A Report to the Desegregation Monitoring Committee in Partial Fulfillment of the Monitoring Duties of the
Jenkins Class of Plaintiff Schoolchildren in
Jenkins v. Missouri, Case No. 77-0420-CV-1
May, 1998
Prepared by
Judith A. Gouwens, Ed.D.
Assistant Professor of Education
Roosevelt University
Chicago, Illinois
Progress Toward Implementing the Core Curriculum in KCMSD Schools
May 1998
Two researchers visited a group of schools in the KCMSD during the weeks of
May 4, May 11, and May 18, 1998, to gather information about the implementation
of the KCMSD core curriculum. The researchers spent approximately one day in
each elementary and high school and two days in each middle and school. Data
were gathered through review of the core curriculum, observation in classrooms,
and informal interviews with teachers and administrators of the schools. The
following schools were visited: Blenheim, Faxon, Gladstone, Hartman, Ladd, Knotts,
McCoy, and Scarritt Elementary Schools; Nowlin and Rogers Middle Schools; and
Northeast High School.
Specifically, these evaluations were guided by the following questions:
1. To what extent is the new core curriculum being implemented in the schools?
2. Have/are teaching practices changed/changing as part of the implementation of the new curriculum?
3. How are schools and the KCMSD supporting the implementation of the curriculum?
4. What materials and resources have been made available for the implementation of the core curriculum? Are they appropriate/adequate?
5. Has professional development been provided that supports the implementation
of the new curriculum? If so, what is the nature of that professional development?
How effective has it been?
Both researchers view schools and classrooms through a framework of best practices,
based on the following:
1. Learning is not a passive receptive process, but is instead an active meaning-making process. It is the ability to perform complex cognitive tasks that require the active use and application of knowledge in solving meaningful problems.
2. Learning at its best involves conceptual change--modifying one's previous understanding of concepts so that they are more complex and more valid. Typically the learner begins with a naive or inaccurate concept; the learning process enables the learner to develop a deeper or truer understanding of the concept.
3. Learning is always subjective and personal. The learner best learns when he or she can internalize what is being learned, representing it through learner-generated symbols, metaphors, images, graphics, and models.
4. Learning is situated or contextualized. Students carry out tasks and solve problems that resemble the nature of those tasks in the real world. Rather than doing "exercises" out of context, the students learn to solve contextualized problems.
5. Learning is social. Learning at its best develops from interaction with others, as perceptions are shared, information is exchanged, and problems are solved collaboratively.
6. Learning is affective. Cognition and affect are closely related. The extent and nature of learning are influenced by the following affective elements: self-awareness and beliefs about one's abilities; clarity and strength of learning goals; personal expectations; general states of mind, and motivation to learn.
7. The nature of the learning task is crucial. The best learning tasks are characterized by these features: optimal difficulty in relation to the learner's development; relevancy to the learner's needs; authenticity with respect tot he real world; and challenge and novelty for the learner.
8. Learning is strongly influenced by the learner's development. Learners move through identifiable stages of physical, intellectual, emotional, and social growth that impact upon what can be learned and in what depth of understanding Learners seem to do best when the learning is at their proximal stage of development--challenging enough to require them to stretch, but attainable with effort.
9. Learning at its best involves metacognition--reflecting about one's learning
throughout the entire learning process. (Glatthorn, 1994, 449-455)
Data have been analyzed qualitatively; that is, the data has been organized
into themes and categories that emerge from the data. The data are presented
in the form of case studies that describe the implementation of the core curriculum
at each of the schools, and a cross-case analysis has been developed that examines
the themes across all the schools visited, as well as each of the research questions.
Blenheim Elementary School, a neighborhood school, serves students in Kindergarten
through fifth grade. During her visit to the school, the researcher observed
in two Kindergarten classrooms and one classroom at first, third, fourth, and
fifth grade levels. Interviews were conducted with the principal and at least
one teacher from each grade level. The researcher found the staff of the school
to be hospitable; they seemed comfortable during the observations and interviews.
Teaching and Learning
For most teachers at Blenheim School, the core curriculum has changed what
is taught and how they organize to teach, but not how. A few stated that the
core curriculum has changed how they teach. Teachers worked together to determine
quarterly objectives and monthly objectives from the core curriculum.
The observer noted some examples of best practice in action in classrooms at
Blenheim School:
One teacher described how the core curriculum has been the impetus for her
to teach much more writing and to develop a focus on meaning. She showed the
researcher butterfly journals that the students had written to document their
observations of the life cycle of butterflies. That particular classroom was
rich in print materials, displays of children's writing, and samples of work
that demonstrated higher order thinking. For example, one chart displayed a
Venn diagram that compared and contrasted "The Little Red Hen" with "Yellow
Chicken." Children had written characteristics of the stories on "stickies"
and attached them to the diagram at the appropriate place. During the observer's
visit, children were illustrating the story, "This Old Man," and replacing some
of the rhyming words with others that both rhymed and made sense.
Students in another classroom used math cubes to help them estimate the lengths
of a set of objects before they actually measured the objects with the cubes.
Demonstrating understanding of child development, the teacher provided time
for the children to play with the cubes before beginning the lesson.
Other classrooms at the school, however, seemed more passive and skill-driven
and less meaning-centered. Observations in these classrooms included the following:
A teacher began a math lesson on fractions by telling students that "a fraction
is part of a whole." She continued by asking, "If I have 29 students and one
is absent, what fractional part is here?" Students said, "1/28." Without explanation,
the teacher wrote 28/29 on the board. Then the teacher demonstrated how to subtract
fractions, and asked the students to first write and then solve ten subtraction
problems with fractions.
In another classroom, the lesson consisted entirely of the
teacher posing verbal questions about grammar and students responding with one
word answers. Every question had only one correct answer, and none required
any thinking.
Students in still another classroom worked on assignments
made by the teacher from textbooks. The teacher's role was to tell the students
the pages to complete in their science and social studies textbooks. No lesson
was presented, and there were no activities to actively engage students in learning.
In these classrooms, students were expected to be quiet and
work individually, ignoring the social nature of learning. The learning was
neither active nor engaging, and no opportunities for concept development or
metacognition were observed.
Assessment
Interviewees at Blenheim School described using a variety of assessment tools
to document student progress toward the performance indicators of the core curriculum.
A few mentioned experimenting with writing portfolios, and one mentioned using
more writing to assess student learning. For the most part, though, interviewees
described using paper and pencil tests, either the theme tests in the reading
basal or teacher-made paper and pencil tests. Most interviewees did not seem
aware of performance-based assessment or assessments that are part of learning
tasks.
Materials
Teachers at Blenheim School reported the need for many more materials to fully
implement the core curriculum. They listed such basic supplies as various kinds
of paper, workbooks and practice books, and additional trade books. They also
included materials for teaching science--telescopes, kits of consumables for
such activities as planting seeds; social studies--globes and maps; mathematics--compasses
and protractors; and computer hardware and software. According to interviewees,
no materials have been provided specifically to support the implementation of
the core curriculum.
Several of the teachers interviewed described purchasing supplies and materials
themselves, since they were not provided by the school district.
Professional Development and Support
Interviewees described having participated in one day of professional development
at the beginning of the school year during which they were introduced to the
core curriculum and spent time correlating the core curriculum to the school's
previous year ITBS results. They have also had a workshop on the MAP assessment
and on writing rubrics. A few of the teachers reported taking core courses from
the school district that focused on the Write Group, AIMS, and integrating the
curriculum.
Because teachers at the school had not traditionally worked together, the school's professional development during the 1997-1998 school year focused on team building, and grade level teams met quarterly to discuss assessment.
Faxon Montessori School serves children in preschool through grade 6. As is
typical in Montessori Schools, classrooms are multiage; some classrooms serve
children ages 3 through 6, some grades 1 through 3, and some grades 4 through
6. Students generally stay with the same teacher and group of students for the
three years served by each classroom.
The researcher spent a day at the school, observing in two classrooms at each
of the three levels, and interviewing the principal, two teachers at each of
the levels, and the art teacher.
Teaching and Learning
While Montessori has a curriculum of its own, interviewees reported that the
school has been working to implement the core curriculum, as well. Most agreed
that the curriculum already in place at the school goes far beyond the core
curriculum, but teachers have worked together to document how the Montessori
curriculum meets the objectives and benchmarks of the core curriculum, and to
adjust their curriculum to specifically address those objectives not included
in the Montessori curriculum.
