Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Core curriculum'

Implementation of the common core state standards began in 2010 for public school districts across the United States, and research about the impact of these standards on teaching and learning in smaller rural schools is limited. The purpose of this qualitative multiple case study was to describe how K-12 English language arts teachers in rural remote schools integrated the common core state standards into curriculum, as defined by Aoki’s theory about planned and lived curriculums, which formed the conceptual framework for this research. Participants included 8 K-12 English language arts teachers from 2 rural remote public school districts located in a western state. Research questions addressed curricular and instructional alignment, and data were collected from individual teacher interviews and reflective journals, observations of instructional lessons, and curriculum documents. Data were coded and categorized to determine themes and discrepant data (Charmaz, Merriam, and Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña). A content analysis was used for documents. Results indicate that teachers aligned curriculum with common core state standards by using previously adopted textbooks, developing alignment documents to address standards, creating unit and lesson materials independently, and participating in limited collaborative planning with colleagues. Recommendations include continued investigation into rural teachers’ professional development needs, collaborative planning practices, and use of curriculum materials within and across grade levels. This study contributes to positive social change because improved rural education impacts rural remote students, communities, and educators, who play a valuable role in developing a national curriculum.

Over several decades, school reform efforts have been mounted in order to improve student learning and to prepare students for a global community. In 2010, governors from the fifty states met and supported the establishment of national standards, the Common Core State Standards, to prepare students for college and careers. Georgia adopted the Common Core State Standards, and as with any new curriculum adoption, professional development is usually provided. During the 2011–2012 school year, school systems across Georgia provided various professional development opportunities for teachers to learn about the Common Core State Standards. The purpose of this study was to examine teachers’ perceptions of their Common Core professional development and utilized a survey consisting of multiple choice and open-ended questions. Three hundred seventy-two educators from sixteen school districts across the state of Georgia participated in this study. Three main themes emerged: Teachers prefer working in smaller, collaborative groups in professional development; teachers were satisfied with their school and school district’s training but did not receive consistent follow-up, modeling, or coaching afterwards; teachers utilized websites developed to support the Common Core State Standards and relied on their colleagues in order to learn more about the curriculum and to implement the standards.

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM) highlight the importance of students? conceptual understanding, mathematical reasoning, and problem solving in order to prepare students for college and careers. However, the success of this reform effort largely depends on how teachers actually design and implement instruction based on the goals of the new standards. In particular, teachers? concerns about the reform have a significant effect on this change and the implementation of reform curricula. While there exists an increasing amount of research on reform efforts, many questions still remain regarding the implementation of the CCSSM and teachers? concerns. The purpose of this qualitative dissertation study is to investigate the concerns teachers have regarding the implementation of the CCSSM and how those concerns relate to the enactment of their curricula. This study also explores how teachers address the mathematical shift of rigor defined in the CCSSM in connection with the tasks they use and types of questions they pose to their students. This research involved case studies of three Algebra 1 teachers. Each teacher was observed during three different lessons on linear/non-linear functions. Pre- and post-observation interviews were conducted both before and after each lesson was taught. In order to determine how teachers addressed the mathematical shift of rigor, three different analyses were conducted. Mathematical tasks in the teacher guided notes and lesson enactment were explored in conjunction with teacher questions and the use of the eight mathematical practices. Observations and interviews were used to examine how teacher concerns connect to their implementation of the CCSSM. In particular, cases based on the teacher interviews and videos were compared to one another to explore possible reasons why the teachers address the mathematical shift of rigor differently. Findings suggest a complicated relationship exists between teacher concerns and their intended and enacted curriculum. The results of this study showed that teachers at all stages of concern are not providing cognitively demanding lessons nor are they addressing the mathematical shift of rigor. Only during review lessons did two of the three teachers increase the cognitive demand of the tasks and questions they posed during the enactment of their curriculum. Regarding teacher concerns, different factors seem to take account for the complicated relationship between teacher concerns and their enacted curricula. First, the teacher with self concerns had a lack of content knowledge. This teacher was not able to adjust her intended curriculum, followed the textbook closely and had a difficult time addressing student misconceptions. The teacher with management concerns tended to express her students? low abilities in doing mathematics. This teacher thus focused on student ability, only slightly modified the intended curriculum and provided only low cognitive demand tasks and questions. Finally, the teacher with impact concerns had a high interest in student learning. This teacher was able to alter her intended curriculum based on student questions and misconceptions. However, her tasks and questions remained at a low cognitive demand for two of the three lessons. This study has implications for curriculum developers and professional development providers, as well as teachers and school administrators to help ensure the success of reform curriculum.

This qualitative dissertation explored how high school students with significant cognitive disabilities in the moderate to severe category may receive an appropriate, standards-based education according to federal and state legislation given that they require fundamental living skills as well. It examined the ways their academic and functional learning requirements may be fulfilled through the development and implementation of a comprehensive curriculum consisting of adapted Common Core State Standards, life skills, and community-based instruction. It discussed the concept that students with cognitive disabilities require learning opportunities across a variety of settings, consistent with ecological development theory.

The study posed two key questions: How can high school students with significant cognitive disabilities access the Common Core State Standards in ELA, math, and science through a life-skills oriented, community-based curriculum? How do special education teachers perceive a curriculum emphasizing the integration of life skills and Common Core standards in ELA, math, and science? A research-based thematic curriculum was generated and field-tested on 7 educators of high school and middle school students with moderate to severe disabilities to obtain their perceptions of its feasibility and utility. The educators completed an initial background survey and then examined a voice-over PowerPoint curriculum sample using a curriculum evaluation form to guide their review. Educators were subsequently interviewed to determine their perceptions and check for alignment with previous responses.

Participants generally believed that students with significant cognitive disabilities could meaningfully access adapted versions of the Common Core based on students' level of ability and the provision of necessary supports. Key implications were derived from the findings. Teachers may need to engage in additional training and collaboration to generate customized curricula or modify existing programs to bring about student success. Special education teachers require the support of general education colleagues and local administration to enable the development or implementation of a comprehensively appropriate curriculum for the target population. More research is necessary to determine other ways the Common Core can be adapted for a greater range of ability levels to ensure success for all.

The call for the reform of public education in the United States of America has come from stakeholders of all kinds. This study compares two seemingly opposing approaches to the reform of public education. The bureaucratic approach is represented by the mass adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). The grassroots approach is represented by the International Society for Technology in Education Standards for Students (ISTE Standards-S). It was important to identify and analyze an instructional practice with enough potential rigor to meet the demands of both the CCSS and the ISTE Standards-S. The study analyzed the potential ability of Project-based learning (PBL) to meet the needs of both approaches. From the varied literature on PBL, six "Common Components" were identified and rewritten as standards using the revised Bloom's taxonomy. Once the Standards of PBL were written, all three sets of standards were quantified using a combination of the revised Bloom's Taxonomy and Gallia's Synonyms List. Following quantification of the standards, they were compared using a single factor ANOVA to determine if there was a difference between the cognitive processing levels of each set of standards. The cognitive processing levels of the Standards of PBL were found to be significantly higher than that of the CCSS. However, no significant difference was found between the Standards of PBL and the ISTE Standards-S. These findings support the claim that using the Standards of PBL in the classroom will meet the cognitive processing demands of the CCSS. The results of this study will allow teachers in Common Core states to utilize the instructional strategy of PBL as a means for meeting the cognitive processing needs of the CCSS.