Introducing .. The ELA Common Core
Did the Prezi help you understand why we need the Common Core? Do you think the Common Core will change the way we educate our students? How do you think classroom instruction, homework, teaching, and learning will change? Can you embrace these changes? Will your students and their parents embrace them?
102 comments:
Wow, this Prezi was great! I can't wait to start working on mine in this class. What a cool program. Getting back on topic-Kevin Hodgson did a great job explaining the Common Core Standards. He really utilized this program and made a presentation that is easy to use, fun, effective, and kept my attention. It was a true learning "experience" instead of the usual reading a Powerpoint presentatiom because it was interactive.
From my understanding over the past several years/decades there has been different curriculums and expectations varying from state to state. Students were learning different material from neighboring states and were proficient in different areas than other parts of the country. The efforts of the common core state standards is to create a set of standards that help to focus in the nation’s educational standards. The ELA standards, Kevin discusses, are adding more informational text, evidence based writing. these standards are thought to prepare students for college and career readiness. Teaching our students skills such as comprehending content, independently research topics, and using various reliable sources to research/argue/prepare evidence for a topic. I do feel the standards are a great idea and should help to better prepare our students for working and interacting in adulthood. I just hope with the influence on non-fiction and informative content, our students don't lose too much time using their creative higher thinking skills. I suppose it will be up to the teachers to do their best(I know it will be hard) to find the balance between using the new standards and offering other important lessons to their students. The ideas and standards set forth in the Common Core seem to be well coordinated, thorough, organized, and relevant to our students.
This prezi presentation was very informative, easy to understand, and helpful to educators. I’m not sure how I feel yet about the Common core standards, ask me again in a few years. I'm hopeful that it will be effective and beneficial to students/educators today.
-K.S.
Great presentation! Yes, I saw a big difference between this Prezi presentation and a regular power point presentation. I love the zoom in feature and the back and forth to review the slides. I am also looking forward to creating my "All About Me" presentation for class.
As a 5th grade English teacher, I strongly believe in the Common Core Standards. As stated in the video, too many student were going off to college without the basic mastery of the English Language skills. Colleges got fed up because too many students were needing to be put in remedial classes to get them up to college level. However, 30 years ago, not everyone was going to college like
students are going today.
Common Core has made a real shift to non-fiction reading and writing. Students will be reading non-fiction in the real world so they need to be guided in that direction. My good readers are my good writers. So, the two need to be practice across the curriculum in Social Studies & Science and not just left for the English Department.
Not looking forward to the new tests in 2014. Karen Palmer
I agree with Karen and the how the information was presented in this Prezi. I was easy to follow and had a great layout!
I feel the Common Core Standards in ELA and Math are moving education in the right direction. If students change schools there should be a uniform curriculum that they should fit right into. Also I like the idea of having literacy across all subject matters. There are plenty of strategies that can be used in the main content areas as well as English. These ideas will be reinforced and hopefully more students will be college-ready. Students need to be confident in explaining information in their own words. I know in English they can write essays, but even conclusions written in Science or Math need to be strong as well.
I agree with Karen that the common core adds nonfiction and writing skills which will be very beneficial to students later in life. I also agree that good readers are good writers. The more students read the more they learn how to think, write, and expand their vocabulary. The best thing students can do to improve their writing skills and vocabulary is to read as much as possible. Students need to also read nonfiction because it encourages knowledge and opinion writing in our students.
-K.Sullivan
I think the Prezi is a great way to deliever content. It has a more creative and interesting appearance to draw the students attention. It certainly delievered this information thoroughly.
I think its a good idea to direct the student instruction to prepare them for working in the real world. Including informational texts and writings based on this will help beneifit the students when they go off to college. In my own experience, I had little knowledge about writing a research paper from highschool and when I went off to college I had diffcituly because these were the papers usually required. However, I agree with K. Sullivan in that I hope the common core influence does not take away too much creativity in the classroom.
The Prezi presentation was easy to follow and well structured. Additionally, the Common Core Standards in ELA and Math are greatly changing education. I feel that literacy across all subjects is the most important. Reading/writing is an integral part of all subject matters. Students will struggle in math and science if they did not have a solid foundation in English.
Yes the Prezi was very helpful! I do believe it will change our children because their will more of a universal learning. When you go from state to state every student will be learning about the same thing instead being at different points. It will change things because it may cause some states that were behind to have to catch up and cause a shift in the way teachers deliver instruction. They will have to possible shift some of their teaching and mold it around the new standards. I can embrace these changes because I am a new teacher as opposed to someone who has been teaching for 10+ years and is used to the standards they have been using. I think parents and students will embrace them. Like in the video if a student has to move to a different state they will still be learning the same thing using the same standards as opposed to how it was before common core. I think it may take some time, but the common core will be a good thing for education.
I agree with John that literacy is important in all subjects, especially reading and understanding concepts. I teach math and I always see students struggle on word problems because they do not understand what they are reading. I do like the idea of other subjects reading nonfiction stories because even though fiction stories can be exciting and easier to read, nonfiction stories are more knowledgeable. Also, in college, you will more likely be reading and researching nonfictional texts.
The prezi thoroughly help me understand the need for the CC standards, which is to basically bring all the states on one standard of learning expectations for the curriculum they teach. The Common Core standard will change What we require of students at their given grade level, but will it change the way we educate-that will depend on the teacher teaching. If the common core standard is upheld by the teacher the work given to the students should be more expressive with reasoning based on the material they read observed and thought, a more critical thinking based instead of regurgitating memorized information. Can I embrace the change, yes because I have never taught in a classroom and have not developed a habit or way of teaching and I am all for thinking minds rather than fact sheet brain who cannot analyze a problem. Will the students embrace this change: honestly I don't think they will notice as long as the student is learning and engaged. As for the parents I think they will embrace the CC standards because; I think parents are all about what's best for their children and if it will help further
develop their knowledge and if all states have common requirement so there is no discrepancy if their child where to ever move to another state is great. M. Worthy
This Prezi was excellent! It was extremelty informative and different than traditional powerpoints.
I feel that the Common Core standards are vital to education. Students do not know how to read for meaning and these literacy standards are a way to teach children how to read for understanding, point of view, application, etc.
My only issue with Commom Core is that teachers will be forced to teach to the standards rather than allow their students to drive their own learning. I feel that kids need to be able to be creative and enjoy learning and not just be taught to pass exams and meet standards. I believe Common Core can be a good thing if teachers can incorporate them in a way that still allows for student creativity and discovery learning.
After working with Prezi, I Have Found a new favorite Program. I always thought powerpoint was the only way to show a presentiation, But now this way has many other techniques to it to make the presentation more exciting. I Do believe the english assesment is put together well for students in grades 3-5, 6-8, and 9-11.
Did the Prezi help you understand why we need the Common Core? Do you think the Common Core will change the way we educate our students? How do you think classroom instruction, homework, teaching, and learning will change? Can you embrace these changes? Will your students and their parents embrace them?
This Prezi definitely helped me understand why we need the Common Core. I also think the direction the Common Core is taking students is very necessary. ELA for me was always being assigned a book, getting a vocabulary list, discussing what we read in class and writing a paper. This process I believe did not really prepare me all that well. Teaching students ways to comprehend content, do independent research and emphasizing writing to defend an argument are definitely more realistic. This will help students become better prepared for college and careers.
I think students and especially parents will embrace them. Parents can find comfort in knowing that all students will be learning a core of the same information. I know my parents were sometimes concerned that my brother and I were not being taught the same things that other students were learning because of the teacher's choice to teach something else. The use of the Common Core will help to place students on an equal level.
I feel the same way Jackie Hughes feels...this prezi definitely helped me understand why we need common core standards. I think it is very important for all states to be on the same page with what is being taught to students and when it is being taught. This way, there isn't such a huge gap between levels of difficulty from one state to another. I feel that the common core will help teachers intertwine various areas of discipline so while a student is learning about biology he/she is also learning reading skills and writing skills simultaneously. I especially like the part in the video where students not only read an informative text BUT got the chance to openly discuss in a group setting their feelings on the subject with evidence from the text. This will teach students life skills in the future work place and give students confidence in public speaking.
I agreed with John. This presentation was very easy to follow and it is very important that reading and writing be seen in all content areas.
