will be held accountable for teaching, but it's also a method of teaching that could drastically alter many lesson plans across our state. The Department of Education is sponsoring a workshop for Iowa Core Leadership teams in June entitled Characteristics of Effective Instruction which will emphasize 5 characteristics that will improve student achievement while it also narrows our curriculum. How can Narrowing the Curriculum improve student acheivement? As described by the Iowa DE:
Research shows that high expectations are a critical ingredient in improving student performance and ensuring student success beyond high school. The Iowa Core Curriculum provides a guide to delivering challenging and meaningful content to students that prepares them for success in life.The Iowa Core Curriculum identifies essential concepts and skills for kindergarten through 12th grade in literacy, mathematics, science, social studies, and 21st Century Skills. It also includes direction for teachers regarding effective instruction and assessment. It takes learning to a deeper level by moving students beyond superficial knowledge to deep conceptual and procedural knowledge. It also enhances student engagement by emphasizing interesting, robust, and relevant learning experiences.
These Characteristics of Effective Instruction must become a centerpiece of any curriculum development. To teach with these characteristics it will be necessary to Narrow the Curriuculum or else we'll always get what we've always got. What we've always done is the industrial age model of a school which emphasizes passing knowledge down to the next generation. Memorizing basic knowledge is relatively useless for the information age in which we live. Teaching to higher order thinking skills and applying these skills to real life situations is the goal of the Iowa Core. In order to do that we have to admit that we need to teach less basic knowledge and more essential thinking skills.
As teachers wrap up their Iowa Core alignment documents they'll be asked to identify which benchmarks and indicators are truly essential to student success. Once we can focus on these essential learnings, then we can acheive what the Iowa Core Curriculum is intended to achieve.
Evan Abbey makes a good statement when discussing a narrowed curriculum;
Be OK with skipping concepts - There is a fear amongst teachers (at least there was for me) that "if I don't teach them this, they'll never get it in life". Hogwash. The fact is, people glean the information they need outside of school all the time (in fact, many have to relearn the concepts they supposedly learned in K-12). Perhaps more important is helping students be resourceful enough to develop the concepts on their own when asked to.
Since most of us carry cell phones more powerful than the first generation of personal computers (remember really "floppy" disks?) the fear of not covering material should be replaced with the fear of not teaching students how to use the knowledge they can access instantaneously. As an education prof told me about 30 years ago, "If you're just going to cover material you might as well throw dirt on it." Hopefully, when you see the lists of essential concepts and skills that Lynnville-Sully develops, you'll recognize a narrow and deep curriculum with higher order thinking skills (21st Centruy Skills) for all students.
I feel that the ICC will be useful in reinforcing what many effective teachers already do. The ease of transition for students moving from one district to another (and in some cases another and another) will be good. Having a set standard that we are trying to meet will be great.
ReplyDeleteThe concern I would have is that if we are okay with skipping content for better depth, is it okay when things that are missed cause low scores on ITBS, ITED, and ACT/SAT? If we cover well the things that we cover, are we okay with being low on the "measured" standardized tests?
I think teachers will slowly come to realize the potential good of the ICC, but there will be apprehension to let go of what we already have had. To quote Garth Algar, "Change? We fear change?"
I think that the Iowa Core will make me more mindful when planning my curriculum. It will help me focus my resources in the direction guided by the Iowa Core and help me to be a more effective teacher.
ReplyDeleteI agree that a lot of curriculum will change or need to change. However, teaching students reading, writing, and math will not change. It is about how we approach teaching these skills. Will skipping some concepts impact students? It may not impact all students. No one knows how education may change in the next 5 or even 10 years. We will still do our best to teach all students and give them the skills they need to be successful beyond our doors.
ReplyDeletePart of me likes being told what to teach and I love how the ICC has given us the Rigor and Relevance models to look at for examples of units within our curriculum. Far too often science and social studies gets left to the way-side as copious examples of math/english are given. The flexibility on how to teach keeps us from being a factory-style educational system. However, I couldn't agree more with John when it comes to standardized tests such as ITEDS and the ACT. Even our current ITED test of this year used out of date information in the "Sources of Information" portion of the test. I fear that we will not only be held accountable to our community and students when it comes to these scores, but perhaps eventually individual teachers will also be held accountable in a merit-based manner.