The observer noted that classrooms at Faxon have a strong focus on academic
learning and are clearly learner-centered and learner-directed. Children have
developed a sense of responsibility for their own learning and for materials
in their classrooms. Materials and supplies are available and accessible to
students throughout the school. Teachers take the role of coach and facilitator,
inviting students to participate in activities and games, rather than directing
them. The following examples are representative of the observations made in
classrooms:
In one classroom for three- through six-year-olds, children were engaged in a wide variety of activities, including tracing shapes with colored pencils, investigating place value with beads and arrows, reading, making words with letter cards, matching objects and words, and so on. One child was doing multiplication of 4-digit numbers with 1-digit numbers using a place value box. The teacher worked with individual children on a variety of activities. At one point during the observation, a child noticed that a butterfly that had previously hatched in the classroom was now flying. The child went around the room telling others about the butterfly, and children left their activities to look at the butterfly. After taking a look, all the children went back to their original activities. As children completed the activities, they picked up the materials they had used and put them away, nearly all without prompting from the teacher.
The teacher in a grade one through three classroom was observed working with
a student on a place value board. When the teacher noticed another child watching,
the teacher asked, "Are you going to do this with us?" In this classroom, students
worked individually, in dyads, and in small groups on many different activities,
including writing, drawing maps, working with beads and felt strips on place
value, playing word games, and reading.
Students in a fourth through sixth grade classroom were observed giving oral
reports. One child reported on G. F. Handel and another on Grandma Moses. The
students who formed the audience asked questions at the end of each report;
when questions were asked that the presenters could not answer, they responded
that they would find out. The students who presented the reports shared both
the information and the resources they had used to find the information. During
the reports, the teacher and students took similar roles, those of listening
and asking questions.
On a stage area in the hallway of the school, two students were observed playing
a game that involved matching picture cards of famous Americans with descriptions
of the people and information about the historic eras during which they lived.
The students were observed to be working totally without teacher supervision.
Students in another fourth through sixth grade classroom
were observed doing research and paperwork while the teacher conferenced with
individual students about work they had completed. Students copied some of the
work from the board; the board work required students to problem solve. The
problems included the following: "In the year 2049 Christmas Day will be Saturday.
On what day of the week will New Year's Day, 2050, fall?" and "One student has
a quarter and 6 pennies. Another has 2 dimes. A third has 4 nickels and 7 pennies.
Can they share the coins so each person has the same amount of money?"
Student work was displayed in only a few places in classrooms
and in the hallways. The principal explained that, in keeping with the Montessori
philosophy, student work is displayed only when students wish to display it.
Assessment
Assessment practices at the school have not changed as a result of the core
curriculum. Assessment in Montessori is based on observation of students' work,
both process and product. Teachers at the school, however, have begun to rethink
assessment because of MAP. They have applied the writing rubric to samples of
student writing to learn how they should be coaching students to write.
Materials
Classrooms at Faxon are well-supplied and equipped. Montessori requires the
use of specific materials, and that the materials be available and accessible
to students. The materials are appropriate and adequate to teach the core curriculum,
as well.
Professional Development and Support
Professional development at Faxon during the 1997-1998 school year has focused
on how to implement the core curriculum within the Montessori curriculum and
philosophy. Interviewees agreed that the core curriculum did not conflict with
the Montessori curriculum, and further professional development is planned to
continue working on integrating the two curricula. Teachers have also had professional
development on writing assessment and on teaching reading, math, and writing.
Interviewees agreed that the culture of the school supports sharing of teaching strategies among the teachers. They regularly exchange ideas and have opportunities to observe one another. According to some of the interviewees, however, more time is needed to visit with and observe other teachers. Observing teachers with whom they have not trained, one said, has the most potential to expand and extend their repertoires of strategies.
Gladstone Academy serves children in grades Kindergarten through five. The
school has been a dual theme magnet, mathematics and science, and performing
arts. Currently, the staff is engaged in planning to become a comprehensive
elementary school for the 1998-1999 school year.
During the researcher's one-day visit to the school, she observed in two Kindergarten,
two first grade, one second grade, two third grade, and two fourth grade classrooms.
Fifth graders spent the day rehearsing for fifth grade and DARE graduations,
so they could not be observed. Interviews were conducted with the principal,
the facilitator, and one first, three second, one third, two fourth, and one
fifth grade teachers.
Teaching and Learning
At Gladstone Academy, the abundant displays of children's work throughout the
school, both in hallways and in classrooms, create an immediate impression that
the focus at the school is on learning, and visits to classrooms bear out that
impression. In all classrooms visited, students and teachers were engaged in
academic learning tasks that were hands-on and that represented higher order
thinking. Activities observed also acknowledged the social nature of learning;
students worked in small groups and in pairs in almost every classroom. Every
classroom was print-rich; collections of books and other reading materials were
available and accessible to children and observed in use. Examples of best practice
observed at Gladstone Academy included the following:
In a third grade classroom, children were observed working on various stages
of stories about seeing the Loch Ness monster. They had previously studied about
Scotland, Loch Ness, and the monster, and they were incorporating facts and
information they had learned into their creative stories about their own encounters
with the monster. As students completed their rough drafts, they read them to
peers, who offered both compliments and suggestions. Some students were using
a writing checklist to edit and proofread their drafts.
Students in a first grade classroom were observed working
in small groups to write pages for a class book to give to the principal. As
they completed their writing, the groups of students worked with the teacher
to type the text on the computer and print the pages. Then the children illustrated
the pages.
During a "catch-up" time observed in a fourth grade classroom,
students were engaged in a variety of activities. The four computers in the
classroom were all in use, with students playing such games as "Where in the
World is Carmen Sandiego?" Two girls were busy making a game to play with their
Kindergarten "buddies." One boy was making a cage for a snake he had found.
Others were writing, reading, and completing the day's work. The teacher was
circulating around the classroom, facilitating and coaching the various activities
going on.
Second grade students in one class had conducted research to create a city, a culminating activity of their year's work in social studies. They had elected a city council, developed a map, formed businesses for which they applied for and received permits from the city council, and so on. During the observation, students were making a map with a key from the map they had previously made.
Paintings of baby chicks displayed in one Kindergarten classroom represented
the class' hatching of baby chicks in an incubator in the classroom. Children
in the class described to the observer how the baby chicks hatched, what they
looked and felt like, and how they sounded. It was obvious from the paintings
that the children had had first hand experience with the baby chicks.
Staff members described in interviews their efforts to implement
the core curriculum. They revised the format of their lesson plans to include
objectives from the core curriculum, and grade level teams worked together to
identify the content that they would cover in each quarter of the school year.
Assessment
Teachers at the school reported using a variety of assessment tools, including
observation, performance assessments, and student self-assessment to document
student learning. Changes have been made in assessment, such as writing in assessments
across the curriculum, but the changes have been made in response to MAP rather
than to the core curriculum, according to interviewees. Teachers have tried
to align classroom assessments more closely with the kinds of tasks and items
on the MAP so that students will feel comfortable taking the MAP.
Materials
While teachers described having a wealth of materials, including manipulatives,
nearly all of them reported not having the materials they need to teach social
studies and science. In social studies, resources related to the study of the
state of Missouri are lacking, and in science, hands on and consumable materials
are needed. Some of the teachers at Gladstone expressed frustration that the
textbooks they have available to them do not match the core curriculum.
Professional Development and Support
Teachers at Gladstone Academy have been involved with the new curriculum for
two years, having piloted some of the science curriculum. Because the school
has been a science and math magnet, teachers consider themselves to have expertise
in science; they are disappointed that what they piloted was not included in
the core curriculum.
Several teachers at the school have been involved in implementing a geography
program funded by a grant from National Geographic. Professional development
for this project has been in the form of "trainer of trainers" in which one
teacher goes to Washington, DC for training and then works with other teachers
at the school to learn and use the teaching strategies associated with the program.
These teachers also were disappointed to find that the social studies portion
of the core curriculum does not address the geography standards.
Professional development for teachers at Gladstone Academy has been provided in a variety of formats, from courses provided by the district to weekly grade level team meetings during which teachers collaborate in planning. During the weekly grade level meetings, teachers share ideas for integrating the curriculum; most grade level teams integrate the curriculum around the themes from the reading program. Teachers at the school also have opportunities, both formal and informal, to observe and coach one another. Sharing and collaboration, according to one interviewee, are important parts of the culture of the school.
