AACIA/AASCD
Spring Drive-In Conference
DR. LAURA BEDNAR
APRIL 27, 2012
HOT SPRINGS CONVENTION CENTER
“AHA” Moments
Statewide Reinforcement
Lessons Learned
So What – Now What
Information from ICCS Meeting
State Collaborative
PARCC Resources
Resources Specific to Arkansas
The Arkansas Guide for Professional Development
Planning for Implementation of the CCSS
*includes attention to communications; curriculum;
assessment; instructional leadership; professional
development; policy; and critically aligning the system to
ensure consistency of vision, mission, and message across
the state in light of the many pieces of work moving
simultaneously. Classroom, school, district, regional, partner
and state roles are defined for each strategic area, along with
desired outcomes:
http://ideas.aetn.org/commoncore/strategic-plan
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 1:
COMMUNICATION
 Have you shared your vision of CCSS implementation with
all teachers?
 Have you identified an ELA and Math lead to receive CCSS
information?
 What process have you implemented to relay information to
all teachers?
 What efforts have been made to engage the community in
awareness of CCSS?
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 2:
CURRICULUM
 Does every teacher have a copy or access to the CCSS ELA and Math
documents?
 Do all teachers have access to www.arkansasideas.org/commoncore?
 How much time have all teachers been allocated to work in PLCs to
focus on student learning and implementation of CCSS?
 How are PLCs reporting implementation to school leadership?
 What evidence do you see that technology is being utilized as a tool for
teaching and for learning?
 What efforts are being made to involve SPED, ALE, ELL, and other
content areas into conversation about CORE instruction in ELA and
Math?
 Have teachers utilized the “Checklists of Criteria for Selecting
Resources Specific to ELA and Math”?
http://www.arkansasideas.org/commoncore/strategic-plan
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 3:
ASSESSMENT
 Does every teacher know and understand the role of
assessments as noted in the district assessment plan?
 Do all teachers utilize formative assessment to guide daily
instruction?
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 4:
INSTRUCTIONAL LEADERSHIP
 Through PLC reports and classroom observations, are
evidence of research-based instructional practices
increasing over time, such as higher-level questioning, more
rigorous student-centered learning opportunities?
 Have teachers been given the opportunity to take leadership
roles in supporting colleagues with regard to CCSS
implementation?
 Does leadership have a common vision of what sustained
change in teaching and student learning should look like
when CCSS is fully implemented?
 Is there a school and/or district plan for the implementation
of CCSS?
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 5:
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT
 Have teachers developed professional growth plans that
target specific areas for professional growth aligned with
CCSS?
 Is the school utilizing its internal capacity of staff to support
colleagues?
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 6: POLICY
 How are teachers in PLCs integral to identifying policies that
present barriers to the implementation of CCSS?
 Do policies reflect how all staff feel that our school should
conduct business?
STRATEGIC ACTION AREA 7:
ALIGNED SYSTEM
 How are data being utilized to make decisions regarding the
implementation of CCSS?
 How are educator voices being heard within the building,
district, and state?
Common Core
ELA and Math Shifts
 Shifts in ELA
 Building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction and
informational texts in addition to literature
 Reading and writing grounded in evidence from the text
 Regular practice with complex text and its academic vocabulary
These apply to content area (social studies, science, and technical
subject) teachers as well as to English teachers.
 Shifts in Mathematics
 Focus: 2-3 topics focused on deeply in each grade
 Coherence: Concepts logically connected from one grade to the
next and linked to other major topics within the grade
 Rigor: Fluency with arithmetic, application of knowledge to real
world situations, and deep understanding of mathematical concepts
Math Sample Item
4th Grade Assessment Item
from PARCC Invitation to
Negotiate (ITN)
A Plate of Cookies
There were 28 cookies on a
plate.
Five children each ate one
cookie.
Two children ate 3 cookies.
One child at 5 cookies.
The rest of the children each ate
two cookies.
Then the plate was empty.
How many children ate two
cookies? Show your work.
Math Common Core State
Standards
Grade 4 Operations and
Algebraic Thinking (OA) Domain
4.OA Clusters:
• Use the four operations with
whole numbers to solve
problems.
• Gain familiarity with factors and
multiples.
• Generate and analyze patterns.
Mathematical Practices:
4. Model with mathematics.
ELA Sample Unit
Grade and 11-12, Economics Course
Course:
Teaching
task:
What combination of market and command systems do you believe
creates an ideal mixed economy? After reading informational and opinion
texts, write an essay that addresses the question and support your
position with evidence from the texts. Be sure to acknowledge competing
views.
Reading
texts:
John Edwards and Edward Tanner, “Should the U.S. have a National
Healthcare System?” (Article)
David Kestenbaum, “Denmark Thrives Despite High Taxes” (Transcript of
Broadcast)
William Booth “As Cuba gives Capitalism a try, Experts Ponder Future”
(Article)
Paul Krugman and John Tierney, “Wal-Mart: Good or Evil” (Article)
“The World’s Best Countries” (interactive infographic)
Lesson author: Kathy Thiebes, Social Studies Teacher, Gresham, Oregon
Source: Literacy Design Collaborative
http://www.mygroupgenius.org/literacy
ELA Sample Unit
Corresponding Common Core State Standards for Literacy in History/Social
Studies
Integration of Knowledge and Ideas
•RH.11-12.7. Integrate and evaluate multiple sources of information
presented in diverse formats and media (e.g., visually, quantitatively, as well
as in words) in order to address a question or solve a problem.
•RH.11-12.8. Evaluate an author’s premises, claims, and evidence by
corroborating or challenging them with other information.
•RH.11-12.9. Integrate information from diverse sources, both primary and
secondary, into a coherent understanding of an idea or event, noting
discrepancies among sources.
Range of Reading and Level of Text Complexity
•RH.11-12.10. By the end of grade 12, read and comprehend history/social
studies texts in the grades 11–CCR text complexity band independently and
proficiently.
Common Core State
Standards
Professional Development
Students
Changes in
instruction
Educators
Professional
Development
Preparation,
Licensure,
Certification, and
Career Pathways
Educator
Evaluation
Ideas for phasing in CCSS
next school year
 English language arts (ELA)
 Help teachers incorporate text-dependent questions into
instruction
 Integrate more non-fiction and complex texts into
curriculum
 Writing to inform and structure an argument
 School wide literacy initiative in secondary school
 Mathematics
 Focus instruction on a few key topics emphasized in each
grade in the standards
 Emphasize problem-solving and real-world application
Our CCSS Strategic Plan has an action to
capture best practices for teaching to the depth
and rigor of CCSS and house them in a database
easily accessible to all state educators.
Thank you for the opportunity to visit with you
today.
Laura Bednar
laura.bednar@arkansas.gov
501-683-4800 (office)
501-352-6529 (cell)