ReplyDeleteBeing a technology nerd, I love incorporating any type into my classroom. What struck an nerve with me the other day was with my Advanced Science students. I was reviewing with them the concept of pH and I was relying on their knowledge from Chemistry- all of these students are in the top 25% of their graduating class and performed quite well in Chemistry. They could recall what pH would indicate and acid-- clearly a kick in the gut! I called on our valedictorian, shocked that even she did not know the answer and she replied, "why do I need to memorize that when I can just look it up?" Wow. This changes everything.
With many states having uniform curriculum standards of what they are to teach, I think it is about time for Iowa step up instead of having district standards that can be drastically different from school to school. I will be more mindful of what I should incorporate in my classroom to help core teachers.
ReplyDeleteI agree with concern on ACT scores. Student aid and often how successful our students are on standardized tests reflect if we are doing a good job as teachers. You may agree or disagree on that point, however with aid, scholarships, and even admission to colleges one cannot argue that ACT scores MATTER! I think parents would have a hard time justifying the change with a lowering of even a few points on composite ACT. On Math the difference between covering and not covering something could really affect scores. I don't like the emphasis for colleges of standardized test scores, but I guarantee colleges will not take into consideration our change in how we teach and our creating more in depth lessons.
I just typed a very long response to this L-S Hawk Blog but while trying to post it, the darn thing got an error and none of it posted. I am bummed, but that is life WITH OUR WONDERFUL TECHNOLOGY. My problem solving skills and emotion health were challenged by this development, but since I get paid to do this kind of thing during PD time on my job, I guess I am a perfect example of living the 21st Century Skill set. Hey, wasn't that what we read about this week, this integral part of the Iowa Core?!?
ReplyDeleteYou probably didn't want to read my post anyway, but it was entitled "Iowa Core Curriculum for Dummies." If there is interest to hear more, I could probably be persuaded to try to recreate the masterpiece.
If not, have a great day. Go Hawks!!!
I am amazed by how much my 3rd graders know about computers, gaming systems, i-pods, cell phones etc. They are like sponges, soaking in all the technology they can. This is an ideal time to tap into their interest and see where I can take these students. One of the problems that I have run into when planning lessons involving technology is that my students have a narrow range of interests when it comes to technology. They do not want to go on-line to find information related to math, science, or social studies. They are interested in chatting with others on-line, watching u-tube videos, and playing games. A second problem is that not all of my students have access to a computer outside of the school setting. I currently have four students who need paper copies of everything because of technology limitations in their homes. These students are not able to stay after school and do not have access to the public library, so giving my students an assignment requiring the use of technology puts them on an uneven playing field.
ReplyDeleteI am also concerned about the issue addressed by Kramer and Lyons: how will this learning affect the test scores of our students? Higher level thinking skills are not necessarily going to help students choose A, B, C, or D on a spelling or vocabulary test. Are students eventually going to be given access to a computer when taking standardized tests, so that we can assess their ability to look up the information that is being requested? I feel that the tests that we are using to measure our successes and failures as teachers are going to have to eventually change to align with how we are teaching.
Overall, I think that the Iowa Core is taking us in the right direction. I think that the Iowa Core represents an ideal world, and I like the idea of setting such high standards for ourselves. It amazes to me to think about what education will be like in the more distant future!
this part of your response is precisely why we need to discuss this issue:
ReplyDelete"how will this learning affect the test scores of our students? Higher level thinking skills are not necessarily going to help students choose A, B, C, or D on a spelling or vocabulary test. Are students eventually going to be given access to a computer when taking standardized tests, so that we can assess their ability to look up the information that is being requested? I feel that the tests that we are using to measure our successes and failures as teachers are going to have to eventually change to align with how we are teaching."
My favorite question when looking at curriculum, whay ar ewe teaching what we are teaching? Is it for the beenfit of the adults (as in for measuring teacher effectiveness with tests? Or for students as in teaching thinking skills for a lifetime of success? I know we talk at length about goal setting towards our testing programs, out of necessity to our accountability. what we need to discuss is being accountible to student needs rather than adults.