I really liked this prezi. As a kindergarten teacher the Common Core Standards is something we are looking at and trying to understand the changes on a daily basis. This prezi explained these changes in a short and clear matter.
I think it is very important for students to read and write about non-fiction and informational topics. It is also very important that reading and writing be incorporated in all content areas.
For me being a math teacher the common core doesn't switch it up so much. It does effect the English and writing standards a lot more then it does for math. All in all the prezi was very informative.
Tierney Castoro
I enjoy using Prezi!!! This presentation was very easy to follow and very informative! I very much enjoy the feature of making aspects of the presentation larger where I want them to be larger.
The common core has changed the standards for NYS drastically but this presentation made it very easy to follow and understand the differences between what we knew and what we need to learn for the future of our students
I also agree with most of my class in saying that the prezi was very easy to follow and the Common Core has changed teaching in all grade levels. This prezi has pointed out that utilizing nonfiction and writing skills will be beneficial to students as a life lesson.
I found this Prezi presentation to be incredibly informative in terms of where we were with educating our students and now where we may be headed with changing our way of instruction. I completely agree with many of the ideas and beliefs that were put forward in this Prezi. For example, I do believe that writing well stems from reading well. If students do not read, they will have major difficulty with learning new vocabulary and being able to expand on their sentence structures and making themselves sound more sophisticated in both their oral and written expression.
I am currently a science teacher, and I must say that despite teaching 9th and 11th graders, the spelling, grammar, and vocabulary levels are not up to par with what I feel it should be. I think that requiring reading and writing in all content areas will be a very successful step in helping today's students become better educated.
I also noticed the statistics of informative reading on tests and and I think that even though long, boring, non-fiction passages are sometimes torture for students, it does teach them to force themselves to focus on what their reading and to try to really interpret it.
I agree with K. Sullivan who says that the standards are important for preparing our students for working and interacting in adulthood. They NEED to know how to comprehend content and conduct their own research to find and analyze evidence, and to understand what sources are credible and which ones are not.
I think the standards are definitely going to improved education in most, if not all, content areas.
The Prezi does a great job of introducing the Common Core. It has a fluid outline of its main changes. I think I will embrace most of these changes: the main gist of Common Core calls for an emphasis on depth rather than breadth, and skills rather than recall: I am 100% behind these changes. The things about Common Core that worry me from an English teacher's perspective is the devaluation of poetry, literary texts, and narrative writing. Of course we need students to read informational texts and understand them well. But we also need students to understand creative works that wrestle with the themes students will wrestle with throughout their lives. I believe students should read their lives and be able to reflect on them in meaningful ways; creative works allow them to do this.
Narrative writing is too important to minimize, as well. The most important things in any piece of writing are clarity and "readability" - a huge aspect of this is narrative. Narrative can be used effectively in any type of writing to interest the reader and create a context for the piece's content. Writing that is technical without a narrative context is plain old boring. And good English teachers (including myself) will always teach poetry, because it's a joke if kids don't experience poetry in an English class.
As far as getting parents on board, I think they'd agree with anything as long as test scores go up. I think the kids will find class more varied and interesting under the Common Core standards.
The Prezi did help me further understand why the Common Core is necessary. One facet of it that I highly agree with is making all participating states’ standards the same in ELA. I believe maintaining the same set of standards across the nation is imperative if national educational achievement is at the forefront of our nation’s to-do list. I find it disheartening when students come from states such as Georgia to New York and are set back a grade or two because what was ‘standard’ and on grade level there is not what it is in New York. The implementation of the Common Core will definitely changed how students are educated across the nation.
I do fear that the Common Core will develop a feeling of “teaching to the test” and teachers will focus on meeting specific requirements rather than simply raising their expectations and finding different ways to better educate their students. Nevertheless, an example of changing teaching methods to better fit the standards that I encountered this week was instead of having my students complete a personal reflection on an anti-bullying assembly they were required to research various incidents that occurred regarding bullying, and write a report about it. I did not remove all self-reflection, however. I required students to give a brief description of how the researched incident and the assembly tied to their lives at home and in school. By making simple changes educators can have a smooth transition into the Common Core standards.
Overall, I think the Common Core standards are great. Incorporating ELA in every facet of education allows students to heighten their skills seamlessly, and unconsciously. I do worry about the decrease of just for fun activities in lower grades, and the loss creativity but overall I believe within the next 10 years everyone will embrace them, especially when students go to college and are actually up to speed and ready for English 101 and not remedial English. The Common Core is the beginning step to ensure that the future of American education is bright.
This Prezi definitely helped me understand more about the Common Core and what the future of education holds. Common Core will change the way we educate our students because it incorporates non-fiction reading and writing. Being a future science educator I think this will work out in my benefit. I agree with Karen when she stated students will be reading non-fiction in the real world so they need to be guided in that direction. I look forward to embracing these changes and incorporating common core into my lessons to make my students greater learners. –Dayna O
I enjoyed the Prezi presentation. Prezi's are a great tool to use in a classroom, and can beneficial to many students. As a matter of fact, I recently made one, and relished the time spent on making my prezi presentation.
I, for one, firmly beleive that the Common Core is integral in education, in a sense that we must teach our students the basics, so to say, especially when it comes to reading and writing. These two areas are very important, not only in the classroom, but in life as well. The students will need these skills as they grow into adults, and use them for benefit themselves later in life.
Tim A
This introduction of why this phase of the Common Core Standards has become a key factor across the educational system was well illustrated in the prezi-presentation. Viewing this video was a good lesson. Education as a whole has become a multi-level debate in our society and will continue to be. These principles can present many challenges for educators, since education needs constant review to strive for excellence.
The Common Core Standards have refreshed the face of education by demonstrating that effective education will deliver efficient students who will be prepared for higher education. I think teachers will positively adopt The Common Core as guide. Teachers now will be able to understand how and what their main focus should be in educating students to learn the tasks and apply appropriate knowledge. This approach will set a balance between the instruction of subjects and the responsibility teachers hold for student s to grow in all disciplines. Parents soon enough will be able to consider that these changes like the Common Core Standards are well suited for education. I hope that the Common Core Standards continues to strengthen the value of education.
Nora R.
This introduction of why this phase of the Common Core Standards has become a key factor across the educational system was well illustrated in the prezi-presentation. Viewing this video was a good lesson. Education as a whole has become a multi-level debate in our society and will continue to be. These principles can present many challenges for educators, since education needs constant review to strive for excellence.
The Common Core Standards have refreshed the face of education by demonstrating that effective education will deliver efficient students who will be prepared for higher education. I think teachers will positively adopt The Common Core as guide. Teachers now will be able to understand how and what their main focus should be in educating students to learn the tasks and apply appropriate knowledge. This approach will set a balance between the instruction of subjects and the responsibility teachers hold for student s to grow in all disciplines. Parents soon enough will be able to consider that these changes like the Common Core Standards are well suited for education. I hope that the Common Core Standards continues to strengthen the value of education.
Nora R.
Prezi is a great way to present information. This presentation was much more engaging than a powerpoint presentation would have been. I thought this prezi was very informational and effective. Kevin did a wonderful job stating his point.
Watching this prezi, I learned information about the common core that I did not know before. It made me agree that having a common core is beneficial to both teachers and students. It keeps the curriculum on task and provides students with the skills and knowledge they need to build from. Although teachers have to teach by the common core and the curriculum, I hope they can still find time for creativity and don't get too caught up in following the common core.
-Elizabeth A.
Kevin Hodgson's Prezi does a great job highlighting the purpose and of the Common Core Standards and the major shifts that they bring to education in the U.S. I believe in nationwide education standards and understand the benefits of the Common Core. The school that I teach in has been aligning itself to the Common Core since the start of the 2011 school year. We were introduced to the Common Core at the end of the 2010 school year, and have been working very hard to align our curriculum. I am very curious to see how the new standards play out over the next couple of school years. As I said before, I believe in nation wide standards that challenge our students and promote an overall higher level of critical thinking and improved writing capabilities. However I am also watching the level of stress and frustration these changes are putting on my students and the school staff. Some of the demands of the Common Core concern me in regards to our ESL population. I'm not sure how I feel about the Common Core standards, however I do know that they have made this quite the stressful school year for our students and 3-5th grade teachers. Ask me again in 2015!
