To: Dr. Candance Doerr-Stevens and CURRINS 545 Class Members
From: Carolyn Frick, Reading Teacher
Date: February 10, 2014
Subject: The Benefits of Common Core State Standards in Tandem with the National Council for Teachers of English Standards
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (http://standards.dpi.wi.gov) for kindergarten through twelfth grade, outline detailed goals in both English language arts and mathematics guiding students' progress towards ultimately graduating with the necessary knowledge and skills to enter college. These standards provide for a more consistent, objective manner in which to evaluate students' progress as discussed in this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0rRk9sER0. Moreover, the professional organizations related to the various academic disciplines also post their standards. For this memo, I have selected the standards noted by National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/StandardsDoc.pdf.
In reviewing the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing standards for grades 6 through 12 by both the state of Wisconsin and the NCTE, it becomes readily apparent that the CCSS present a prescriptive outline, specific to individual grade levels, with objectives that offer a direct focus for instruction building upon the previous year's standards. This recipe for teaching standards succinctly isolates each individual skill and does not address the inter-relatedness across the standards inherent in a deeper cognitive understanding. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills continually evolve in relationship to each other. Conversely, NCTE's broad, sweeping standards, while not specific nor prescriptive per grade level, recognizes the inherent relationships across the standards. When teaching reading writing, speaking, and listening, we are likely to integrate a cross section of standards into a single lesson as the skills are interrelated.
As for technology, both sets of standards openly address and greet the wave of new technology in education. Recognizing the continuously unfolding impact technology presents across the realms of communication (speaking, reading, understanding, listening, and writing), both the CCSS and the NCTE embrace the ever-growing need to incorporate technology in our schools across the curriculum.
While I feel the CCSS exist to provide a detailed guideline for teachers' instructional objectives, it must be utilized with the understanding that these standards are inter-related and must be taught in such a manner. The CCSS aggressively delineate the itemized skill sets necessary for comprehension and understanding. Similarly the NCTE recognizes a building of the skills and the necessity to provide increasingly complex texts in order to foster a deeper understanding.
In reviewing NCTE's standards, the main goal is to produce self-motivated, life-long learners through the development and creation of meaningful connections between the student, texts, and the world. In other words, a true and greater understanding of one's self is accomplished through the understanding and synthesizing of texts from our world's vast cultures and varied human experiences and conditions. This goal varies significantly from the stated goal for CCSS upon students' graduation from twelfth grade: "to define college and career readiness expectations". (http://standards.dpi.wi.gov p. 80) However, by melding these packaged goals and objectives, we create a complete guideline in both breadth and depth of concept.
Utilizing the Common Core standards in tandem with the NCTE standards as a collective package will decisively cover all aspects of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and understanding in the curriculum. The broad generalities of the NCTE standards can be achieved by teachers through applying the grade level directives in the CCSS. If utilized together, these two documents provide a solid foundation from which teachers can deliver effective reading, writing, speaking, and listening lessons.
Clearly, the standards outlined by both the NCTE and the CCSS, lend themselves to the ultimate desired outcome: graduating students knowledgeable and well-prepared to be independent, critical, objective thinkers able to evolve and grow in our ever changing world.
Related Articles:
Date: February 10, 2014
Subject: The Benefits of Common Core State Standards in Tandem with the National Council for Teachers of English Standards
The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) (http://standards.dpi.wi.gov) for kindergarten through twelfth grade, outline detailed goals in both English language arts and mathematics guiding students' progress towards ultimately graduating with the necessary knowledge and skills to enter college. These standards provide for a more consistent, objective manner in which to evaluate students' progress as discussed in this video link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5s0rRk9sER0. Moreover, the professional organizations related to the various academic disciplines also post their standards. For this memo, I have selected the standards noted by National Council for Teachers of English (NCTE), http://www.ncte.org/library/NCTEFiles/Resources/Books/Sample/StandardsDoc.pdf.
In reviewing the reading, writing, speaking, listening, and viewing standards for grades 6 through 12 by both the state of Wisconsin and the NCTE, it becomes readily apparent that the CCSS present a prescriptive outline, specific to individual grade levels, with objectives that offer a direct focus for instruction building upon the previous year's standards. This recipe for teaching standards succinctly isolates each individual skill and does not address the inter-relatedness across the standards inherent in a deeper cognitive understanding. Reading, writing, speaking, and listening skills continually evolve in relationship to each other. Conversely, NCTE's broad, sweeping standards, while not specific nor prescriptive per grade level, recognizes the inherent relationships across the standards. When teaching reading writing, speaking, and listening, we are likely to integrate a cross section of standards into a single lesson as the skills are interrelated.
As for technology, both sets of standards openly address and greet the wave of new technology in education. Recognizing the continuously unfolding impact technology presents across the realms of communication (speaking, reading, understanding, listening, and writing), both the CCSS and the NCTE embrace the ever-growing need to incorporate technology in our schools across the curriculum.
While I feel the CCSS exist to provide a detailed guideline for teachers' instructional objectives, it must be utilized with the understanding that these standards are inter-related and must be taught in such a manner. The CCSS aggressively delineate the itemized skill sets necessary for comprehension and understanding. Similarly the NCTE recognizes a building of the skills and the necessity to provide increasingly complex texts in order to foster a deeper understanding.
In reviewing NCTE's standards, the main goal is to produce self-motivated, life-long learners through the development and creation of meaningful connections between the student, texts, and the world. In other words, a true and greater understanding of one's self is accomplished through the understanding and synthesizing of texts from our world's vast cultures and varied human experiences and conditions. This goal varies significantly from the stated goal for CCSS upon students' graduation from twelfth grade: "to define college and career readiness expectations". (http://standards.dpi.wi.gov p. 80) However, by melding these packaged goals and objectives, we create a complete guideline in both breadth and depth of concept.
Utilizing the Common Core standards in tandem with the NCTE standards as a collective package will decisively cover all aspects of reading, writing, listening, speaking, and understanding in the curriculum. The broad generalities of the NCTE standards can be achieved by teachers through applying the grade level directives in the CCSS. If utilized together, these two documents provide a solid foundation from which teachers can deliver effective reading, writing, speaking, and listening lessons.
Clearly, the standards outlined by both the NCTE and the CCSS, lend themselves to the ultimate desired outcome: graduating students knowledgeable and well-prepared to be independent, critical, objective thinkers able to evolve and grow in our ever changing world.
Related Articles:
No comments:
Post a Comment