Hartman Elementary School, an investigatory learning magnet, is part of the
Southwest Cluster, some of the first magnet schools in Kansas City. The school
serves students in preschool through grade 1. During the researcher's visit
to the school, she observed in five Kindergarten and four first grade classrooms,
as well as the Investigatory Learning Lab. She interviewed the principal and
three Kindergarten and three first grade teachers. The teachers interviewed
were all seasoned teachers who had worked in early childhood classrooms for
several years.
Hallways of Hartman School hold inviting displays of children's work, including
writing, science displays, and other academic work, as well as art projects.
The displays are attractive and labeled so that the significance of the work
is apparent. Most of the classrooms visited were rich with print, and had materials,
equipment, and supplies stored in ways that made them accessible to children.
Teaching and Learning
Interviewees at the school reported that the core curriculum may have influenced
the sequence of what they teach, but few reported that it has been the impetus
for changes in the content in general. One of them summarized the comments of
all of the interviewees by saying that the core curriculum represents what they
"were always supposed to have been doing." Teachers did say that the core curriculum
helped to organize their planning and to set monthly goals and objectives for
themselves and their students.
When asked whether the core curriculum required any changes in how they teach,
all interviewees responded in the negative. Teachers who embraced a more learner-centered
philosophy and those who embraced a more teacher-directed, skills based philosophy
all said that they could continue the teaching practices they had always used.
The observer noted that many of the classrooms at the school seemed to be learner-centered,
with children having opportunities to make choices, investigate, and direct
their own learning around themes that were of interest to them.
In the Investigatory Learning Lab, for example, the theme was weather, and
students worked in small groups at four stations. At one station, students used
books and other print material to find answers to questions about weather that
they had brainstormed during a previous class period. At another station, students
used mirrors, flashlights, and tanks of water to investigate rainbows. A third
station offered students the opportunity to make pinwheels, and at the fourth,
children participated with the teacher in a guided reading of Tomie dePaola's
The Cloud Book. At each station, children were engaged in conversations
both about weather and about strategies for the station's activity.
Children in one first grade classroom were engaged in a variety of learning
activities. Some were conferencing with the teacher about books they were reading.
Others worked on writing the "Daily News," a newspaper they generated each day
to organize information they shared and daily class activities. Still others
read alone or with partners, worked with partners on a mathematics activity
with coins, made Lego constructions, and put together a Hot Wheels track.
In a Kindergarten classroom, most of the students were seated on the floor
discussing statues of soldiers they had seen during a trip to a museum earlier
in the week. One child asked whether Harry Truman would have liked the statues.
They had obviously learned about Harry Truman previously, and several children
expressed a variety of opinions. This led to a discussion of World War II, with
the teacher explaining that her father had served in World War II and had met
Harry Truman. When a child asked about the teacher's father, the teacher told
the children where he lived and had the children find the city on the U.S. map.
They discussed how long it would take to drive to visit him, and then the teacher
said that the next week they'd trace a route on a map and make a list of what
they'd need to take if they were to make such a trip. (Two other students worked
at computers.)
In those classrooms, there was evidence that learning was meaning centered,
holistic, and integrated across traditional curriculum areas. It was also evident
that teachers believed that learning was social and that children's interaction
with one another facilitated learning.
The observer also noted classrooms at the school that were teacher-directed
and skills-based. During classroom visits, there was little interaction between
and among students, and teachers frequently reminded students to be quiet.
In one such classroom, children were observed "sounding out" individual words
the teacher wrote on the board, with children raising hands and speaking only
when called on by the teacher, and then reading a list of high frequency words
together. The children then completed a worksheet by selecting and writing the
word from a given list that completed each sentence.
Children in another classroom read a Weekly Reader silently, with the direction
from the teacher that they should be prepared to answer the questions on the
back page. After reading silently, the teacher asked several children to read
part of the text aloud in "Round Robin" fashion.
All interviewees described their efforts to implement the core curriculum as
being in progress, and several shared plans to spend time during the summer
studying the core curriculum in preparation for implementing it more thoroughly
during the next school year.
Assessment
Interviewees at the school described using a number of assessment strategies,
including observation of students, student projects and performances, and asking
students to explain a concept or idea verbally or to demonstrate it with manipulatives,
in additional to paper and pencil tests. Most of the teachers, however, reported
having used these assessment strategies prior to the implementation of the core
curriculum. One interviewee described the difficulty in using the Kindergarten
through grade 2 benchmarks in the core curriculum in designing assessments for
a Kindergarten and grade 1 school.
Several interviewees described their frustration with the mismatch they perceive
between the core curriculum and the district report card. The core curriculum,
they believe, recognizes that differences in child development result in differences
in learning, but the report card still requires them to assign a value to student
learning.
Some interviewees expressed concern about the assessment tool that will be
adopted by the district for early childhood grades, believing that any commercially
prepared assessment tool will not match the core curriculum and thus will not
provide information that will help them to provide appropriate learning experiences
for their students.
Materials
Most Hartman staff members interviewed reported having adequate and appropriate
materials for implementing the core curriculum, although few of the materials
have been provided specifically for that implementation. Teachers explained
that they have always had manipulatives and other hands-on materials to engage
students in learning experiences. All of the interviewees also describe purchasing
materials themselves at times to support classroom activities.
The observer noted that classrooms at Hartman seemed to be well-supplied and
equipped. A wide variety of materials and supplies were observed in use in most
classrooms, and in more than half of the classrooms visited, students were using
computers.
Professional Development and Support
Teachers described having participated in several different professional development
activities during the current school year. These activities included workshops,
teacher study groups, and team meetings; interviewees perceived most of them
not to be related to the implementation of the core curriculum.
Because the student population of Hartman School has become more diverse ethnically
and socio-economically, the workshops focused on classroom discipline, ethnic
bridging, and building relationships with parents and families. Teacher study
groups were organized around a wide variety of issues related to teachers' interests
and needs they have identified. Many of the team meeting discussions, however,
focused on implementing the core curriculum.
The principal described her efforts to coach teachers in implementing developmentally
appropriate practice. She also shared her concern that the expectations of the
core curriculum, as well as directives from the central office that all Kindergartners
are to be reading, are perceived by some of these early childhood teachers to
imply a focus on direct instruction of skills rather than on providing the foundation
of experience and investigation that is so necessary for students to draw on
as they progress through the elementary grades.
Ladd Elementary School, which serves children in Kindergarten through grade
five, has recently adopted an Afri-centric theme, in evidence throughout the
school. Showcases in hallways hold displays of African artifacts, and walls
in the hallways and classrooms display student work, motivational posters, and
materials related to the theme.
One researcher spent a day at the school, observing in classrooms and interviewing
staff members. The researcher observed in classrooms at every grade level, and
interviewed the principal and first, second, third, and fifth grade teachers.
Teaching and Learning
Most of the teachers interviewed agreed that the core curriculum was a valuable
resource, helping them to organize the content of their teaching and serving
as a guide and assessment tool for teachers. They also reported posting objectives
from the core curriculum in their classrooms. Some teachers described the core
curriculum as affirming, and that they had been "right on track." Except for
one Kindergarten classroom observed, though, the content addressed in most other
classroom consisted of basic skills, most of which were being taught and practiced
in isolation. A few of the interviewees explained that they used the parts of
the core curriculum that matched ITBS objectives.
Teachers also reported believing that they were on track in teaching. None
of the teachers interviewed believed that the core curriculum called for them
to change the practices they use in the classroom. Observation showed, however,
that classroom practices in most classrooms were teacher-directed and included
an inordinate amount of drill and practice.
Examples of classroom activities that were skill-based, teacher-directed, and
drill and practice included the following:
In several classrooms, children were observed copying lists of spelling words
from the board, writing them several times, looking up the words in the dictionary,
or writing definitions.
Math lessons observed consisted mostly of computation. Students
were observed reducing fractions by finding the greatest common factor, identifying
whole and mixed numbers, and performing computations with whole and mixed numbers.
One math lesson observed did provide some opportunities for meaning; students
were to shade a portion of a figure indicated by a given fraction.
In one upper grade classroom the teacher was doing a presentation
on proofreading marks. The teacher did not know the marks herself, and she referred
to the teachers' manual she was using to both reproduce the marks on the board
and tell the definitions. Students were to copy the marks from the board and
write the definitions. When the teacher made the mark for transposing and told
the students it meant "transpose," one student asked her what transpose meant.
