Recommendations to an ELA Coordinator about Realigning Curriculum Maps to CCSS

If you were an educational technology specialist working for a district, provide three things to recommend to an ELA Coordinator looking to re-align maps to the CCSS.  What would you do to prepare teachers for these changes?

I interpreted this question in a bit of a different way. Here are my recommendations to our ELA coordinator:

So, here we are, with less than a year before we are going to adopt the new CCSS, and many school leaders and teachers are starting to panic! Undoubtedly, you’ve done a lot of work on mapping your current curriculum to get it where it is today, and here come the CCSS, shaking things up. While the task of realigning your curriculum maps may seem daunting, have no fear! Every single ELA coordinator in this state and the other 38+ who are realigning are in the same boat, and rather than working in isolation, I’m going to provide you with some ways that you can use some of the wonderful technology tools that are available today to make this a collaborative, and therefore more successful, effort.

Start to Create a Network

There are thousands of educators out there who have been given the same task you have before you. Start by reaching out to the other districts in your direct area, but since these standards are national, you will have a ton of other resources to tap. There are many websites and blogs of individuals, groups, consortiums, and companies who have already done some great work in this area. I will show you how to search for these resources, and we will set up a way for you to instantly get updates from news organizations, websites or blogs, about curriculum alignment with the CCSS using something called RSS. This way, you can follow along with the progress others are making integrate the combined knowledge of thousands to focus your work.

Here are just a few places to start – (From “Are We Ready for Testing Under Common Core Standards?” By Patricia Deubel / THE Journal) “Heidi Jacobs, who is noted for her curriculum mapping work, has resources and sample maps at her Web site, Curriculum Designers. The Rubicon International Podcast Channel promotes the latest developments in education, technology, and curriculum mapping. Common Core, which is not affiliated with the CCSS initiative despite its name, has developed a draft of K-12 curriculum maps aligned to the CCSS for English language arts, but not mathematics.”

Get Teachers Involved in the Process

Since the realignment process will not be perfect in the first go-around, and probably will never be perfect, as maps are meant to be fluid and changing, it will be very important for teachers to have the ability to easily and functionally collaborate with each other about the implementation of these new maps. They are, after all, the ones on the front lines who will be implementing this new curriculum. Creating a school “wiki”  through a site like wikispaces, would allow teachers to collaborate together using map templates, upload their lessons or lessons of others that they have found, and make comments in discussion tabs, among tons of other things! Here’s a blog post by New York City Department of Education (NYC DOE) Manhattan Technology Innovation Manager, Lisa Nielsen that explains some of the wonderful ways wikis can enhance schools. Also, here’s a “Wiki Walk-Through” from TeachersFirst.com

Prioritize Staff Development in Using Technology

Now that we have a wiki, we are going to have to teach these teachers how to use them! Whenever new technology is implemented, it is critically important to provide solid staff development in using these tools so that teachers feel comfortable in these new areas and will be able to fully experience their benefits. However, it shouldn’t stop with wikis. Teachers should trained about how to tap in to other teachers out there who are doing the same things they are. We should have staff training on how to set up and/or find blogs, use RSS, find valuable educational websites and resources, and collaborate with other teachers in our district and across the country by sharing ideas in spaces like blogs. Many teachers are unaware of the wealth of valuable resources out there. Supporting and training them how to use technology is just as important as supporting and training our students to use technology.

“Teamwork divides the task and multiplies the success.” - Author Unknown

How to Blogging and RSS fit into the Common Core Standards?

Blogging and RSS are extremely valuable technology tools that have already begun to infiltrate classrooms across the country. As we prepare to roll out and adopt the new Common Core Standards on a national level, it is important to think about teachers and students can use tools, such as these, to meet these standards, and better prepare our students for college and careers.

Here are some highlights from the CCS that seem to lend themselves to the use of tools such as RSS and blogging:

The CCS state that students who are college and career ready will “Use technology and digital media strategically and capably.” Additionally, beginning in kindergarten and all the way up to grade 12, the Writing standards in the areas of “Production and Distribution of Writing” and “Research to Build and Present knowledge” are perfectly suited for using blogging and RSS.

For example, you can see the progression of standards under  “The Production and Distribution of Writing” section by looking at how they are articulated in grades K, 5, and 12.

Kindergarten

6. With guidance and support from adults, use a variety of digital tools to produce and publish writing, including in collaboration with peers.

Grade 5

5. With guidance and support from peers and adults, develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach.

6. With some guidance and support from adults, use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing as well as to interact and collaborate with others; demonstrate sufficient command of keyboarding skills to type a minimum of two pages in a single sitting.

Grade 12

5. Develop and strengthen writing as needed by planning, revising, editing, rewriting, or trying a new approach, focusing on addressing what is most significant for a specific purpose and audience

6. Use technology, including the Internet, to produce, publish, and update individual or shared writing products in response to ongoing feedback, including new arguments or information

When looking under the section of standards entitled “Research to Build and Present Knowledge,” blogging and RSS are also clearly suited for helping students achieve these goals.  Although there are goals in this area from K-3, these goals are developmentally appropriate, so we start seeing the use of digital sources a little in grade 3, but more in grades 4 and up.  

