Hand-in-Hand: Curriculum and Instruction

Common Core Part 5 - Aligning Curriculum with the Standards

Timothy Gehle — Sun, 03 Feb 2013 08:22:51 -0700

As the Common Core State Standards (2012) move forward in implementation, a significant concern surrounding that process is curricular re-alignment. Just when district and schools thought they had managed to align to standards, the standards change and a re-alignment is necessitated.

An implementation plan will likely require performing a…

Common Core Part 4 - Implementing the Standards

Timothy Gehle — Sun, 27 Jan 2013 08:22:37 -0700

It is clear that the Common Core State Standards are soon going to be adopted and implementation of the standards required in most, if not every, state in America. The Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSSI) notes that 45 states, the District of Columbia, and four territories have already adopted the standards (Common Core State Standards…

Common Core Part 3 - Standards and Academic Freedom

Timothy Gehle — Sun, 13 Jan 2013 15:23:08 -0700

A concept identified as a "myth" on the website of the Common Core State Standards Initiative (2012, Myths vs. Facts) is the idea that the Standards will prescribe what teachers must teach in the classroom. Unfortunately, the response provided by the Common Core State Standards Initiative (CCSSI) attempts to veil the response and redirect the…

Common Core Part 2 - Are the Standards Up to Par?

Timothy Gehle — Sat, 15 Dec 2012 07:30:07 -0700

One of the indictments of the Common Core State Standards is that they are potentially far too low pandering to the lowest common denominator. That is to say that they use the lowest of the standards recorded to create reachable standards to serve as the national common core. However, the Common Core Standards Initiative (CCSSI) purports to…

Common Core Part 1 – Intro to the Common Core State Standards

Timothy Gehle — Sun, 25 Nov 2012 08:44:01 -0700

In education, ideas are routinely recycled. For example, phonics and whole language approaches have been recycled on multiple occasions. Outcomes-based education was recycled to the modern rendition of standards-based education. Now, with distance learning becoming more commonplace and the trend toward a centralized national curriculum,…

Centralized Curriculum and Academic Freedom

Timothy Gehle — Sat, 20 Oct 2012 12:05:00 -0700

The ideas of academic freedom and centralized curriculum appear on the surface to be diametrically opposed. The notion of academic freedom has dominated the philosophy of college and university professors who are often willing to fight for it if for no other reason than because it has always been a part of the post-secondary faculty culture. Many…

Five Technology Skills: Fitting Them in the Curriculum

Timothy Gehle — Sat, 29 Sep 2012 12:28:57 -0700

The online education magazine eSchool News recently asked its readers what were the most important technology skills for students to know in the modern era (Stansbury, 2012). The readers identified "online literacy," "critical thinking," "the science behind the technology," "adaptability," and "courage" as the most important skills for the modern…

Are Rigor and Quantity Synonymous?

Timothy Gehle — Sun, 26 Aug 2012 08:41:43 -0700

I had the privilege of conducting a focus group with approximately seven learners at a doctoral residency last summer. I simply joined their table over lunch and starting asking questions. As a curriculum developer, I wanted to hear their perceptions of both the curriculum used in their programs and their individual progress. Their perceptions of…