-K. Doria
This was a great Prezi! It was easy to follow and a great presentation overall. They really used Prezi to its full advantage and they did a great job explaining the Common Core. It was interactive, fun to watch and kept my attention the whole time.
Although I am not to familiar with using Prezi, i think it is fantastic as a learning tool. The Prezi was able to clearly outline the common core standards and present the functionality and importance of the use of these standards to teaching.
I think that these standards were created mainly as a tool to help focus educational standards as a whole. Weather it will work or not is left in the hands of those teachers who will present it. This largely requires teachers, and parents to embrace the changes that are on the education horizon, and to adjust their teaching styles to accomodate these changes.
The prezi was pretty solid. It still does not change my hatred for the common core. The prezi had tons of information, and was pretty clear cut in explaining everything that this calamity is about. Now when we were told about the common core, I wish my administrator would have showed us this prezi. Maybe, I wouldn't have such disdain for the Common Core. I understand what the Common Core was created for, but my question to Arne Duncan is this. Why were we successful in the 80's and 90's? What happened? Why have we fallen behind? Obviously, NCLB was unsuccessful, why should I believe in the Common Core?
I enjoyed that Prezi presentaton on Common Core. I feel that parents should have the opportunity to watch this Prezi. I feel the more awareness on this topic, the better. I agree with many aspects of the Common Core shift. My concerns lie in the testing of this movement. I do not think this shift will happen over night, therefore the transition should be recognized and consider having a grace period. I believe the state is not recognizing that these shifts will not happen over night.
I feel this movement is good because of the universal qualities of it. This movement will have a powerful effect on military families that are asked to move from state to state. This always students who are moving from state to state to have consistent standards. This movement will have many positives once everyone commits to it.
Kaitlyn B.
I have to say I already had an understanding about Common Core the Prezi presentation just reinforced what I already knew about the common core that is being implemented now into curriculums. Of course I believe the common core will most definitely change how we educate our students. It listed as common core now but will soon one day be the standard to which our students will be taught. I do believe that the changes that occur will make things difficult for to asses yet we have to accommodate ourselves to these changes. As well as accommodate students to these changes because the increase in literacy and writing in the classroom increases dramatically with common core. Students will need to be given explicit directions on how they should approach the new course work. As stated earlier Common Core is something that will soon become the standard for school. Teachers have no choice but to embrace these changes. The bigger question is are the students ready for these changes, and in my opinion that is a no. Being in a classroom at the moment and doing my common core lesson I have feel that the changes aren’t a big deal especially for veteran teachers but of course there are those who are opposed to the change. As for students and parents students are going to be opposed to doing more work no matter what it is, parents on the other hand should feel that their children are getting a well-rounded education where reading becomes the focus, but not just reading, reading for information. However, some parents may feel it takes away from other important aspects that school is to focus on.
-Jon Richard
Having completed my undergrad and student teaching in Maryland, I was more accustomed to the MSA style of teaching (Maryland State Assessment). Because Maryland obviously had their own state standards, coming home and going on interviews having to be educated on the Common Core was terrifying for me. Throughout the year I have attended many workshops and meetings that further discuss the purposes for the Common Core, and after viewing the Prezi it was also presented pretty clearly. Though the standards are very thorough and they cover a wide range of topics that students need to learn, the part that scares me as an educator is making sure there is enough time in a school year to reach all of those Common Core goals in a timely manner and in a way that my students can grasp the material and be prepared for their state assessments. After working with my fifth graders as they prepared for the NYS assessments this year, I have never seen children so frightened to take state assessments in my entire life. The anxiety that I saw my students suffering and the stress and constant mumblings about the Common Core was upsetting to me to see that these students who are very bright, worry so much about these tests. Though I believe that the Common Core Standards provide a detailed and in-depth explanation of what our students should be learning, I think that some of testing with regards to the Common Core needs to be reevaluated. The Common Core is definitely going to ultimately be a positive change for education I think in the big picture of things, but we just need to work out some of the kinks over the next few years.
The new Common Core State Standards is essential for all educators to fully understand and incorporate into their daily lessons. Before attending graduate school I was unaware of these new state standards. Through my classes and being a graduate assistant I have done much research on these standards and I found this prezi to be extremely helpful. It organized and explained the new system clearly and it was easy to understand. This prezi broke down and explained in full detail each section of the standards of reading, writing, speaking and listening, language. It also emphasized how each section is a building block for the other. The shift to the new common core system continues to be a work in progress but I believe it is a step in a positive direction for the academic world. Teachers will have to work harder to incorporate each area of the common core in order for students to reap the benefits in the long run,
The featured Prezi helped me gain a better understanding on why we need the Common Core. The Common Core does change the way teachers will be teaching their students. Teaching will be more directed, and probably with a heavier homework load for the students. I do embrace some of the Common Core ideas, such as focusing more on comprehension rather than simply focusing only on decoding. The Common Core wants to emphasize more critical thinking and being able to provide evidence to his or her ideas. Incorporating writing in all content areas is important and gets the students to be able to write all of the kinds of academic language used in each subject. The Common Core wants students to gain a better literacy in technology, which is something that they will always need in the "real world". Mainly, the Common Core is increasing the workload and making it more difficult in some ways, taking out more of the personal narratives and poems. The Common Core's goal is to make the students college and career ready. I feel that the students who can "keep up" with the new way of learning will be very successful in their learning. However, some students may display great difficulty in attaining the Common Core goals. Most parents do not agree with the large amount of testing, which could be a potential problem. I believe it will be more difficult to use the Common Core ideas, but obtaining a career is getting more competitive and harder to obtain, so I do not think it is a bad idea to prepare us in a different way.
Kerrie B.
The Prezi was very informative, and centered around a detailed and engaging video. The Prezi is careful to pinpoint the changes implemented by the CCSS and to give data reflecting the trends as grade level progresses. As an adolescent Language Arts/English teacher these Literacy Standards are of the utmost importance. This is a presentation that I would return to in the event I had a specific or general question about the standards. The initial graphic shows both the complexity and the interconnectedness of the new standards; I would return to this graphic in times of uncertainty. Like Casey C, I have also experienced (second-hand) the struggle of teaching, reaching, and comprehending the CCSS. Education of teachers, testing of students, and the standards themselves seem to need some trial-and-error type re-imagining. I believe the CCSS can be a tremendous difference maker in education. Unfortunately, there will be some unavoidable growing pains along the way.
This Prezi was extremely helpful in learning about the common core. It helped me understand why we need this.I believe the institution of the common core will guide teachers and educators in creating standards for students that focus on the educational goals and standards of the United States. I hope it doesn't change the way we educate in a negative way. As a future teacher I still want to keep the creativity and imagination in the classroom. I just hope I can find a way to meet the common core standards at the same time.I think classroom instruction, homework, teaching, and learning will change for the better. The common core will help bring structure and organization to the classroom and its activity. I think we all can embrace the common core as long as were educated on it. This prezi would be a great tool to show students and parents what is expected from them. It is important to educate yourself as an educator and make sure your students and parents are on the same page.
This Prezi really outlined the main ideas in a way that is easy to understand. Like a previous blogger stated before me, this presentation is a good reference to use in the future.
As a recently certified elementary and special education teacher, I have learned first hand how important the common core standards are on a daily basis. Every lesson and activity that teachers plan revolve around the standards. Therefore, it is crucial for teachers to understand and implement the necessary curriculum into their teaching.
I also agree with another previous blogger who mentioned the emphasis on testing in the current curriculum within schools. Students spend a lot of time preparing for the state tests (which a significant amount of students opted out). The question remains as to whether or not teachers are being forced to teach towards the test rather than helping their students reach their idividual goals?
The Common Core Standards are still relatively new, which causes me to believe and hope that within the next few years, schools will have mastered the standards and students will benefit in the long run.
Anonymous said...
This Prezi really outlined the main ideas in a way that is easy to understand. Like a previous blogger stated before me, this presentation is a good reference to use in the future.
As a recently certified elementary and special education teacher, I have learned first hand how important the common core standards are on a daily basis. Every lesson and activity that teachers plan revolve around the standards. Therefore, it is crucial for teachers to understand and implement the necessary curriculum into their teaching.