The teacher said, "Look it up in the dictionary."
The exception to this teaching of basic skills with little meaning was found
in a Kindergarten classroom. There, the room was decorated invitingly with print,
plants, posters and words associated with the African theme, books, a word wall,
centers, and many examples of student work that was individual and creative.
The adults in the classroom, both teacher and teacher assistant, listened to
children and communicated that they valued what the children had to say. During
the observation children came together for Harambee Time led by one of the children.
After Harambee Time, children finished eating their breakfasts and wrote in
their journals. When children asked how to spell words, they were directed to
look first at the word wall. If the word a child needed was not on the word
wall, the teacher or teacher assistant wrote the word on a "sticky," and the
child posted it on the word wall after copying in her journal. When the children
were finished with journal writing, some of them shared their journals. The
teacher provided positive feedback and encouragement to children who were able
to read their journals, as well as those who "told" what their journals said,
honoring literacy development at all stages.
The principal shared her dream for a school where instruction is organized
around themes, where teachers consistently share high expectations with all
students, and where the environment is safe both physically and emotionally
for all students. She believes that for this dream to be realized, teachers
need to be able to observe high quality teaching, to have opportunities for
dialogue with other teachers, and to be evaluated themselves with an assessment
tool that is non-threatening and supports them in taking risks and making changes.
She also believes that teaching will not change until there is stability in
the school and the district in terms of expectations for teachers as well as
students.
Assessment
While some interviewees said no changes had been made in assessment, others
reported a schoolwide focus on portfolios. These teachers described their varying
levels of comfort with portfolios, the need for more professional development
related to portfolio assessment, and the need for supplies to implement portfolios.
One teacher explained that she has changed classroom assessment to include
nonverbal and non-written forms of assessment. She allows students to demonstrate
with manipulatives, to explain concepts, and to work together on assessment.
Materials
In most classrooms in the school, there were few or no materials visible that
would support the core curriculum. In the classrooms where there were materials
available, the teachers explained that they had purchased the materials themselves.
One teacher said that there are materials available at the Norman Center, but
that it is not always possible to find time to go there. All of the teachers
described the need for more materials, supplies, and manipulatives available
at the school to implement the core curriculum. The only new materials that
had been provided in the 1997-1998 school year, according to all interviewees,
were books and materials related to the African theme of the school.
The observer noted that there were few computers available in classrooms in
the school, with the majority of those being Apple II GS's or IIe's. No computers
were observed in use during the school visit.
Professional Development and Support
Teachers described having had one information session on the core curriculum, but that the focus of the school's professional development for the 1997-1998 school year had been on the African theme. Teachers had taken a class in African antiquity in the fall, and additional professional development on the African theme was to be provided during the upcoming summer.
Knotts Elementary School is an environmental studies magnet that serves nearly
500 children in Kindergarten through grade five. The school property includes
gardens that are maintained by teachers and students, as well as a nature trail
that was described by teachers as one of the most beautiful sites in Kansas
City.
All common areas of the school--hallways, the office, the library--hold attractive
displays of children's work and theme-related materials. In the office, for
example, there are two constructions made of recyclables that symbolize the
school's theme. The school's focus on literacy is evident, as well, throughout
the school. Children who visit the school's office for any reason are expected
to read while they are waiting; there are baskets of books at a variety of reading
levels available to children there.
Knotts Elementary School has a cadre of "foster grandparents" who assist in
classrooms. On the day of the visit, parent volunteers were also noted in some
classrooms.
One researcher visited the school for an entire school day. During that visit,
the researcher observed in classrooms at each grade level, as well as the library
and computer lab. She interviewed the principal and first, second, third, and
fifth grade teachers. The administration of MAP tests on the day of the observation
disrupted the usual school schedule in many classrooms, preventing more observations
and interviews with teachers.
Teaching and Learning
Knotts Elementary School was described by the principal as "starting early
on" in implementing the core curriculum. The school had an articulated curriculum
before the core curriculum that was regularly communicated to students and parents
in the form of a set of academic expectations that had been developed for each
grade level. As a first step in implementing the core curriculum, teachers revised
the grade level expectations to align with the core curriculum. Those expectations,
as well as explicit expectations for behavior, are posted throughout the school,
in classrooms and in hallways.
Teachers shared the grade level expectations with parents during parent conferences.
Because of the school's commitment to communicate with parents, teachers made
a personal contact with each parent who did not participate in a parent conference
to discuss the expectations of the core curriculum.
Interviewees said the core curriculum has changed the sequence of the curriculum
but not the academic focus or the theme of the school. Teaching has changed
and is continuing to change at the school as a result of the implementation
of the Dimensions of Learning model rather than the implementation of the core
curriculum, although interviewees described the Dimensions of Learning model
as an effective tool for implementing the core curriculum. The Dimensions of
Learning model focuses on inquiry, critical thinking, and performances that
provide for application of "chunks" of skills in appropriate contexts. Teachers
at the school also are committed to student efficacy and students taking responsibility
for their own learning.
The following examples represent classroom observations at the school:
In a Kindergarten classroom, the teacher shared a big book with children gathered
around her on the floor. Before reading the book, the teacher asked questions
that helped children access their prior knowledge about authors and illustrators.
Throughout the reading, the teacher asked questions and modeled thinking aloud,
demonstrating to the children that reading is an interactive process that connects
new information in the text with knowledge one already has.
In the computer lab, students worked on composing letters
to their mothers for Mother's Day. A scoring guide was posted for writing letters,
and the teacher referred students to it to assess their own work.
Students in a third grade class were observed conducting
a class meeting. The "president" of the class conducted the meeting, with students
identifying problems that needed to be addressed by the class. As students presented
issues, others suggested solutions; the students discussed the solutions until
they agreed on how to address the issues. The teacher's role in this meeting
was that of coach; she intervened only in the instance that a student resorted
to name-calling or when the "president" asked for advice.
After reviewing and checking computation practice (squares, cubes, square
and cube roots) with students modeling their work on the overhead, fifth grade
students worked in groups on solving a problem that was written on the board.
"Mr. Waters is installing a swimming pool. The perimeter of the pool is 40 units.
The pool will be a rectangle or square. What is the largest pool (in area) that
he can install?"
Second graders in one classroom worked with partners and
used play money to find as many ways as they could to make given amounts of
money. As students found configurations of coins, they were invited by the teachers
to show their responses on the overhead (with overhead coins).
In most classrooms in the school, children were seated in configurations that
facilitated interaction, and materials and supplies were available and accessible
to the students.
Assessment
Teachers at Knotts School have been working for to develop rubrics and scoring
guides for the performance indicators in the core curriculum. Dimensions of
Learning provides models for performance assessments that allow for assessment
of skills within larger performances. The rubrics and scoring guides are posted
in classrooms and with displays of students' work. They are also shared with
parents.
Interviewees expressed the belief that much more work needs to be done in the
area of assessment, both at the district and the school levels.
Materials
Classrooms at Knotts Elementary School were fairly well equipped before the
initiation of the core curriculum. Materials and equipment are visible in most
classrooms. Interviewees expressed the need for more manipulatives and supplemental
materials in mathematics, social studies materials and resources for teaching
about the state of Missouri, and more technology. While there is a computer
lab available to students at the school, updated hardware and software for classroom
use is lacking. In most classrooms, available computers are Apple II GS's and
II e's; some of them are out of order and have not been repaired. The library
needs computers that are networked and connected to the Internet to support
the kinds of research children should be doing as part of the core curriculum.
According to interviewees, no new materials have been provided specifically
to implement the core curriculum.
Professional Development and Support
Professional development at the school aimed at implementation of the core
curriculum includes information sessions for the staff conducted by school district
curriculum staff members; whole school workshops on the Dimensions of Learning
model; grade level team meetings focused on identifying expectations for each
grade level and designing lessons that support the core curriculum; study groups,
facilitated by teachers on a rotating basis, that meet to discuss readings selected
by the teachers; and formal and informal observations in classrooms.
Teacher evaluation at the school has been revised to support the implementation
of the Dimensions of Learning model. The principal uses criteria from the model
as she observes in classrooms and conferences with teachers.
Other resources cited by interviewees as supporting the implementation of the curriculum include resource teachers and the Norman Center.
McCoy Elementary School is a neighborhood school that serves children in Kindergarten
through grade five. The school is attractive and inviting; displays of student
work in hallways and classrooms underscore the school's focus on learning.
