Recently, I created a landing page for all of the posts that I’ve been sharing relevant to my work with the Common Core. I plan to update it at the end of each week, as my work inside of local school districts continues and my reflections on that work unfold. You can find the archives [...]
When we write anything, it’s important to seek a bit of understanding before we begin drafting. For instance, it makes sense to read some quality fiction before we try our hand at composing it. If we’re eager to craft a powerful poem, we might learn a lot by studying the work of the poets who [...]
This post is the next in a lengthy series intended to make the work that I am facilitating relevant to Race to the the Top and specifically, the alignment of curricula to the Common Core Learning Standards, transparent for others. Doing so has enabled me to gain clarity and new perspectives from others who are [...]
Perhaps you’re more than little bit invested in the idea of increasing job satisfaction for yourself and for those that you work with even as you’re Racing to the Top. Perhaps you can appreciate the importance of starting with vision, of thinking bigger (and smaller) than the CCLS, and of honoring the distinction between evaluation [...]
I think this is a critical guiding question for every educator in New York State right now, particularly those who are facilitating work with the Common Core Learning Standards, APPR, inquiry teams, and assessment design. If ever there were a time when mindfulness would take a back seat to panic and job satisfaction would be [...]
This week, I’m sharing out some of the processes I’ve used to help teachers build a fluency with the Common Core Learning Standards. First, I returned to the importance of vision and the call for strategic plans that support the work of Race to the Top while remaining aligned to it. Then, I shared a [...]
In order to mine a standard’s true meaning, you typically have to unwrap it a bit. The purpose of this work is to distinguish the standard’s explicit and implicit meaning. Implicit meaning? Aren’t standards supposed to be articulated with precision? Well, that’s the hope, but even the best standards require skillful interpretation. This is [...]
If you didn’t get a chance to catch David Coleman’s presentation Bringing the Common Core to Life this week, you can still access it here. It’s important viewing for New York State educators at every level. As I’ve begun debriefing with different members of my network and teachers and administrators inside of the schools that [...]
“Some of my former students came back to see me this year,” she said. “They graduated a couple of years ago. When they were here, they really struggled, but they wanted to do well, and they listened to me when I told them I could help them. I helped them read. I helped them write. [...]
A few weeks ago, I was invited to share the progress of a curriculum design and mapping initiative I am facilitating in a local district with the members of the Western New York Middle School Principals’ group at their monthly luncheon. As I began planning for this conversation, I was tempted to focus on the [...]