I also agree with another previous blogger who mentioned the emphasis on testing in the current curriculum within schools. Students spend a lot of time preparing for the state tests (which a significant amount of students opted out). The question remains as to whether or not teachers are being forced to teach towards the test rather than helping their students reach their idividual goals?
The Common Core Standards are still relatively new, which causes me to believe and hope that within the next few years, schools will have mastered the standards and students will benefit in the long run.
- Jaime Sharot
I do think that this prezi is a useful tool in understanding the Common Core. Adjusting to the Common Core standards has been somewhat of a challenge. I feel that overall it was a lot of information that was thrown at teachers all at once. Going to workshops and meetings in my building that pertain to the Common Core have help break down exactly what is changing in how we are teaching our students. I have done a lot of reading on the Common Core over the past year and I truly do believe that it will ultimately be a great change for education and for our students. I believe that instruction will be more student-centered based and teachers will act as facilitators of learning. Having a math background, I am not entirely familiar with the ELA Common Core Standards but I do agree that being able to read and write across the subjects areas is an important skills for students to have when moving into high school and college. However, the flip to Common Core is not something that will happen overnight. It would be best if changes were implemented slowly and alterations need to be made along the way however with the new assessments around the corner this is not entirely possible. Ultimately this brings up the topic of teaching to the test which in today’s world of education is nearly impossible to avoid. I think students, parents and teachers alike are going to take some time to get used to the Common Core. I believe that in a few years all the bumps in the road will be straightened in how to teach the Common Core.
I think the Prezi absolutely helped my understanding of the Common Core: ELA. Before seeing this Prezi I had an understanding of the Common Core but was still always confused as to why it had been implemented and what it meant for students. I now know that we need the Common Core for all students throughout the United States to be on the same playing field and that way in the future we are able to compete not only academically but hopefully, economically, technologically, financially, and so much more with other nations due to the fact that our education system is now more future based and geared. The Common Core will definitely change the way we educate our students. We are not focused on one subject at a time anymore. There is so much more to it then to simply understand the standards for just English. When making sure each student is well rounded in each subject you have to first make sure they understand the content but then go above and beyond and make sure they can read, write, speak, listen, and comprehend the language all within one subject. I think education for elementary students especially will become more rigorous because the teachers are trying not only to prepare them for middle and high school but now college as well and sometimes students are overwhelmed by the amount of work they must do at such a young age. If we start by implementing the Common Core in small increments I believe that soon enough everyone will have a better grasp of the Common Core and it will flow more easily just like it did before, but this time with better results.
It is inevitable that the CCSS will change education in this country, especially in ELA. As an aspiring literacy teacher, I definitely understand and support the Common Core in terms of skills to focus on in order to prepare students for college. I think it is especially important for students to master the reading skills, because the rest will fall into place if reading is mastered. Students definitely need to know how to read many different types of writing, and establish their own voices and opinions based on what they read. I support the fact that the CCSS expects students to read increasingly difficult texts as they move from grade to grade. I also support the fact that Common Core focuses on comprehension and analysis, because there is no point to having students read any type of text if they don't know what to do with it when they are done. That being said, the rigid and frightening standardized tests to measure whether students have mastered these skills does not make parents happy. I know many parents of elementary school children that pull their kids out of school on testing day, and I can understand their points of view as well.
The only real concern I have about the CCSS is the "teaching for the test" environment that seems to be increasing, especially in elementary school. I share some of the same anxieties that the YouTube video mentioned, about not having enough time in the school year to ensure that students practice and master the skills that are outlined in the CCSS. I think that a teaching for the rest atmosphere really does hinder creativity, personal development and creativity, which are concepts that teachers should want to focus on throughout the course of the school year as well. While I do understand why the Common Core is needed nationwide, I definitely think there needs to be time designated for less rigid, more creative and collaborative instruction. I think it will take time for the CCSS and the wants and needs of teachers to fully fit together.
The Prezi presentation was a great way to explain the Common Core standards in that there were enough visual and written information to educate viewers. I strongly believe that the Common Core will change the way we educate students because the combination of nonfiction reading and writing skills are essential for today’s students. It is important for them to be efficient readers and writers to succeed in their education overall and in order to enhance these skills, they should teach students how to understand the content in texts and how to defend their arguments in writing. On a personal note, I often have difficulties in supporting my arguments through writing, even as a college student. I feel that the main reason may be that as a child, most of my teachers were focused on how to prepare us for the ELA only, rather than actually teaching the material and making sure it was well understood by all students. The Common Core standards will allow every student to learn the same material at the same pace. I believe students and parents will embrace this change because it will be beneficial for universal education and the overall development of the child - both socially and educationally. Since everyone will be learning through the same standards and at the same pace, it will encourage students to participate in classrooms to increase their ability to succeed in their academics.
-Kuljit Kaur
This Prezi was very helpful to me. I have found that many teachers and schools find the Common Core Standards a confusing and scary topic. It is a major shift in our educational system. This Prezi allowed me to understand the importance of this shift. It showed me what effect it will have on our student’s future and also on the future of our country. The video was very informative. I enjoyed that it showed why the writers of the Common Core decided upon certain standards and what that means for the students future. I think that it is important for the America to have standards that each student graduating high school should have met to continue on in college. In my first year in college, I remember students struggling in the basic classes because they lacked experience doing certain types of writing and activities. I do worry about the Common Core Standards as a Special Education teacher. I have seen students struggling in the past on state tests and this year was even worse. I worry that students in Special Education will feel unsuccessful because of the difficultly of the reading and tasks. I hope that this shift to the Common Core will continue to focus on what is best for all students and provide them with the fundamentals for a successful future.
Kathleen M.
It was a very well done Pezi. It did help me understand the common core. However, most of what I grasped was from the Youtube clip which was very helpful to show how the standards can be useful and prepare the students for college. Everytime I heard about common core standards I was always not sure what they meant. But between the youtube clip and rest of the prezi points, I can see that it helps the teacher focus on goals such as reading comprehension, literacy, and explainatory skills.
I can embrace these changes and I do believe that they will better equip students for adult-hood. And I agree it is good to have a common benchmark that all the states use, so you know that all students are taught under the same guidelines/framework.
I do know that for teachers, it may be complex to use the standards and make sure they are applied to all of their lessons, but when done effectively it could help the lesson be very well-rounded and teach several skills. I believe that studentsmigth not like it at first, but they will be better prepared for college with adult skills, so it will help them in the long run. This use of common core standards will help put students on equal playing field. I look forward to learning more about the common core, but this presentation definitely helped me undrstand it better than I did before.
-Steve C
The Prezi on the common core standards by Kevin Hodgson is great. Prezi is such an interactive, fun way to present information. I remained interested throughout its entirety which is the big difference from PowerPoint, as I feel most people become distracted when presenting information through that outlet.
As I viewed the purpose of the common core standards became much clearer. At first I wasn’t much a fan for the simple fact that certain skills to succeed are different in different parts of the country and thus education should be different. However, when you think about a child moving across the country and having difficulty it school it makes sense. I did have one issue regarding NCLB and teachers thinking students had were college ready because they had met the state standards.
As the youtube video spoke about NCLB it showed that on paper students were college ready but in reality they needed remedial classes. Neither the state nor the government has the power that an individual teacher has. Just because the state says a particular student has met particular goals on paper, doesn’t mean they are fully prepared for the next step in that particular subject. Teachers are the only ones who have the ability to determine each child's current skill level and potential. I feel teachers and schools really need to rely on their own abilities to determine the success of their students and that success, at times, may need to be on a scale that is different from the common core.
Furthermore, I agree with many of my classmates on the topic of creativity and literature. Although I think nonfiction deserves a place in the classroom, I hope that that the common core doesn’t eliminate time for students to think on a higher level in a creative way. In my mind that’s just as important as nonfiction writing. This relates to the point I had just mentioned. Just because the state may want to incorporate more nonfiction, it may have to be the responsibility of the teacher to assure that each student is expanding their minds creatively.
Despite the small details that I feel may need modification; I think the common core lays out a strong plan for teacher and parents to follow. I think once it becomes settled and accepted it will be user friendly for both.
