JNT2 Task 1
Background
Much like the runways of Paris with its changing fashion trends, the world of education follows trends as well. Educators cringe when they hear “No Child Left Behind” some ten years beyond its advent. Now, the phrases “Common Core” and “Student Learning Objectives” have teachers seeing red.
However, despite the latest and greatest trends to boost student achievement, the very same students in the United States continue to underperform on a global scale in Mathematics. In 2012, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) bore out results that “29 nations and jurisdictions outperformed the United States by a statistically significant margin,” (Heiten, 2013). In order for our students to rise to a position high on the performance scale of nations, students must master the basics in all subjects, but more specifically in the area of Mathematics.
In an effort to develop students with a deeper understanding of mathematical and language and reading concepts, forty-five states (my home state of Maryland being one of them) and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core Standards, a system of expected benchmarks for students in grades K-12. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website, the standards “define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs,” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014). The local statistics mirror the national data. Both present conditions which are symptomatic of a larger systemic problem; American students are not mastering mathematical concepts at any level.
The learning environment is a fourth grade inclusion classroom in a neighborhood school in the suburban Washington, D.C. (Maryland) area. Students in the class are differently abled. The class has students with Individualized Learning
Much like the runways of Paris with its changing fashion trends, the world of education follows trends as well. Educators cringe when they hear “No Child Left Behind” some ten years beyond its advent. Now, the phrases “Common Core” and “Student Learning Objectives” have teachers seeing red.
However, despite the latest and greatest trends to boost student achievement, the very same students in the United States continue to underperform on a global scale in Mathematics. In 2012, the Program for International Student Assessment (PISA) bore out results that “29 nations and jurisdictions outperformed the United States by a statistically significant margin,” (Heiten, 2013). In order for our students to rise to a position high on the performance scale of nations, students must master the basics in all subjects, but more specifically in the area of Mathematics.
In an effort to develop students with a deeper understanding of mathematical and language and reading concepts, forty-five states (my home state of Maryland being one of them) and the District of Columbia have adopted the Common Core Standards, a system of expected benchmarks for students in grades K-12. According to the Common Core State Standards Initiative website, the standards “define the knowledge and skills students should have within their K-12 education careers so that they will graduate high school able to succeed in entry-level, credit-bearing academic college courses and in workforce training programs,” (Common Core State Standards Initiative, 2014). The local statistics mirror the national data. Both present conditions which are symptomatic of a larger systemic problem; American students are not mastering mathematical concepts at any level.
The learning environment is a fourth grade inclusion classroom in a neighborhood school in the suburban Washington, D.C. (Maryland) area. Students in the class are differently abled. The class has students with Individualized Learning
References: National Governors Association Center for Best Practices & Council of Chief State School Officers. (2010). Common Core State Standards for Mathematics. Washington, DC: Author. Heitin, L. (2013). U.S. achievement stalls as other nations make gains [Electronic version] Education Week. Retrieved January 10, 2014 from http://www.edweek.org/ew/articles/2013/12/03/14pisa.h33.html?tkn=TVOFK6Cf%2F8yE Ou9QtmrZ7A2yUM0KFGZKxTBY&cmp=clp-edweek