For the 1997-1998 school year, teachers at McCoy selected four themes around
which they integrated the curriculum. The themes were: 1. Self--All About Me;
2. Going to Kansas City; 3. Learning and Literacy for Life; and 4. Our Home,
Mother Earth. One floor of the school had been "transformed" into a rain forest
to set the tone for the work students were doing related to the rain forest
and the fourth theme.
One researcher spent a school day at McCoy, observing in classrooms at each
grade level, and interviewing the principal and teachers in Kindergarten, first,
third, fourth, and fifth grades.
Teaching and Learning
According to interviewees, the core curriculum has not changed how they teach,
as much as it has facilitated their teaching. For them, the core curriculum
serves as a guide from which to select objectives as they integrate the curriculum
around the themes. Teachers selected quarterly objectives and then indicate
in their lessons plans the objectives addressed by the lesson. One interviewee
also described using the Missouri Show Me Standards in planning because there
are specific examples of student work described in the standards document.
Throughout the school, in all classrooms visited, the focus was clearly on
academic learning. Students were engaged in learning tasks that were theme-related,
meaning-centered, and learner-centered. Most classrooms were arranged to facilitate
student interaction and cooperative work, and there is evidence throughout the
school of teacher collaboration, as well.
The following examples represent the learning activities observed at the school:
Children from two third grade classes were working in groups of four, brainstorming
ideas for making a "Reading Rainbow" video about animal habitats. Half of the
groups were focusing on habitats in the rain forest, while the other groups
discussed habitats in the ocean. After the brainstorming, teachers brought the
groups back together to share, and one teacher recorded students' ideas on chart
paper. The teachers facilitated a discussion with the students of how to proceed
with the video project, involving the students in creating a plan.
A fifth grade science class was studying the tundra. Students there were working
on making an "energy pyramid" for a tundra community. They had the option of
writing or drawing pictures to represent the levels of consumers on their pyramids.
When students had completed the pyramids, the teacher led a class discussion
about first, second, and third level consumers in the tundra community.
In a first grade classroom, students were observed listening
as the teacher read to them from the M&M Math Book. As the teacher
read, the students worked out the problems presented in the book. At the end
of the reading, the teacher showed the class a large jar of M&Ms, explaining
that after lunch they would be estimating with M&Ms.
As further evidence of teacher collaboration, students in two second grade
classrooms were observed working on the same activity. The classes had been
doing an author study of Tomie dePaola, and students were writing summaries
of their favorite books by the author. The teachers circulated among the students
as they worked, reminding them to check their summaries to make sure they had
included events, the problem, and the ending of the story. In both classrooms,
as students completed their summaries, they selected books from their own personal
literature boxes to read or worked on the computers in the classrooms.
Kindergarten students were observed first brainstorming ways
to measure time, and then discussing the similarities and differences between
clocks and watches. After their discussion, students made paper clocks in preparation
for a telling time activity.
Assessment
Nearly all interviewees agreed that assessment is the area of the core curriculum
that is weak. They would like to have more examples of assessment tasks and
information about how to use them with students. Teachers who reported changing
the was they assess student learning described using more "practical" assessments,
embedded in the students' learning activities rather than separate, paper and
pencil tests.
Materials
Most teachers reported in general having adequate materials to support the
core curriculum, although several mentioned the need for materials to teach
about Missouri in social studies and the need for more equipment and consumable
supplies for teaching science. Some teachers explained that the basal textbooks
did not follow the same sequence as the core curriculum or include needed information.
One interviewee suggested that the district make the adoption of textbooks optional;
teachers could then feel free not to use the textbooks and other resources could
be purchased instead.
Professional Development and Support
At McCoy School, professional development is an ongoing process. Teachers participated
in two or three days of inservice at the beginning of the school year that specifically
targeted implementation of the core curriculum. Grade level teams have met weekly
during the school year to select objectives and to develop lessons to meet them.
Several teachers also reported participating in the core courses offered by
the school district as support for implementing the core curriculum.
McCoy School is part of a Kaufman Foundation-funded collaborative project to promote literacy, inquiry, and integrated services with a school in New York City. As part of this project, every classroom teacher at McCoy School visited the school in New York to observe in classrooms and dialogue with the teachers there. During the 1998-1999 school year, teachers from the school in New York will visit McCoy to do demonstration teaching in the classrooms there.
Scarritt Elementary School, a neighborhood school, served children in Kindergarten
through third grade at the time of the visit. A large percentage of the students
at the school have a language other than English as their first language, and
the school has a large bilingual program, in both pull-out and supported classrooms.
The school staff has been planning for the 1998-1999 school year, when the school
will add fourth and fifth grades.
Scarritt's physical plant has recently been renovated, and the building is
attractive and inviting. Student work, predominantly writing, is displayed throughout
the school, reflecting the school's focus on literacy development. A second
focus of the school has been to establish and maintain parent relationships.
An adult ESL class is offered to parents, and the school has someone on staff
who speaks most of the families' first languages so that there is translation
available for all parents.
The researcher spent a day at the school, observing in classrooms at all the grade levels, and interviewing Kindergarten, first, and second grade teachers, as well as the principal.
Teaching and Learning
In nearly all classrooms visited, teaching and learning were observed to be
learner-centered, to be focused on meaning, and to acknowledge the social nature
of learning by allowing opportunities for students to interact with one another.
In most classrooms, there was evidence of teaching and learning being organized,
at least some of the time, by themes that served as vehicles for integrating
across traditional curriculum boundaries. The focus on literacy was evident
across the curriculum, as well.
Most teachers attributed the changes they have made in their teaching to the
schoolwide focus on literacy, with more attention to helping students develop
writing, reading, and "accountable talk." Teachers described using author study,
a wider variety of text genres, and much more writing in their classrooms.
Examples of best practice were observed in many classrooms:
In one classroom, the children had expressed an interest in Titanic. There,
in preparation for reading aloud an informational text about Titanic, the teacher
initiated a discussion that allowed children to access their prior knowledge
about Titanic. He also helped students to reconceptualize their understanding
of icebergs. He asked several students to draw icebergs in the "ocean" he had
drawn on the chalkboard. All of the students drew the icebergs floating on the
surface of the "ocean." The teacher then put water in a clear container and
added ice cubes, which he said were miniature icebergs. He asked the students
what they noticed about the icebergs. The students noticed immediately that
the icebergs were not floating on the surface of the water; instead, a larger
part of the icebergs was below the surface of the water than on top. The teacher
asked students to correct their drawings on the board, and then he asked students
what this could have meant for the Titanic disaster.
Second graders reviewed the genre of fairy tales by discussing
and completing a chart of fairy tale elements:
| Fairy Tale | Good Characters | Bad Characters | Task | Reward | Beginning and ending words |
In a supported language classroom, the teacher read the students a poem titled
"Culture." To help the students understand the word "culture," the teacher had
them identify their countries of origin (which included Mexico, Bosnia, Somalia,
Viet Nam, and Iraq) and to describe their language and some customs from those
countries. The teacher explained that culture is what makes each country different
from other countries. Then the teacher read the poem and asked if the poem used
the word "culture" in the same way they had just defined it. The children agreed
that the word "culture" in the poem had a different meaning, and they discussed
what it could mean.
One Kindergarten class was observed during center time. Children were reading,
drawing, writing, listening with headsets on, building with Legos and other
building toys, and acting out stories with dinosaurs. They worked individually,
in pairs, and in small groups. The teacher circulated around the classroom,
talking with children about what they were doing. Several of the children approached
the researcher to share with her what they were doing.
Several of the teachers interviewed reported using the core curriculum as the
basis of coordination and collaboration. An ESL teacher explained that the core
curriculum helps her to understand what children will need to be successful
in their regular classrooms. Another teacher explained that her class and a
class at another grade level "buddy up" to do some learning activities together.
According to her, the core curriculum has been helpful in designing activities
that are appropriate for both grade levels.
Nearly all interviewees described the core curriculum as too broad and vague
and needing articulation. They explained that one of the tasks they plan for
next year is to develop a scope and sequence for Scarritt School.
Assessment
The staff of Scarritt School has been working for several years on designing
new assessments for the school. That work is evident in most classrooms, where
rubrics are posted for a variety of activities, from sharing to reading aloud.
Some interviewees said that sample assessments should accompany the core curriculum;
they would help to communicate the expectations of the core curriculum to teachers,
parents, and students. They would also provide models for schools as they work
to design appropriate assessments.