Anthony R.
Prior to this course I had never even heard of the Prezi program, and I love it! The program puts so much life into the topics the presenter is speaking about. I love all of the features that one can use in order to maintain the attention of the audience they are speaking to. Prezi is so much better than power point and I am grateful to have the opportunity to learn more about how to create new and original presentations with it. This presentation on the common core did a great job of explaining what the new curriculums are all about. Prior to this universal program, states were teaching students of the same age group different topics . The curriculum was so spread out and expectations were so broad, that teachers found it different to teach the children. I am glad that teachers are now being held accountable for the testing results of their students. It is a relief to see that the educators of America are teaming up to organize and rationalize the teaching standards of the united states. I agree with Robin Posner in that the common core standards in ELA and Math are moving education in the right direction.
- Suzanne L.
I thought the use and layout of the Prezi were very well organized and easy to understand. I found the information in the presentation very helpful to understand the important shifts and strands to the Common Core ELA. When the Common Core was first introduced to our school at the beginning of the year, many of our faculty members, including myself, were a bit confused. As the year has gone on, we have seen and learned how these new standards are incorporated from subject to subject, almost linking content areas together. The Prezi helped reinforce to me the importance of using non-fiction works with the children and to have them find evidence in their readings to support their answers. Something I learned from this Prezi was that with these new standards, we are to be focusing on reading comprehensions skills over decoding skills. I am also going to try to encourage more class discussion and debates in my classroom as well. I am also hopeful to use a Prezi for my next presentation to parents.
Kelly Sm.
This prezi was very helpful in understanding the complexity and enormous scope of creating and implementing the Common Core Standards. I was unaware that so many states had already adopted the new standards, which was pleasantly surprising!
I think that the difficulty with implementing the new standards will come with the assessment challenges it poses to students in the upper grade levels who have not had to put the information they are being taught to use in the way the Common Core requires. This will affect test scores which will also affect teacher evaluations.
I believe the Common Core Standards will allow teachers greater depth the explore unique and creative teaching methods instead of having to teach at bullet train speed in order to cover all the information for state exams. I just hope that the introduction period will be handled carefully as to not negatively impact both students and teachers potential for success in the new system.
-G. Walunas
Prezi is a great tool. It really is PowerPoint on steroids. I had heard of it a long time ago but seemed intimidated to use the program because I thought it would be hard to navigate and create presentations. But through finally using it in class I have come to realize that it really is a great, fun interactive tool to use in the classroom. Just the movements alone of the path is enough, I think, to grab the students’ attention and get focused in on the lesson. Now the Prezi presented by Hodgson on the common core ELA was a knowledgeable one. It was straight, direct and to the point explaining the new direction of teaching by the common core standards. It brings to light that this new way of teaching is not as threatening as it sounds. To me he made it seem like it encompasses more writing and student thought to present information and create arguments using texts and other information to support the claim they are making in a writing piece. I understand the want to implement this new standard of teaching, to make our students be able to formulate their ideas and support them with detail and be objective, instead of being cut and dry straight to a point with no details to support a concept. And I think that is what Hodgson’s Prezi tried to do. The thing about the Common Core is that it is forced to be implemented in every area of teaching right away. Teachers have not been properly taught how to implement it effectively. It was almost like here it is now use it. It should have been brought in gradually not all at once. A reform to education is not going to happen overnight especially if it is not done the right way. So though I think Hodgson is spot on with explaining it, the common core has so many faults it still needs to hurdle before it is implemented effectively.
-Andrew Pignataro
This prezi was a good way to introduce the common core, and I think it should be viewed by all educators. It did help me understand why we do in fact, need the common core standards in New York.
I think the Common Core Standards will definitely change the way we, as teachers, educate our students. Teachers need to follow even more specific guidelines than the New York State Standards, leaving students' brains with richer knowledge.
When asking if we can embrace these changes, as teachers, we have no choice but to do so. We are technically forced to embrace the changes in order to succeed in our profession. The only thing that scares me is that certain districts may not be provided with a sufficient amount of information about these Common Core Standards, causing the teachers to not teach fully to the standards.
I do feel as if we are in the generation of being tested like guinea pigs using these standards. There is so much room for error, and so much that could go wrong without practice, and the acceptance by parents and staff members. I think that these standards may have potential, but may hurt some areas as well. Only time will tell if Common Core Standards are a positive input in the educational field.
- Jackie K.
The prezi is a really good way to lay out what the common core is all about. The new system can be confusing to someone who has not been properly exposed to the new curriculum. Since Common Core is the new way of teaching in most states, we need to give teachers a clear understanding of the requirements under the new plan. I like the way the Prezi started off with the chart showing people how comprehensive Common Core can be. I expecially liked the end of the Prezi where he laid out what is expected bit by bit. It demostrated that one of the key points in the Common Core is writing. How important it is for teachers to get their students to understand what they are writing and provide background information. It is no longer acceptable to provide general information on a topic. There needs to be specific points addressed. I believe this is so important to the educational process. We need to understand what children are learning. As we read their writings, as teachers, we can get a sense of where the problems are and address them accordingly.
Kelly S (Tue, Thurs 6-9)
The Prezi was a good way to present the Common Core Standards. I believe this new curriculum approach has its merits. Some of the philosophies are similar to what teachers are presently doing. I think the main issue is that teachers are overwhelmed with changes that being thrown at them at a rapid pace without much developmental support. If teachers embrace the change rather than fight it, the transition will go smoother. Transition being the operative word. The Common Core Standards need to be incorporated at a slower rate to allow the teachers and administrators time to implement the changes in their classrooms. A positive approach to the Common Core is key to a successful transition. Nancy
This Prezi clearly highlighted all important elements of the Common Core State Standards. In my opinion, the idea behind the CCSS makes complete sense and it actually surprises me that it has taken until now for the educational world to realize that all districts and schools should be teaching the same things. When each state had different standards, it must have been incredibly difficult for students entering new schools. Not only did they have to worry about making new friends and settling in to a new place, but also whether or not their old schools had prepared them for what they will be taught in their new schools. With the CCSS, a student should (ideally) be able to move across the country in the middle of the school year and pick up right where they left off.
The CCSS focus on reading and writing, math, and technological knowledge. In the world that we live in today, this is crucial. Students need to have sufficient skills in navigating the internet, because this is one way they will acquire knowledge for the rest of their lives. Combine this with being proficient in communicative skills including reading and writing, and students will be able to access any information about any topic in the world. The CCSS are intended to ensure that these skills are mastered so that all students will succeed. However, as Jackie K. said, only time will tell if these standards will truly do what they intend to.
Jessie C.
The Prezi was very well put together and was more exciting to watch than a regular PowerPoint presentation. The presentation itself was great in breaking down the specific changes the CCSS are implementing. I agree with the CCSS in the sense that students need to understand how what they are learning is relevant to their own lives in order to truly grasp new concepts. They need to be able to apply their skills in all their content areas and understand where they will see these things in their everyday lives. In addition, teachers must stress the importance of literacy and implement strategies in their classroom that go above and beyond so that our students are able to be successful.
AnnMarie P.
I feel the prezi did a very good job of explaining the CCSS. It did a good job of showing how literacy will be changed in the classroom. It also pointed out how important these changes are to the future of the education system.
Like Jessie I think the CCSS are a good idea when pertaining to students who move from one school to another during the school year.
As Jessie said we will have to wait and see if the standards are able to accomplish everything they are suppose to.
Andrea
This Prezi did an amazing job when describing the Common Core Standards. Kevin Hodgson did a tremendous job explaining the standards step by step. Since it was a prezi presentation it was extremely easy to stay interested. As a future educator one will be using these standards throughout my teaching career. I would highly reccomend using this prezi when presenting the Common Core standards. Each prezi slide presented new key information about the Common Core Standards. This is a great presentation for all future educators.
JF
This was a really good prezi. it was clear and followed a logical sequence. I might create one just like it for my presentation on Common Core opening day of school! The video did a great job in explaining the purpose of the Common Core and why it must be implemented. I am so glad that states are adopting a uniform set of standards and expectations for all students. I agree with Jessie C. that students moving from one state to another should be able to pick up where they left off.