Standards for “Research to Build and Present Knowledge”

Grade 5

7. Conduct short research projects that use several sources to build knowledge through investigation of different aspects of a topic.

8. Recall relevant information from experiences or gather relevant information from print and digital sources; summarize or paraphrase information in notes and finished work, and provide a list of sources.

Grade 12

7. Conduct short as well as more sustained research projects to answer a question (including a self-generated question) or solve a problem; narrow or broaden the inquiry when appropriate; synthesize multiple sources on the subject, demonstrating understanding of the subject under investigation.

8. Gather relevant information from multiple authoritative print and digital sources, using advanced searches effectively; assess the strengths and limitations of each source in terms of the task, purpose, and audience; integrate information into the text selectively to maintain the flow of ideas, avoiding plagiarism and overreliance on any one source and following a standard format for citation

To me, it seems that the CCS really show a developmentally appropriate progression towards very sophisticated research skills, in which technology is essential. RSS seems like such a streamlined and efficient way to accomplish research, and it is something all high school students should know about before they can be deemed “college ready.” Additionally, students are going to need a lot of exposure to technology so they can become well versed and comfortable in this area. Students need to be able to integrate what they gather online, with what they already know, and what they find in other media and print sources. If we teach students to use technologies like blog and RSS, we are giving them the tools to know how to learn in the 21st  century. 

How could blogging change the classroom?

For a while, I had thought about blogging as being more like an online journal - full of highly personal emotions and opinions - and something that I wasn't necessarily interested in. However, when I started getting interested in educational technology a couple of years ago, I started a blog to review some of the teaching resources and websites on the internet that I found useful. Of course, it was the summer, and I had loads of free time and high hopes for my educational technology blog. I always have grand plans for the summer! I made three posts in that first week, but alas - the summer snuck away from me and so did my blog! I had totally abandoned it and really hadn't thought about it until taking this course.

After reading some of the articles and examples from the Week 2 module of this course, I came to the realization that my class webpage (which is a new mandate for all teachers in our district), seems to be a blog, in a way. Its a place where we post information for parents (related arts schedules, spelling lists, important dates), and give a little snippet of what we will be working on in class this week, in the various subject areas. One thing that seems to be missing, if we are to call it a "blog", is the archiving of past posts underneath newer ones. The web-based software we are using doesn't support that format, so each page looks new from week to week. Its really too bad, because one of the key features of a blog is that you can follow it over time, and see the progression of thoughts from the writer. Without this, each page exists on its own, without reference to previous posts.

I could definitely see blogging as a way for teachers to more fully communicate the "goings on" of a classroom with parents and administrators. Teachers can provide a window into their classrooms, by showcasing student work, giving access to notes and homework, providing website suggestions, and letting parents know what their children are learning in school! Parents would probably really like this part, since when you ask most kids what they did or learned in school, they often reply, "Nothing." :-) Our administrators hope that, our current "weekly update" webpages in the elementary school, will be helpful and informative to the parents.  But if it was set up in more of a blog format, and giving others the opportunity to post comments, it might have a bit of a different feel. I chuckled when John said that using technologies, such as blogs, in our classrooms required "intestinal fortitude." In addition to the responsibility of teaching kids to use it appropriately and effectively, I'm not sure how the teachers in my building would react to opening up their website to comments from parents! To participate in the blogging world, you have to be open to feedback from others - regardless of whether it is positive or negative!

Now, I certainly hadn't thought about blogging as being something my 4th grade students would participate in. However, after reading the ISTE NETS and Common Core Standards, it is clear that students are going to be expected to use technology, which may include blogs, to collaborate with others and publish writing pieces, even at the elementary level.

This makes me think about the reading and writing notebooks that my students keep as part of our balanced literacy "workshop" model. So many of their reading notebook entries would make perfect blog posts.  My fourth graders are learning how to write thoughtful responses to their reading, noting their questions, predictions, thoughts, and feelings about text they have read. One of the lessons I taught this week was how our notebooks are the perfect place to respond to issues in our world -including the news. These types of  reading and writing response entries could certainly make their way into a student blog. Additionally, I do a "book clubs" unit every year where students meet in groups to discuss a book, and learn how to respond to other students' ideas, rather than just laying out their own. This type of "discussion" around literature also seems like it would lend itself well to a blog. Finally, and probably the easiest way of using a blog, would be to publish student writing pieces. In this way, students could give feedback to each other and parents could see their children's work in a new way.

Now, logistically, if I were to try these things, I would probably want to keep it as something that would stay within our class, and not something out for public view, until I got the hang of it.  It seems like a bit of a "scary" step to take - and one that would make your classroom very "transparent."  Now transparency isn't necessarily a bad thing, but if things aren't perfect, and mistakes are made, its much more obvious and glaring when it is public view. It's a big step to take, but I have a feeling that we will all be asked to take it, eventually!