Scarritt School has been experimenting with portfolio assessment. On the day
of this observation, a consultant was at the school discussing with grade level
teams their use of portfolio assessment and leading them to make some decisions
about how they will use portfolios in the future.
Materials
Most teachers said they have many of the materials they need to support the
core curriculum. There is a need, however, for additional trade books for teaching
reading, as well as a need for more materials, especially resource and consumable
supplies for teaching science. No new materials have been provided to teachers
specifically to support the implementation of the core curriculum.
Professional Development and Support
Professional development has been provided at the school in a variety of formats.
In addition to workshops and the core courses provided to teachers by the school
district, grade level team meetings this school year have focused on implementing
the core curriculum and designing assessments. Teachers have also formed study
groups that meet to read and discuss issues of interest to them.
As part of the literacy focus, Scarritt School is part of a Kaufmann Foundation
project that connects the school with a mentor school in New York City. Scarritt
staff members have visited the school in New York, and teachers from New York
have visited Scarritt. This relationship will continue for the next school year,
with teachers from New York visiting Scarritt to demonstrate teaching strategies
and coach Scarritt teachers.
The principal is committed to providing professional development
that is classroom-based. She envisions the addition of an instructional coach
to the staff to assist teachers in experimenting with and fine tuning new teaching
strategies. The instructional coach would be able to demonstrate teaching strategies
in classrooms and provide feedback to teachers that would be separate from teacher
evaluation.
Nowlin Middle School, an environmental science magnet school,
serves students in sixth, seventh, and eighth grades. In addition to the core
curriculum, the school offers students opportunities to study weather via the
school's weather station, animals and their environments, and the physical environment.
Nowlin's classrooms extend beyond the physical plant of the school to include
the outdoors; on the day of the observation, the principal was accompanying
a group of students on a camping trip.
Two researchers visited the school for a school day. They observed in classrooms
as all three grade levels and all curriculum areas, and they interviewed the
principal and several teachers at each grade level.
Teachers and students at Nowlin are grouped in grade level teams. In general,
classrooms for each team are located in close proximity to one another to facilitate
teachers working together. Although little evidence of teaming was observed,
one of the researchers noted two classrooms that had folded back a removable
wall so that the teachers and students could work together.
Because students' achievement at the school warranted additional
focus on literacy, reading teachers were added to the sixth and seventh grade
teams. To address the increased emphasis on writing on the MAP, writing teachers
have been added to eighth grade teams. Eighth grade teachers have begun to build
more research projects into their classrooms, and they have also begun to block
their schedules. The principal reported that one eighth grade teams blocks every
day, and other teams block as the need arises.
Teaching and Learning
No interviewees at Nowlin reported changing classroom practices to meet the
requirements of the core curriculum. A few said that they had changed the content
of what they teach, but several said the core curriculum just reflected what
they had always been teaching. One stated that it was difficult to know what
they were expected to teach, since the ITBS tested content that was not included
in the core curriculum and vice versa.
Observers noted some instances of learner-centered classrooms where students
were engaged in active learning, but as many other classrooms where there was
little engagement in the content of lessons.
The following represent examples of engaged learning that were observed at
Nowlin Middle School:
In the weather station, students were observed televising the day's news,
sports, and weather. Students had written the copy and were reading it from
a prompter as other students worked sound and camera equipment.
Integrating literacy with a science lesson, a science teacher reviewed with
students how to use headings in text and how to skim for information. The students
then used the skills to find information to make a concept map about dinosaurs.
Students in a mathematics class practiced order of integers by finding as
many different sums of three numbers on a paper "dart board" that equaled a
score given by the teacher. They used number lines as needed to find the sums
of groups of both positive and negative integers.
In other classes, students were not engaged or participating in active learning.
In a social studies class, the teacher talked the entire class period, presenting
information. Even though the teacher's style and the information presented might
have been interesting, there was no activity to engage the learners.
Students in a reading class read aloud, "round robin" with
no discussion prior to reading that would help students access prior knowledge,
recognize or make meaning from new or unusual vocabulary, or set a purpose for
reading.
Assessment
Although the principal reported that assessment at the school is not yet organized
or consistent, some teachers reported experiments with a number of alternatives
to paper and pencil tests. These included portfolios, projects, student writing,
hands-on performance, and oral responses. Other teachers reported using teacher-made
tests and worksheets; one teacher described using many more essay questions
than he had in the past to give students opportunities to write.
Materials
Interviewees listed materials needs in the areas of social studies and science.
In social studies, teachers reported needing sets of print materials besides
the social studies textbook, up-to-date maps, and multicultural materials. One
social studies teacher said a packet of music from the countries students were
supposed to study was to have been provided, but he hasn't received it. Science
teachers need supplies and consumable materials for student experiences, investigations,
and projects. There is also the need for more technology in classrooms, and
connection to the Internet.
Professional Development and Support
In the fall, teachers had a day of staff development working with teachers' editions of new textbooks led by the publishers' representatives and consultants. Teachers also have had department meetings and team meetings during which they have discussed the core curriculum and planned together. One teacher reported participating in a monthly district support group for science teachers where teachers shared ideas and materials. Several teachers said that they had participated in no professional development related to instruction during the past school year.
Rogers Middle School has been a liberal arts and sciences magnet middle school
with a strong academic, pre-college focus. The school serves students in grades
six, seven, and eight. Rogers is organized by grade level into teams, and its
curriculum is organized thematically. Block scheduling facilitates the school's
focus on extended, integrated learning activities, with math and science being
taught as one block and language arts and social studies integrated under the
humanities block. Students at Rogers also take courses in foreign language,
the arts, technology, and special projects. Beginning with the 1998-1999 school
year, Rogers will be a comprehensive, neighborhood middle school, and the staff
and SAC have been involved in planning for the change.
Two observers visited the school for most of a school day,
observing in classrooms and interviewing teachers at each grade level and curriculum
area. The physical plant of the school is attractive and inviting, with displays
of student work in hallways throughout the school. At the time of the observation,
award-winning works of student computer-generated art were displayed on one
floor of the school. The seventh grade team was preparing for "Rogerdelphia,"
a simulation experience that would transform the seventh grade floor into the
town of Rogerdelphia; information displayed on the seventh grade floor related
to Rogerdelphia.
Teaching and Learning
Few of the interviewees at Rogers reported that the core curriculum has changed
how they teach, but nearly all described the core curriculum as facilitating
Rogers' efforts to provide integrated thematic instruction throughout the school.
Several teachers said that the core curriculum had freed them from feeling compelled
to teach everything in their basic textbooks to focusing on what was important
at their grade levels. Others noted the emphasis in the core curriculum on critical
thinking and independent study that fits well with what teachers at Rogers have
been doing.
All classrooms observed at the school were arranged to facilitate student interaction.
Students were seated at desks arranged in groups or at tables of two or more
students. In most classroom, there were artifacts and student work displayed
related to the year-long themes selected by each grade level. In seventh grade
classrooms, for example, the theme was Dream Catchers, and student-made dream
catchers hung from the ceilings of the classrooms.
Most of the teaching observed was meaning-centered and involved students actively
in learning. The following are examples of such teaching observed at Rogers:
Students in a special projects class were observed working at computers on
their projects. Students select their own areas of research for the projects;
in the class observed they included such topics as superstitions, careers (auto
mechanics), animals, Mexico, and drug programs in Kansas City. The final projects
were multimedia, and students were using ClarisWorks and HyperStudio to complete
them.
In an algebra class, students were observed working in small groups to play
"Fantasy Baseball," a simulation in which students computed statistics of baseball
players and formed teams by selecting and trading players. Each group then would
develop a team player analysis chart.
A sixth grade class began with a review of life processes (ingestion, respiration,
etc.), and then a quick quiz on the parts of a flower. For the quiz, the teacher
drew each part of the flower on the board and described its function; students
were to write the name of each part. A discussion followed the quiz, with the
teacher labeling the parts on her diagram on the board as students named them.
In this class, there was evidence that students were thinking. As the
class discussed self pollination, one student asked, "Wouldn't that sort of
be inbreeding if it pollinates itself?" The question generated a discussion
of the effects self-pollination might have on plants and flowers.
As a review of information students had previously learned in a humanities
class, one class observed completed a chart that organized the historical and
geographical information they had learned:
| Country | Geographical Feature | Event | Person |
| Great Britain | Island | War with Germany | Winston Churchill |
| Germany | European plain | War with Britain | Adolf Hitler |
As the class filled in their notes on the chart, the teacher led them in a
discussion that seemed intended to help students make connections and think
beyond the facts.
