Common Core leads to #blendedlearning teaching at #FallCue

Whether your state has adopted the Common Core or not (or adopted it and then changed its mind), the national conversation about common standards across the U.S. continues. This 3 minute video provides some quick rationale for some of the many reasons for the adoption and implementation of Common Core standards.

The Common Core Assessments have been piloted and in spring 2015, students will be taking the common core assessments for the first time “for real”. This image below shows how common core assessments and the use of technology will provide ongoing measures that can better guide teachers in their instruction. I particularly appreciate the content and delivery rows that show the shift into more authentic assessments for students.

The shift to common core assessments is similar to the shift in teachers moving to becoming blended learning teachers. And the reasons to do so are the same.

• Effective blended teaching uses ongoing data to inform teacher instruction to better personalize learning, while common core assessment data will also better inform instruction and provide teachers with more granular feedback.
• Effective blended teaching utilizes technology to engage learners, while the common core assessments utilize technology to provide complex tasks utilizing multimedia and interactivity to provide more authentic assessments.
• Effective blended teaching empowers a more student centered classroom with students taking on more control of their own learning, while the common core assessments engage learners while taking the assessment to better challenge their thinking beyond rote memorization of facts.

After thinking about the importance of blended learning for several years, I’ve come to realize that the goals of the common core assessments are the same – to engage learners, to better personalize learning, and to provide ongoing data for teachers and students that cause students to be more college and career ready.

There are several Fall CUE sessions that will address both blended learning and the common core as it applies to a math classroom. First this blended learning panel will address the implementation of blended learning. Then, this session about blended learning and the common core, co-presented with my sister who is a fifth grade teacher, will explore the importance of common core and blended teaching in the math classroom.

Overall, blended learning, like the common core implementation is a journey that causes all educators and students to better understand teaching and learning so that students leave high school more prepared for college and the work force.