BAM

BAM! EdWords

Eduflack BAM, CCSS, Science, teachers

Eduflack readers know that I co-host a regular radio program on the BAM! Radio Network about Common Core and successful implementation efforts around the country. I’ve been doing those segments for about two years now, and greatly enjoy the opportunity to talk with educators and education leaders about what is actually working in our classrooms.

Recently, BAM! decided to launch a new platform called EdWords, providing commentaries that complement the content on its radio programs. I’m proud that Eduflack has been asked to contribute the written word to that platform, writing about Common Core implementation.

The first piece I have up on EdWords is a familiar one to Eduflack readers. Late last year, I wrote of a terrific third grade teacher who was using science and astronomy and non-fiction texts to help teach Common Core standards. That piece is now up at EdWords, focusing on how Common Core and content can get along.

I hope you’ll give it a read and give it a share. And check out all of the fabulous written content that BAM! is now making available to the education community. It is definitely worth the time.

 

Gaming and the #CommonCore

Eduflack 21CS, BAM, CCSS, teachers, technology, Uncategorized

As the urban legend goes, educators are provided little flexibility when it comes to teaching the Common Core State Standards. Those who don’t quite understand what the standards are assume it comes with a proscribed curriculum, one that teachers must follow to the very letter.

But in classrooms across the country, we see educators empowered with the flexibility to do what makes sense in teaching the Common Core to their students. With learning as the ultimate goal, how one gets there isn’t as important as the final destination.

On Common Core Radio this week, LFA’s Cheryl Scott Williams and I speak with Rebecca Rufo-Tepper of the Institute of Play. In this segment, Dr. Rufo-Tepper discusses how educators are using gaming to help students learn the key tenets of Common Core, and do so successfully.

It’s definitely worth the listen. We are seeing more and more how gaming can be a tremendously effective tool in 21st century teaching. Using it to relay Common Core lessons to students is no different.

 

 

 

Breaking News: Principals Can, Do Make #CommonCore Work

Eduflack BAM, CCSS, teachers

In what Eduflack is sure is a huge surprise to many, the Common Core can actually be implemented effectively. And it can be done in schools, with strong principal leadership and respect for and involvement of teachers. This isn’t just an urban legend, we are actually seeing it.

Case in point, Florida’s West Port High School and the efforts of Jayne Ellspermann and the entire staff at the school. On our most recent edition of Common Core Radio over at BAM, the Learning First Alliance’s Cheryl Williams and I talk to Ellspermann about her experiences and what good implementation looks like in her school.

Give it a listen. You might be surprised to hear that Common Core implementation doesn’t have to be contentious or anti-teacher or the sixth horseman of the apocalypse. In fact, it can be a huge benefit for kids and educators alike.

Is Anyone Getting #CommonCore Right These Days?

Eduflack accountability, BAM, CCSS, teachers

Over at Politico this week, Kimberly Hefling has a terrific piece on how Common Core has “quietly won the war,” noting a thrust that seems to get lost in all of the heated rhetoric and vitriol about standards. That fact is that four out of every five school-aged kids in the United States, more than 40 million learners all together, are currently being instructed under a Common Core frame.

Granted, there is disagreement on what that means, with most Common Core haters focusing on their ire on those dreaded tests. And while they are connected along a continuum, we cannot forget that standards are not curriculum. They are not instructional materials. They are not professional development for educators. And no, standards themselves are not the tests.

Dear ol’ Eduflack has been trying to make that point since 2008, when it looked like we were jumping right from needed Common Core standards (which I remain a steadfast supporter of) directly to the assessment, without worrying about all that has to happen in the middle to get from a standard to an effective measure of whether the standard has been learned and can be demonstrated.

Over at Common Core Radio this month, we are fortunate to speak with one of those education leaders who understands that point and did just incredible work to make it a reality in his state. Kentucky was one of the earliest adopters of Common Core. And today it stands as one of the best examples of how we can get Common Core implementation right.

In this episode, Cheryl Scott Williams, the executive director of the Learning First Alliance, and I speak with Terry Holliday, the recently retired education commissioner for the Commonwealth of Kentucky. In this segment, we explore why Common Core is working in Kentucky, and what others can learn from it.

For those looking for the shortcut, the secret is educator involvement. Teachers involved in unpacking the standards to relate it to the actual teaching in the classroom. Teachers involved in identifying needed PD. And teachers actually part of the process to construct a state assessment that works for schools, for teachers, and for the students themselves.

Yes, we can get Common Core right. And we need to get it right. Commissioner Holliday provides some needed common sense and practical experience to help us all see how to get there.  Give it a listen.

#CommonCore, Through Teacher and Legislator Eyes

Eduflack BAM, CCSS, teachers

In the trenches of the Common Core State Standards battle, it is common to hear educators lament that legislators and policymakers just don’t understand what it is like to be a teacher or to know what is being asked of teachers when it comes to implementing Common Core.

On the flip side, many legislators have grown tired of teachers constantly saying that if you have never taught in a classroom, you have no business developing or even talking about laws and policies in the field of P-12 education.

Such realities set up instant showdowns, and, more often than not, have the educator and policy communities talking past each other, when they should be working together on important issues such as what we expect each and every student to actually learn.

That’s why Eduflack is so excited to announce that BAM! Radio Network has brought back Common Core Radio, the show I’ve been hosting since 2013. Now, I am joined by Cheryl Williams, the executive director of the Learning First Alliance, as we talk about what educators, parents, policymakers, and all those in between are doing to help successfully implement Common Core in their classrooms, schools, communities, districts, and states.