Students in a drama class were observed playing "Hitchhiker," an improvisation
game. The teacher played the game along with the students and coached students
who were either reluctant to play or needed ideas. In the game, three players
are "riding in a car." They talk together until it is clear what the relationship
among the players is. At that point, one of them says, "There's a hitchhiker."
The "hitchhiker" takes the fourth seat in the car and enters into the conversation.
The hitchhiker uses a mannerism of his/her choice, and the others in the car
adopt that mannerism as soon as they know what it is. When all have determined
what the mannerism is, the driver leaves the car and the other players move
up so that there is an empty seat. The game begins again, with a new relationship
among the car's passengers and a new hitchhiker.
As preparation for Rogerdelphia, students in one seventh grade class were
observed writing letters to their friends. Each student wrote at least three
letters in friendly letter form and addressed the letters correctly. The letters
would be used by the Rogerdelphia Post Office during the simulation.
Observers also noted examples of teaching that were not meaning-centered. In
those classrooms, teachers spent more time keeping students on task and attending
to behavior issues. In a humanities class, for example, students were asked
to copy "warm-up" exercises from the board that consisted of a list of analogies
(banana : carrot :: : rabbit). Students were supposed to work silently
and by themselves. The teacher spent her much of the class time asking students
to be quiet, sit down, get to work, and so on, with only minimal success.
Assessment
Interviewees described few changes in assessment due to the core curriculum,
although they did report that the core curriculum helped them to make assessment
more specific to what students should know and be able to do. Several also applauded
the core curriculum's focus on performance, stating that performances and projects
have been a part of what they have been doing. One teacher mentioned the use
of rubrics as a tool to help students do better performances and projects, and
another talked about using portfolios.
Materials
Teachers at J. A. Rogers reported that in general, they have materials to support
the core curriculum. Additional materials that would help them do a better job
include collections of trade books at a variety of reading levels to supplement
textbooks; access to computers for writing and developing special projects;
classroom sets of calculators for mathematics and science; and more text, hands-on,
and consumable materials for science. One interviewee said that the resource
she needed more than anything was more time to study the core curriculum so
that she could implement it fully. No teacher reported having received any new
materials specifically for implementing the core curriculum.
Professional Development and Support
Professional development and support for implementation of the core curriculum
have been ongoing throughout the school year. In addition to an initial session
at the beginning of the year for all teachers to become familiar with the document,
grade level teams have discussed and studied the core curriculum at all their
meetings throughout the year. Optional sessions have also been offered at the
school on such topics as developing lesson plans to align with the core curriculum.
Mathematics teachers reported they have been given release time to attend professional
development sessions with district level math personnel, and other teachers
described the support sessions provided by publishers' representatives in using
new textbooks to be helpful.
A few interviewees mentioned taking the core courses offered by the school
district, but others noted that they could not take the courses because they
were offered on Saturday. One commented that often professional development
from the district is presented in the form of lecture, which that person found
to be not at all helpful.
Some interviewees also described piloting the curriculum and serving
on district and state level committees to be valuable professional development.
Northeast High School is a Law and Public Service/Military Magnet High School.
It serves students in grades 9 through 12. The school operates on a modified
block schedule, alternating traditional seven-period days with days with longer
blocks of time that provide opportunities for students to engage in extended
learning experiences.
During a day-long visit to the school, the researcher interviewed the principal,
the facilitator, and teachers of English, biology, mathematics, American government,
and history. She observed classes in English, American government, Channel 1,
biology, algebra, physical science, and physics.
The physical plant of the school is imposing; it is clean and gives the impression
of being orderly and focused on business. Between and during classes staff members
are visible in school hallways and near stairwells; interactions between these
staff members and students were observed to be positive and supportive, and
seemed to indicate that the staff members knew and cared about the students.
Teaching and Learning
The observer noted a climate in some classrooms that was clearly focused on
learners and learning. In those classrooms, teachers and students worked together
on learning activities that focused on meaning-making.
In an English class, students were observed writing persuasive letters to
their parents. They read drafts of their letters aloud to the class, and the
teacher and students provided feedback. The teacher used the critiques as opportunities
for teaching: one student used "you all" in the text of the letter; the teacher
explained that "you" can be singular or plural, making "you all" redundant.
Groups of students in a biology class were observed dissecting pigs, separating
and identifying muscles shown on a diagram in a handout they had received. As
they worked, they discussed the dissection and the muscles, using appropriate
vocabulary. The teacher circulated among the groups, asking questions and making
suggestions. Her role was clearly that of coach and facilitator. At one group,
the teacher demonstrated how much pressure to use when separating the muscles.
Comparing the U.S. Constitution with the constitution of Missouri, students
in an American government class were involved in constructing a chart that compared
and contrasted the two constitutions. Students used copies of the U.S. Constitution,
the Missouri Constitution, their notes, and previous readings to find points
of comparison and contrast. During the class period, the teacher described for
students projects they could do to earn extra credit for the grading period.
The projects included creating a visual that represented the branches of government
and showed how they were related, and collecting a set of $1 bills that identified
all of the Federal Reserve Bank locations (A through L).
Students in a physics class were observed in a review session about luminous
intensity and candela values. While the teacher asked the majority of questions,
he did ask each student to justify their answers in ways that related them to
the labs they had already completed about luminous intensity. Where questions
were related to a lab that students would do the following day, the teacher
gave students opportunities to propose several answers and to find the answers
in the lab.
In all of these classrooms, and others, as well, examples of student work were
displayed, and a variety motivational and curriculum related posters and bulletin
boards decorated the walls.
One interviewee described her philosophy of teaching as a focus on learning
rather than on teaching. Posted in her classroom was a sign that said, "Students
don't care how much you know until they know how much you care." She attributed
that philosophy to coursework that she had taken at a local university, rather
than to implementing the core curriculum. Other teachers, however, said that
the core curriculum provided the impetus for more project-based learning and
extended learning activities than they have done in the past.
Mathematics teachers interviewed explained that they had worked to align the
curriculum in their classrooms with the NCTM (National Council of Teachers of
Mathematics) standards long before the development of the core curriculum. In
one algebra class, students worked on solving systems of equations (two equations
with two variables). The teacher explained that systems of equations can be
used to describe a variety of relationships, among them, age.
All classrooms, however, were not as focused on learning. In one science classroom
visited, some students were playing chess, others sleeping, and still others
visiting with each other. The teacher explained that some students had gone
to the library to work on reports that were due at the end of the marking period,
and that it was too hot. A mathematics teacher presented a math lesson to a
class in which more than half of the students did not participate. The teacher's
one attempt to provide an alternative strategy for a student who did not understand
was unsuccessful, and instead of continuing to work with the student, the teacher
went on. In that classroom, two groups of students visited in the back of the
classroom for the entire class period, and several others participated only
part of the time.
Assessment
Interviewees described their efforts over the past few years to redesign assessments
for their classrooms. With the implementation of the core curriculum, teachers
have made more concerted efforts to design assessments that are aligned with
the core curriculum and that are more performance-based. One English teacher
had students develop a magazine to demonstrate their proficiency in writing
in a variety of genres. A social studies classroom displayed a model of an African
village constructed as an assessment by students in an African history class,
raps students in American government classes had written to describe the U.S.
Constitution, and books students had written and illustrated about the branches
of government.
Some interviewees also explained how the development of rubrics for scoring
student writing, projects, and performances has helped students to do higher
quality work, in addition to helping teachers both coach students and evaluate
the products. When teachers can provide rubrics to students before they complete
projects, the rubrics also help students to assess their own work, both in progress
and when it is completed.
Interviewees explained while they have begun to develop performance assessments
and rubrics, they still use paper and pencil tests, and that they need more
time and professional development to design high quality assessments.
Materials
Most interviewees reported the need for technology resources to support the
core curriculum and their classroom activities. There are needs for both hardware
and software. Some classrooms at Northeast have only one computer, and others
have only two or three. None of the computers in the classrooms observed were
connected to the Internet, although such connection would not be difficult,
since classrooms are cabled for Channel 1. Internet connection would expand
opportunities for interactive learned. Teachers also described the need for
more software. Mathematics classes, for example, have little or no software
to support the mathematics content of the core curriculum.
