I am working this summer as a common core coach for the state of Tennessee. It has been an amazing experience. Tennessee contracted with the Institute for Learning to train 700 coaches across the state. This summer, we will train 34,000 teachers. This is the largest training ever hosted by the TN Department of Education. I have learned so many things such as:
- High level tasks matter
- Enacting tasks in the classroom is vital to student learning
- Accountable Talk in the classroom ensures productive discussions
- Learning how to ask students assessing and advancing questions is necessary
- The practice standards for mathematics are long overdue
- The common core is a great thing!!
I am so excited about the common core and the changes it will bring to instruction and student learning. The standards and practices in themselves are not magic, but the shift of focus from multiple choice assessment to conceptual understanding will benefit student learning. To help teachers in the classroom, I have compiled a list of math tasks in a tab at the top of the page. Please feel free to comment on them and add to the list.