To kick us off, this week we have Eric Luedtke. Luedtke brings a fairly unique perspective to this discussion. First and foremost, he is a middle school social studies teacher in Montgomery County (MD) Public Schools. As an added bonus, he is also an elected member of the Maryland House of Delegates.

Imagine that, a teacher/legislator. In this episode, Williams and I talk to Luedtke about his experiences balancing both roles, and how he helps legislators understand the teacher perspective on Common Core, and how he helps reassure educators that their legislators are indeed listening to the classroom when it comes to standards and student expectations.

The episode, Debunking the Myths on the Path to Successful Common Core Implementation, can be found on the BAM! website or can be downloaded from iTunes. And for those who are always asking, there have been more than a million downloads of BAM! programming since the network was launched.

Happy listening! I promise you won’t be disappointed in Common Core Radio.

Universal Design and the Common Core

Eduflack BAM, CCSS, teachers, Uncategorized

We continue to hear a constant, deafening drumbeat about the Common Core State Standards. The good, the bad, and the ugly. But how often does Universal Design for Learning fit into that discussion?

Over at BAM Radio, the latest episode of #CommonCoreRadio is now up. This time around, we talk with Dr. Katie Novak, a reading coordinator in the Massachusetts public schools and author of UDL Now! A Teacher’s Monday Morning Guide to Implementing Common Core Standards using Universal Design for Learning.

BAM Radio: Universal Design and the Common Core

It’s an interesting discussion of UDL and how it can actually work as part of our common core implementation efforts. Happy listening!

Common Core Radio: Cast your Bammy Vote!

Eduflack BAM, CCSS

As many Eduflack readers know, for the past few months I have been a part of the BAM Radio Network, co-hosting its Common Core Radio show with educator Darren Burris. On these segments, we’ve been able to explore important issues related to effective CCSS implementation. Everything from textbook alignment to educator supports, PISA and parochial schools, early childhood education to the delay of high-stakes consequences.

I got involved in the show because I personally believe we need to do more to highlight the importance of CCSS and how to ensure it is implemented effectively. It is far too easy to demonize the standards. It is much harder to talk about what is going right and what we can learn from the process. BAM Radio has provided that platform with Common Core Radio.
With each episode, I learn something new. And I’m fortunate to work with a terrific co-host and a great producer. So it is particularly heartening to learn that Darren and I have been nominated for a Bammy Award in Education in the Talk Show Host(s) category.
The Bammies noted:
Much of the conversation around common core standards involves supporters and detractors talking at each other, past each other or exchanging dueling Twitter posts and blog posts. #Common Core Radio is where you hear Uncommonly, thoughtful, informed and civil discussions about implementing Common Core Standards. Each episode features discussion on new developments, emerging issues, trends and interviews with Common Core news makers. Both Darren and Patrick highlight interesting perspectives as well as gathering from the incredible guests on their program, from Randi Weingarten to Cheryl Scott Williams, to Governor Bob Wise.
Now the voting begins. Yeah, yeah, I know, it is an honor to just be nominated. But let’s get out there and cast some votes and show some love for Common Core Radio. Cast your votes here. As they say in Chicago, vote early, vote often!
 

Ensuring the Time for CCSS Implementation

Eduflack accountability, BAM, CCSS

Each day, we seem to be reading a new headline about states experiencing testing challenges. These concerns, coupled with the conspiracy theories from both the far left and far right on the “true” intents of Common Core State Standards have some looking to pull the plug on CCSS, their implementation, and the tests that go along with it.

There is no question that implementing the CCSS is a complicated endeavor, one that requires significant time and attention. Collectively, we have one chance to get this right. There are no do-overs or second chances. 
So why not ensure that we provide states and districts and schools and educators the time to actually do it right the first time? Why not make sure we take the standards, implement them, align the curriculum and materials, and provide the needed professional development BEFORE we start using test results in high-stakes ways?
That’s the topic of the latest installment of BAM Radio’s Common Core Radio show, found here.  In this episode, we speak with Cheryl Scott Williams, the executive director of the Learning First Alliance and Kathleen Porter Magee, the Bernard Lee Schwartz Fellow at the Fordham Institute.
Give it a listen!  It is a great conversation, reinforcing the importance of identifying those states and districts where CCSS implementation is going well.

The Imposing CCSS “Alignment”

Eduflack BAM, CCSS

Are today’s classroom materials aligned with the Common Core State Standards?  That is the question that professors from University of Southern California and Michigan State University discussed at a recent Education Writers Association seminar. After analyzing “40-50 textbooks covering first through ninth grades — books that are used by roughly 60 percent of U.S. school children,” there answer to this important question was a strong “no.”

On the latest edition of Common Core Radio on BAM Radio Network, we talk with Grant Wiggins and Student Achievement Partners’ Sandra Alberti about this latest analysis and what educators should expect when it comes to instructional materials and CCSS alignment.
Check out the full show here.  It is a great forward-looking discussion.

Common Core Outside the Classroom

Eduflack BAM, CCSS

We are hearing a great deal these days about the Common Core State Standards and what educators, students, parents, and just about everyone else needs to do to successfully implement (or intentionally block) their implementation in the classroom.

But what can be done to support the learning of the Common Core beyond traditional school hours and outside of the traditional classroom?  That question is the subject of a new report out from the National Center for Time and Learning, Redesigning and Expanding School Time to Support Common Core Implementation.  And it is the topic of our latest Common Core Radio segment.
On BAM Radio, my cohost and I explore the new NCTL report and how outside-of-school-time activities can help better implement the learning expectations of the Common Core.  For this edition of Common Core Radio, we speak with NCTL’s Jennifer Davis and Jennifer Reinhart of the Afterschool Alliance.
You can hear the full segment here, as well as visit some of the previous Common Core Radio segments.
Happy listening!