How To Prepare Teachers For The Common Core State Standards

The Common Core curriculum standards are bound to affect teaching at every level. Here are a few strategies to help set up teachers for success with the Common Core State Standards.

The Common Core State Standards offers a coherent progression of learning expectations designed to prepare K-12 students for college and career success. Launched in 2009, state leaders of the Council of Chief State School Officers and the National Governors Association Center developed this important undertaking.

The Common Core State Standards clearly communicates what is expected of each student in each grade level ensuring they are prepared for post-secondary education and career, no matter where they live. Fortunately, there are a few tips to help new teachers ready themselves to master the Common Core standards.

For one, investing new teachers to a common vision of excellence so that teachers can enter the classroom with a common goal in mind for their instruction, according to Rachel Evans, Site Director, Arizona at TNTP from the Huffington Post. Evans also suggested making the process linear even if the product is not by analyzing standards and determining which ones will be well-suited to be taught in a unit.

With the Common Core standards, students will be asked to think critically by devoting approximately three days to multiple readings of a certain text. While this may take longer, the learning will last longer especially when great units and themes are put together.

Finally, Evans pointed out that classroom culture should always be the priority as even the most immaculately planned lessons will fail if students feel unsure about taking academic risks. What the Common Core standards are trying to instill matters just as much as how to deal and address student behaviors.

Unfortunately, not everyone may agree to the new education standards arguing that a few weeks of training in the summer is not sufficient to master teaching skills. In addition, people who wanted to be teachers in the past went to college for four years plus took semester courses in teaching techniques, according to Curmudgucation.

Many teachers also have the concern of never fully able to implement these new standards in their own classrooms. Teaching to the level of Common Core State Standards is daunting especially in schools that did not master the former and less rigorous standards. While Common Core State stands are said to be complex, not everyone may agree to the new mandate.