I think the Common Core Standards are a minimum of what we should expect our students to do. I agree with the man in the video that said our academic future and the future of our democracy is at stake. It may sound overdramatic, but schools are failing too many children. Young Americans do not have equal opportunity unless they have an equal education.
The Prezi did a great job in explaining the advantage of implementing the Common Core Standards. The goal of these standards is to promote expectations in literacy because literacy is the key to academic success. I believe that the demand for literacy in all subject areas may result in an increase for college readiness. An emphasis on critical thinking skills and incorporating informational texts will prepare students for life beyond school. I believe Common Core will change the way we educate our students because although the expectations are high, they are realistic and there is a lot of flexibility in reaching those goals. However, as Jessie mentioned, only time will tell if the standards will accomplish what they intend do.
-Polina A.
I enjoyed watching the prezi presentation I always find them to be more interesting than any other presentation method. The presentation did a very good job in explaining the common core standards and why they need to be implemented. I think that the standards have great goals and raise a lot of good points. Students need to be literate before they can be successful in any other area. It is also important to show students where they will see things that they are learning in the classroom in everyday life.
Danielle L.
The video of this Prezi presentation is awesome. It explains why the Common Core Standards became so important. The standards will become the same nationwide, so that all school districts around the country will be teaching the same thing at every grade level. Throughout the country there were students that were taking easier tests and doing fine and then going off to college and they had to be in remedial courses. They also believe that it is important to have students read informational texts more often also because that it what they will have to read in college and on the job. The standards will prepare them more for real life. After the video I enjoyed the breakdown of the important shifts that will be happening to our schools. So by next year hopefully all of the schools are ready for these rigorous tests.
~Amanda L.
Kevin Hodgson Prezi did an excellent job of explaining the new ELA CCSS. The fact that it took until 2010 to come up with national standards in education shows why the United States has fallen behind with our educational rankings. The old state standards failed to fully prepare our students for career and college readiness. They also made it difficult for students who moved during their academic career from one state to another; expectations and curriculum were often different from state to state leaving theses students often lost and behind. I agree with Jessie that having one set of standards will make the transition from moving to a new state much easier and students will be able to pick up right were they left off.
Chris Gehrig
As many of my fellow classmates mention in their own comments, the presentation in Prezi by Kevin Hodgson was excellent. It was able to explain the common core standards overall without having to get into each specific grade. Many valuable reasons where explained as to why we are adapting this new common core curriculum, which I was not aware of before. It is amazing how for so long, what our children learned in school depended on what state they lived in. It was about time our country unified and created a common curriculum that will be taught the same in each grade level.
It is interesting how the states did not keep in mind how prepared they were making their students for college and their careers. I agree with the shift the common core has taken in order to prepare students for college and focus on real-world/non-fiction events and texts.
-Margarita D.
This Prezi is a good way to explain the Common Core Standards and the reasons why they were implemented throughout the country. I also really liked the informative video. The disparity seen in academic expectations is an eye opening statistic that needed to be addressed. I think that these ELA standards are important and the issues they address are vital pieces of our education system. Many of these standards are pushing students to become literate machines that can decode and relate text to various situations. The key to beneficially keeping these standards as positive tools is to make sure that they are upheld state to state and county to county. This is a great way to ensure all high students from various parts of the country are truly ready for college and high level learning.
JB
Roisin M. - Yes, the Prezi did help me understand the need for the Common Core. I agree that there should be some sort of consistency in education on a national level. I do think that Common Core will change the way in which we educate our students because it is upping the bar in education. In fact, it seems to me as if the education process has done a complete circle back to the teaching methods of the past. Students were always expected to write using proper vocabulary, grammar and spelling. I don’t know how these concepts became separated from the creative possess in the first place. Who thought that that was a good idea, anyway? To be able to analyze and/or apply material that was read was a given and went hand-in-hand with comprehension. Classroom instruction, homework will need to incorporate a more disciplined approach to the actual mechanics of reading and writing. Teachers will need to challenge their students with more thought provoking material and questions to promote a higher level of critical thinking. I look forward to teaching this way and have every confidence that my students will rise to the occasion, their patents will catch up soon enough!
This Prezi is a great summation of the Common Core: ELA, and the standards and expectations of students that are now becoming more regulated nationally. These standards have focus on reading, writing, speaking, and listening. I feel that in the Prezi, the link shown between reading and writing is very important because of the shared skills involved in being a skilled reader and writer. Showing that the Core is now emphasizing more informative literature at younger ages also correlates to students using sources and data rather than just opinion as content in their papers. Even as early as third grade, children are asked to analyze and summarize beyond just being able to retain the content.
In the video shown, the various coordinators emphasized that prior to the Common Core becoming a realization, each school district created it's own standards, which created many disparities in standards and therefore, abilities. It also created the issue of students who may have moved to a different state, where the standards were much different, and may be behind in their current school academically, whereas they were not prior to their moving. I think a common core is a great idea because of its continuity, as well as what is emphasized. Students are now receiving better instruction in relation to college level readiness, because of the emphasis on the type of reading and writing the Common Core outlines.
Speaking is also another valuable area that has become more of an emphasis through the common core. Similar to writing argumentative or use data and sources to back up points, the speaking aspect of the Core emphasizes taking a stance, and collaboration and debate, which are valuable skills to have both in an academic and professional setting. I think the Common Core is a great academic structure because it makes learning and education standards more nationalized, as well as focuses on subjects and skills that are more relevant, thus better preparing students to use the tools, and the technology that make up the standards.
Stephen Collins
The Common Core: ELA: The idea of having uniform standards for the entire country is a good beginning in helping all children met common goals. For many years each state excelled or failed at educating students based on their own standards. With the implementation of the Common Core every state, city and school is aware and expected to assist the student in meeting common goals. The Common Core will also help educators focus on what is expected of students. Yet, we must also remember that student learn at different paces and come to school on different levels. These levels may not necessarily be reflected in The Common Core. Some students for a variety of reasons may have difficulty in meeting such unanimous goals. However, we must all strive for communal and individual success. The Common Core is a good beginning but it needs to be more than America’s one size fits all solution.
Christine S.
There are a number of good reasons to have common core standards. For one, have our children reach goals. However the state continues to change them. I hope for the sake of our children and not its teachers. Someone said which I think makes perfect sense; Teachers need to teach the students and not its subjects. In other words, Teachers can’t just go through the subjects because they feel pressure. I think all teaches need to take a step back and remember what it was like sitting in the seats of their students. Only for the sake of remembering there are little people who think differently. That’s the first thing to remember “Not all students learn the same”.
Allison McDermott
I really enjoyed the prezi on the common core. I thought it gave a great explanation on how the common core breaks down the academics and it give an insight on what to come in the future. I agree with Karen Palmer about the shift to reading non-fiction text instead of fiction. I believe it does guide students in the right direction because the text teaches about past experiences. I feel the common core is moving the education system in the right direction. It really focuses on the primary skills that students need to learn though out their academic career. Literacy is the most important subject because it is incorporated into every other subject that the student will encounter during their education. I am excited to use the common core when I start teaching in a classroom. Keri M
Kevin Hodgson did an amazing job with his Common Core Prezi; he utilized the program and everything it had to offer to make the presentation fun, insightful, effective and kept my attention which is most important. Using Prezi definitely made the presentation more interactive which I find to be more enjoyable and interesting because it isn’t as flat as a PowerPoint would be. The common core has some good and bad elements to it. The common core helps to create standards for our students so we can all base their academic progress on the same scale, but at the same time that doesn’t work because each student is different in the way they learn and succeed in school. Common core is a great idea in theory for a robot type of student who can just listen to the teacher and do what the teacher says and do all the homework with no help from one’s parents and then take a test to judge how well you learned the material for the year. This is not the normal students and how they work in real life. Each student learns different and test taking skills are all different because each student is different from the person sitting next to them. I do however believe that the common core will help in some aspect of learning in that we hope for each student to be on the same level so each student can enter college knowing similar information in which will help them succeed in college and not have to struggle. I think I will be able to embrace the changes in today’s education system but I think it might take some time to get used to following the new standards which I believe every teacher feels the same way. Teaching will always incorporate something new every day, and we will just have to adjust to the new changes. I also believe that students and their parents will embrace the new standards as well because it will only benefit the student themselves, and what parent doesn’t want the best for their child.
