Wyoming Common Core Stress Factor
(PRWEB) February 19, 2014 -- Panic, Confusion, Relief, Contemplation are just a few of the thoughts and emotions that Administrators and Teachers in Wyoming are relating when asked the question “how are you preparing for the Common Core State Standards”.
Adopted by the State Legislature and signed by the Governor in June of 2012, the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in Wyoming for many Administrators and Teachers is not a lack of understanding what the Common Core is, rather it is a lack of understanding of how to implement the State Standards.
The Wyoming CCSS does not provide a checklist that schools or districts can use to be “in compliance”, instead the standards allude to major shifts in practice in the ways students interact with one another. CCSS begs for a social emotional learning approach to be fully integrated in quality implementation of the Standards over time.
The result, Administrators and Teachers are scratching their heads and wondering how they can adjust their curriculum and teaching to achieve not only social and emotional learning but the implied trajectory of CCSS skills and grade level specific mandates and objectives.
As one might imagine, not just in Wyoming but in the era of Common Core State Standards across the country, professional learning and collaboration is at the forefront of everyone’s mind.
There are a plethora of viewpoints and equal number of Professional Development sessions that try to answer these questions. For many Wyoming Administrators and Teachers however, the belief is they will only be faced with more spreadsheets from the higher-ups that say: “follow this map and the CCSS will be met”.
According to one anonymous Wyoming Teacher, “these “quick fix answers” will be placed into the hands of teachers …without proper instruction on how to implement them. In order to ensure that does not occur for the teachers at my school, I have made it my mission to learn all I can about Common Core, and share this information with teachers in a collaborative thoughtful way.”
A Campbell County School District Administrator added, “We need to provide professional learning opportunities that will lead to rich discussions about “what matters most” and also allow teachers to digest the information and work together to effectively implement rigorous learning opportunities for students that will best prepare them to meet the demands of what’s to come.”
While there seems to be an understanding of what the Wyoming CCSS is and a general understanding of what needs to be achieved, the missing link for many is how the Standards are to be implemented.
One company we spoke to appears to have risen to the challenge of understanding the Common Core in Wyoming. The non-profit company Developmental Studies Center (DSC) has begun to offer a Professional Development Course throughout the State that answers the questions; how are the CCSS going to impact the classroom as we know it, how are teachers going to best prepare students for the new assessments that are coming, how are Wyoming Administrators and Teachers going to truly design instructional practice to ensure that each Wyoming students becomes college and career ready?
According to DSC, the “Common Core Course: Planning Instructional Shifts “ consists of a series of facilitator led activities that guide teams of teachers through discussions, reflections, and evaluations to develop a deeper understanding of what is required for student success.
The DSC director of Professional Development, Christine Venturis, in speaking of the Wyoming course states “Our participants can choose either six 90- or twelve 45-minute sessions. Whether you opt to lead this course yourself or partner with us, you will benefit from our field-tested, proven model for leading rich discussions focused on instructional shifts and classroom dynamics designed to achieve the requirements of the Common Core in Wyoming. We are here to help Wyoming Teachers make powerful, strategic changes to their instructional practice by connecting learning about the Common Core to classroom instruction.”
There is no doubt, the Wyoming Common Core is liked by some and for others it a source of bewilderment and confusion. No matter which side of the fence you stand, the Common Core is here to stay with the only question left to answer - how do we implement it in the classroom.
Scott Callender, NexePro, LLC, http://educationwyoming.com, 720-612-7376, [email protected]
Share this article