Professional Development and Support
During the 1997-1998 school year, teachers at Northeast participated in one
whole-school professional development session that was intended to familiarize
teachers with the curriculum and provide some sample activities. Departments
have also had a number of work sessions to plan to implement the core curriculum
and to agree on which objectives to teach.
Teachers also described professional development they have had related to assessment.
They have worked to design assessments and rubrics.
Professional development is planned for school staff members during the summer
of 1998. These activities will provide time for teachers to collaborate within
and across departments and to plan for at least one long-term project that students
will complete in each course.
Extent of core curriculum implementation
The core curriculum has been received positively by teachers and administrators in the schools visited. Nearly all interviewees reported relief at having a guide that sets curriculum expectations for their teaching and for students' learning. Several also look to the core curriculum as a vehicle for schools across the KCMSD to communicate the same expectations to students and to have some consistency in what is taught and how it is taught across the district. With the increased mobility that is sure to come with fewer magnet schools, more neighborhood schools, and less busing, the issue of curriculum consistency across schools in the KCMSD will become even more critical than it is currently is.
Teachers and administrators at all the schools reported that they are working to implement the core curriculum. At every school, teachers identified quarterly objectives from the core curriculum and are expected to include objectives from the core curriculum in their lesson plans. Some schools have made efforts to share the quarterly objectives with parents, and in some schools, core curriculum objectives are posted or written on chalkboards for students to see.
From the relatively short observations made in classrooms, it is difficult
to estimate with much accuracy the level of core curriculum implementation.
However, inasmuch as the core curriculum implies the belief that learning must
be active, meaning-centered, social, inquiry-based, metacognitive, and so on,
one can use observed teaching as a proxy for curriculum implementation. Indeed,
in many of the classrooms in most of the schools visited, the observers noted
teaching in line with such a belief system about learning. In those classrooms,
there was a balance between teacher-directed and learner-directed activities,
and teachers more often took the role of facilitator and coach than presenter.
In other classrooms, however, teachers also believed themselves to be implementing
the core curriculum, but activities were predominantly teacher-directed and
skill-based.
Without clear expectations from the KCMSD and from building administrators
about the changes in teaching practices that the core curriculum implies, indeed,
demands, for full implementation, teachers will continue to teach the way they
always have and believe that they are implementing the core curriculum.
Professional development and support for implementation
Every interviewee reported having participated in at least some professional
development related to the core curriculum. That professional development came
in a variety of formats, from lecture to discussion to collaborative planning.
The KCMSD has provided some "core courses" in which some teachers at the targeted
schools have participated. And publishers' representatives and consultants have
provided inservice and support for the new textbooks that have been adopted.
No teachers, however, reported any district-level professional development
that was inquiry-based, embedded in the teaching-learning process, or involved
any modeling, mentoring, or coaching in classrooms.
Research on professional development clearly shows that the
forms of professional development most likely to change teaching practices is
actually embedded in the teaching/learning process. It must take place at the
school site and must include modeling, mentoring, coaching, and opportunities
for feedback that is not part of teacher evaluation. Further, it is imperative
that administrators be a part of the professional development process. Principals,
vice principals, and other administrators should understand fully how learning
happens and the kinds of classroom environments and teaching practices that
foster learning. Administrators who do not learn new teaching practices along
with teachers cannot give constructive feedback to teachers.
A critical area of support that seems to be lacking in some schools and
not valued by the KCMSD is stability. In schools where instructional practices
have changed and are changing, it is because of consistent support from an administrative
team that has been at the school for a period of time. The principal sets the
tone and the direction of the school; when the principal changes, the direction
and expectations for the teachers change. Just as children need to have low-risk,
stable environments in which to learn, teachers need environments that are low-risk
and stable to learn how to change their teaching.
Changes in teaching practices
Changes in teaching practices have occurred in some of the schools, but all
of those changes cannot be attributed to the implementation of the core curriculum.
Some of the teachers observed whose teaching practices were the least effective
reported having no difficulty implementing the core curriculum. In schools where
best practice was observed, administrators had set clear expectations for and
teachers had committed to changing teaching practices. Site-based professional
development in those schools has focused on teaching and learning, and teachers
in those schools have participated in study groups to research effective classroom
strategies. In several of the schools, the cultures have changed to include
sharing of ideas, observation in classrooms, and collaborative planning. Some
of the schools have even identified themes for the school or from grade levels
around which to organize and integrate the curriculum.
Interviewees also did not agree on whether implementing the core curriculum
has resulted in changes in what they teach. Some teachers reported teaching
what they have always taught, while others reported that new textbooks had changed
the content of their instruction. Some reported that the core curriculum has
narrowed the scope of what they must teach, while others reported that the core
curriculum has freed them from the confines of what they have always taught.
Others see the core curriculum as a welcome change and a great support for effective,
creative teaching practices.
In one school, interviewees expressed concern that the core curriculum did
not match the ITBS. In another school, teachers correlated the performance indicators
of the core curriculum to the ITBS, choosing to teach to those objectives from
the core curriculum that matched the ITBS, in effect continuing to make
the ITBS the curriculum of the KCMSD.
A criticism of the core curriculum that was voiced by several interviewees
was that there were no models of assessment as part of the core curriculum.
These interviewees do not feel that they have the experience or the skill to
develop good assessments, and they are looking to the KCMSD to provide, if not
an assessment, as least models and professional development to help them in
redesigning assessment.
A number of interviewees reported changing their classroom assessments to align
with the MAP, with its focus on writing, problem-solving, and performance. High
school teachers also reported using more projects and performances for assessment
purposes because of the core curriculum. And teachers at all levels described
experimenting with or using portfolios as part of the assessment process.
Several teachers expressed the concern that at the elementary level, the report
card is not aligned with the core curriculum. They would like to see a redesign
of the report card to reflect the benchmarks of the curriculum. Using such a
report card would communicate to students and parents that the core curriculum
is the frame through which student learning and performance is judged.
Materials and resources for implementation
No interviewees reported that materials and supplies had been provided
to support the implementation of the core curriculum. In some schools,
adequate materials and supplies were reported to be available. In others, teachers
listed manipulatives, hands-on materials, print and text resources, maps and
globes, and technology as materials they needed to fully implement the curriculum.
Teachers particularly noted the dearth of materials for teaching social studies
and science. To implement the social studies curriculum, teachers need materials
about the state of Missouri. Most teachers reported the new science text adopted
by the KCMSD to align well with the core curriculum, but because it is an experienced-based
program, it requires large amounts of supplies and materials not readily available
in schools.
Observers noted that the amount, quality, and capabilities of technology resources varied from school to school. In some of the schools, computer hardware and software are available and up to date, while in others, computers and software are out-dated. Few of the schools visited had adequate Internet access for student research use.
Teachers are beginning to implement the core curriculum, but the level and quality of implementation is inconsistent across the schools, and in some schools, across the classrooms. Teachers perceive little support from the district level for that implementation. In schools where administrators and teachers set clear expectations for implementation of the core curriculum and are committed to collaborating to support one another as they work to determine what full implementation of the curriculum implies in terms of teaching, learning, and assessment, teachers seem well on their way to changing what and how they teach and assess. In schools where administrators and teachers have not reached consensus about or made a commitment to implementing the core curriculum, there is less progress.
To see that schools in the KCMSD fully implement the core curriculum, this researcher recommends that the KCMSD:
1. make explicit that the core curriculum is the KCMSD curriculum, not the ITBS;
2. make explicit the expectation that the core curriculum is to be fully implemented at all schools;
3. clearly state that implementation of the core curriculum requires teachers to adopt and use teaching practices that support the kinds of student performance described in the core curriculum and assessed in the MAP tests;
4. provide materials and supplies necessary to implement the core curriculum;
5. ensure that all students and teachers have access to high quality and up-to-date technology as part of the core curriculum implementation;
6. provide, and support the provision of at the school level, high quality professional development that is embedded in the teaching/learning process and that includes opportunities for modeling, coaching, mentoring, and collaboration for teachers;
7. provide model assessments and assessment tasks and provide quality professional development and assistance to teachers in designing curriculum based assessments that are part of, rather than separate from, learning activities;
8. develop a new report card, at least for the elementary schools, that is aligned with the core curriculum;
9. institute a short-term moratorium on teacher evaluation for those teachers willing to try new teaching strategies in their classrooms; and
10. align teacher evaluation with the core curriculum and the best practice teaching that is necessary to support it.