-Nicole A
This Prezi absolutely helped me to further understand why we need the Common Core. Prior to watching this presentation I had mainly negative thoughts about the Common Core. Now I can say that I do have a more clear understanding of the reasoning behind implementing the common core in schools today. I think that by using these standards in classrooms, students will leave high school ready to take on the academic responsibilities in college. I also feel that the Common Core will change the way we educate our students. Teachers will have much higher expectations for their students according to the standards they should meet in their grade level. With higher expectations, hopefully higher outcomes will follow. In the YouTube video it was stated that it takes adequate time and resources to use the common core in the classroom. Therefore, I think that classroom instruction, homework, and teaching will become more technologically involved. I also feel that addressing literacy throughout all subjects in school will make students more advanced readers and writers. If students become more proficient readers and writers, they will be very prepared for college and the expectations from professors. As a future educator I will embrace these changes and any other changes that occur. I will also try my best to ensure that students and parents are fully aware of these changes so they can embrace them as well.
- Holly P.
Kevin Hogson's Prezi presentation held my interest as it moved me through the basics of the Common Core. His paths were easy to follow and engaging. And his video choice help ease my uncertainty of what the Common Core all about. I support the practice of unifying different states expectations for all students. Considering students educational needs who relocate between states to prepare them for college and world readiness makes sense. In that respect the Common Core will change the way we educate children. In my school, the Common Core script specifically has challenged the teachers confidence in the way that they teach. It seems that gone is the way of teaching to students with different learning styles and lecture is back in vogue. What I see happening at my school is alot of frustration on the part of teachers, students, and especially parents trying to help their child with their homework. Regarding parents support of the Common Core, I think the use of technology would help in the form of a parents class page that would explain what concept was taught that day.
I believe that the use of technology with flipping classrooms will enrich the Common Core. Once we are comfortable with this new way of teaching and commit to it,our students will be better prepared for life after high school.
Erin H.
This prezi was informative and interesting. As a new teacher, it is overwhelming to view the many facets of the changes that common core brings to education today. This outline was simple in its layout and helped me to see all of the different strategies and goals that are implemented using the common core standards for education.
While I completely disagree with everything the Common Core so strongly enforces, it was helpful to view this presentation to see what specifically I disagree with. Sometimes we can be overwhelmed by the "bad" or "good" of something. We look at the big picture as bad or good as a whole and disregard all of the little details that accompany it. This presentation helped me to pinpoint and specify what exactly I disagree with and I found it very beneficial to view as both a student and a teacher.
-Melanie P
The prezi was helpful to me. Since I am Social Studies certified teacher, I found it interesting how important reading of non fiction is considered in other classes like Social Studies. I don't know how that can be done considering how much time and effort is spent on Common Core and in preparation for state exams. I know when I was growing up I hated reading and basically I still do. Most of what I learned in Social Studies was from movies. At least movies were able to trigger the questioning of information and wanted me to know more. After seeing Glory I wanted to know more about the 54th regiment. After Schindler's List I wanted to know more about the true story of Oscar Schindler. I believe that instead of having 50 different states of education, all states should be together and teach the same way, except when it comes to state history obviously.
According to the Prezi, the Common Core seem to be coordinated to increase literacy infused curriculum. The Prezi was an easy way to outline and provide simple way to understand the common core.
The common core standards will only lead to students becoming more engaged in their curriculum and authentic learning.This will improve students understanding of contents and what is expected of them. By following these guidelines, I feel that students will be exposed to more "real-world" content. The common core will definitely change the way we educate our students. Classroom instruction, according to the common core will also infuse more technology and media in the classroom which will only lead to preparing our students to keep up with an increasingly global world.
This video provided a lot of helpful information in breaking down what the common core is. I agree that across the states there needed to be a way to narrow down the expectations of what a student really needs to know to become successful in college or career. These set of standards will supposedly level the playing field and provide students with the skills that will make them successful. The video also addressed the idea of states adding their own standards and allowing teachers to incorporate their own material with the CC. I believe this is needed because only a teacher will truly know what his or her students' interests are, not a set of standards. Students will learn best when they are engaged in material that is locally relevant and of interest to them. Additionally, I am seeing more and more practice books to teach math for the state assessments. Just yesterday I was in a sixth grade classroom (with 2 veteran teachers) and the teacher was doing a long division problem with estimation. The wording of the question to explain your answer was so confusing that all three teachers in the room looked at each other in utter confusion. If the material presented in these books are so confusing the teachers have trouble deciphering what is going on, how can we expect students to learn effectively from them?
Suzie B
Watching this organized Prezi on the Common Core definitely helped me to better understand what exactly the Common Core is. Before watching the Prezi, I had an idea of what it was and I knew that New York is currently implementing these new standards, but I did not know how it was being implemented. The presentation explained that the expectations were too broad and the standards varied too much from state to state. Because of this, students who moved from one state to another were having difficulties adjusting to the states standards. The Common Core gives one set of standards for all states. I learned that over 40 states in the United States are using it today. The Common Core is preparing students to become more college and career ready.
The Common Core is a good way of helping students around America stay “on the same page” and it will hopefully prepare students for their future. However, not every student is the same. Each student is different and they learn at his or her own pace. Since the Common Core is still so new, we will hopefully see in years to come that it will help each and every student.
- Joanna S.
This prezi was an interesting way to explain the common core. It did a great job of breaking it down into comprehensible pieces and making it easy to understand. That being said, I found it very informational.
A huge part that I found to be the most important is that all subject areas are to teach literacy. I think this is very important because it means all teachers need to be trained to aid our students in reading fluently. I can imagine that this has been cause for some resistance in certain content areas which have not in the past stressed literacy. For example, including literacy components in a math lesson is going to be more challenging than incorporating it into a reading rich course like English or History. That being said, the common core needs to allow for teacher's creativity in order for them to successfully incorporate these standards into their lesson planning. With this balance in place, I believe that teachers and students will be successful together in their endeavor to conquer the Common Core Learning Standards.
-Samantha F.
Kevin Hodgson’s Prezi on Introducing The Common Core: ELA was well organized and contained clear and concise information that made topic comprehension easy. Although I knew basic Common Core background, by bulleting key ideas after the use of an informational video was good replication of a common core lesson. Similar to Kevin Hodgson’s Prezi; students will be presented with information and asked to identify important or key points. This way of educating students, as stated in the information video is not a new start yet an add-on to what is already in place. If these standards are integrated in a well-organized format and an interesting way, the teacher, students and parents should no be able indentify any extreme change in how the students learns in the classroom or though the homework they are given. As a new teacher I will embrace the new Common Core State Standards, by doing so this will create an atmosphere in my classroom that will inspire students and parents to also embrace this new style of teaching and learning.
-Ashley M
Suzie B,
I could not agree more; the wording of questions
(Math specifically) are written in such a complex way that they cause complete confusion for the teachers and especially the students. Just last week my niece in 2nd grade came home from school in tears; she did not want to do her homework because it was to hard and she was "stupid". My sister-in-law sat down at the table to help her, she also was completely confused by the questions and called my other sister who is a second grade teacher to come over and help. Not every parent has the access to someone who can help at home. Making learning difficult, put to much stress on school age children and if like my niece, they begin to hate school.
-Ashley M.
This was a great example of how prezi can be used to inform viewers that learn in different ways, either through video or text.
Anyway, it is, like most have said, very informative. It gives a great overview of what the flaws in the system are now and what should be done to correct them. The influence of the Common Core really shines by being demonstrated as the new standard as to how to effectively educate.
The most interesting thing to me that was brought up though was the fact that tests are becoming easier to hit goal rather than taking the risk and attempting to teach students more effectively a larger amount of content. It really shows how this pressure from testing isn't just affecting students that are taking them, but even the teachers that distribute the tests feel the heat.
- Doug Ferguson
I think that the Prezi was a great representation of what to expect from the common core. The Prezi presentation alongside the youtube explained in great detail the importance and the meaning behind changing the ways of education. I believe that the common core is definitely going to change the way education is looked at across America. This new way, allows for unity amongst all schools, and each student will have an equal opportunity to learn and experience the same curriculum. The common core, as a whole, will definitely change the way instruction, both in and out of the classroom occurs. With a great emphasis on reading and writing, students will have the opportunity to advance their knowledge through documents and essays. As a future teacher, I will embrace the common core. I believe that it will only help students to further succeed in school and beyond by greatly enhancing their reading and writing skills. Students and parents may not have the same optimistic view of the common core though, as both may see it as confusing and challenging.
-Victoria L.
I believe this was a very well done Prezi, providing much helpful information on the Common Core State Standards. The Common Core works to keep each state and school within each state on the same page. If we lived in a world without set standards how would anyone be able to properly assess the level of individual students. The Common Core will change education because schools that may have been lacking in the past are now forced to reach the expectation levels of the standards. This will also cause a change in teaching methods for many instructors who may find the way they taught in the past to be ineffective for the standards. New teachers coming into the profession will have a much easier time adjusting to the standards, due to the fact that they do not know any different. For teachers who have been around for multiple years, this may be an extreme change that they feel opposed to.
This is a very comprehensive Prezi. I did my student teaching last year in Boston, and they were just converting to the Common Core. A presentation such as this one would help them alot in their conversion. I believe that the Common Core sets valuable standards for schools to follow. However, they should bot follow them too strictly because the teachers also need to teach creatively. It is important for all students to be learning the same thing though.
Victoria,
I definitely agree that the YouTube video was very informative on the Common Core. The future of education is definitely taking a different path and it will be interesting to learn how effective the new standards will be.
The Prezi was very informative. The state is fearful of too many of our students entering college without the basic remedial skills that they need. The Common Core Standards are a way for teachers to create lessons that are meaningful and use real-world examples. In the Youtube video, the students have to support their answers with evidence from the text. I feel this is beneficial even for my 5th and 6th graders this year. I know the Common Core gets rid of the bad teachers while keeping the good teachers. However, I do not feel that teachers should be held completely responsible for the students' test scores. I also agree with Kara that the Common Core is valuable. It does take creativity out of lessons, however, I like that it does focus on engaging the students in a meaningful way.
-Christina G.
The ability to see the plan laid out on prezi allowed me to visualize the process quickly. After watching the video, I felt that that I had a good understanding of the unfolding changes in education. There certainly will be major challenges adjusting to the common core. As a high school English teacher, I think the emphasis on learning how to read is of extreme importance. Many students read various stories, forget the plot after the test, and still do not know how to analysis or pick out major aspects of the story. In writing, learning to provide evidence for what is written has proven to be a vital skill. Also, the idea of having set standards across the country will give some direction to American education. The assessment of how well students and teachers use the core curriculum will provide some hurdles along the way. Eventually, I hope that the system does help students learn more effectively.
-Sean C.
The Prezi allowed me to understand the specifics of Common Core. It was easy to follow and very informative. I believe the Common Core does change the way we educate our students. Now, states across the nation will be teaching from the same curriculum. I believe the intentions behind the common core standards are getting students college & real world ready. As well as have them apply what they learn to their real life. Students will have a purpose for learning, students will be able to find a commonality that correlates to their life. As an educator, I will have to embrace the changes. But, implementing the common core into the entire education system at one time it's become difficult. Especially in regards to the standardized tests. If, it would've been slowly implemented in two grades at a time, I think it could be more effective. Educators, students and parents are having a difficult time with the common core. I think eventually Common Core will be great in the future.
Viewing the Common Core on the Prezi made it easy to understand. There is a great deal of information to grasp.
I do think that it is needed and that it will help to create a more rigorous education for students in the U.S. However, the Common Core has also created a very high stakes and hostile environment for both teachers and students. Preparing for exams has become the focus. I have found that when you "teach to the test" students don't remember the content as well as if they have been immersed in a wealth of information.
The Common Core will be good in the future. I think that we have been forced to do too much, too fast.
Shaina H.
I agree with Victoria and Lisa. The video on the path was very informative. It helped to clear up any questions I had.
Shaina H.
This Prezi provided me with a clear and simple way to understand why we need the Common Core. I believe that the Common Core is bringing about very necessary changes to education and will also ensure that students will be taught the same skills and material despite being in different states. In addition, this will help to ensure that there isn’t such a large difference in the curriculum or level of difficulty from state to state and will make a student’s transition much easier.
I definitely think that the Common Core will change the way we educate our students in many ways. Students will constantly be taught reading and writing skills throughout all subjects. For example, students will learn reading and writing skills while engaging in a math or science lesson. I truly believe that incorporating these skills in each subject area will further help students to be successful readers and writers. In addition, I believe that students will become better prepared for college and future careers because they are learning the fundamental literacy skills needed to succeed.
I think that classroom instruction, homework, teaching and learning will change in many ways. Students will be given the opportunity to read more non-fiction texts and will be asked to provide text-based evidence in their writing. Additionally, students will be taught how to succeed in argumentative writing, which will help to better prepare them for college and future endeavors. Another way in which instruction, teaching, learning, and homework will change is that a huge emphasis will be placed on reading comprehension instead of decoding to ensure that students comprehend and understand what they are reading. Classroom instruction will also change through the increased use of technology and media in the classroom to support student learning. As a future teacher, I can definitely embrace these changes. I believe that the Common Core outlines essential ideas and skills that students should be taught in order to succeed throughout their educational career. I think that students and parents will embrace the changes that the Common Core brings, although they may be initially afraid of this significant change in education.
I do like the use of a prezi to portray and present information. It makes it more exciting and visual to watch instead of a basic powerpoint.
I think this presentation did a good job of highlighting the positives of common core, and helps teachers understand why they changed to the common core system. However, now working in a school district and seeing this common core in action, I feel like it puts more stress on teachers and even students. I feel as though lessons are cut and dry and there is little room for your own personality and "tricks" in the classroom.
The prezi and video were very easy to understand and follow through. I enjoy the technique of a prezi to represent information in my classroom.
The Prezi presentation was very informative. It shows the major shifts and changes that will be implemented into our schools and classrooms. Our nation wants to see more students who are college ready and want to start with better English skills. Working on the major aspects of reading, writing, and speech; this will help our students understand the information better. In every class students must be able to know how to read and write. Common Core is helping to strengthen student’s English foundation so they can excel in all subject areas.
-Liam
Yes, the Prezi was very informative and helped to understand the importance of the CCSS. I also liked having the ability to zoom in on certain things and navigate at my own pace- where if it was being presented in a class setting I would not have been able to do that.Do you think the Common Core will change the way we educate our students? I do believe the common core will change the way we educate our students. I see it already in the classroom. The pressure is on for students to ask higher order thinking questions starting at the first grade level. It challenges us as teachers to push our students to ask these types of questions at such a young age. I think these will all change because more is expected of students, therefore they will have to give more. I can embrace these changes, and I hope that my students and parents will as well. By providing as much support to the parents and students as they need, I will hope to make them comfortable enough to embrace these changes.
It was great for me to review this pro-common core Prezi. My knowledge on the common core is limited and I rarely hear good things about it from parents, students, and teachers alike. The major problem I see with the common core is that it cuts out opportunities for creativity and self-expression that a student previously had in past curricula. Creativity and self-expression are motivating forces in learning. It helps many students to internalize what they learned by relating it to their own experiences. However, as a future teacher I think it will be a lot easier for me to teach the common core if I focused on the advantages of implementing the common core rather than it’s setbacks. The video on the common core had some good points about the lack of alignment between the skills were teaching and the skills required for the workforce. Although these standards restrict creativity, it benefits students by focusing more on reading informational text, writing objectively, and challenging assumptions with research. These are all skills that will be labor intensive to acquire for both teachers and students, but are necessary for success at the college level and in the workforce. Yes, I can embrace the changes brought on by the common core, especially if I see it’s implementation leading to more students who are college ready. I think it will take a very long time for parents and students to embrace the changes. Like anything else, everyone needs to get used to the common core as well as see these standards produce results for most students.
-Jessica S.
Jessica F., I also found it really nice to be able to navigate through the presentation at my own pace. We could give our students a similar experience by giving them the link to our Prezis so that students who were absent or struggle to keep up can complete their notes. If I’m not mistaken, CCSS has even been incorporated at the kindergarten level as well!
-Jessica S.
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