Looking Forward, Looking Back: Reflections on Values and Pedagogical Choices During Covid-19

In this reflective essay, the author describes teaching a writing pedagogy course for secondary English education students during the Covid-19 pandemic. The author describes two different bodies of literature – ethics of care and high leverage practices -- and reflects how these concepts guided her pedagogical decision making when moving her class online on a short timeline

A Common Vision of Instruction? an Analysis of English/Language Arts Professional Development Materials Related to the Common Core State Standards

The purpose of this article is to describe the stances put forward by a selection of professional development resources interpreting the Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts (ELA) teachers, and to analyse where these resources stand in relation to research in ELA. Specifically, we analyse resources written by English educators and/or literacy scholars and by the lead authors of the ELA standards, David Coleman and Susan Pimentel. The visions of Common Core instruction forwarded by these resources are sometimes similar, but frequently different. These differences illustrate key tensions between the Common Core authors. interpretation of what current instructional practices are-and how they need to be changed-and the perspectives of others from ELA and literacy. We also consider what these materials imply for teachers\u27 voice and autonomy in educational reform

The Changing Ecology of the Curriculum Marketplace in the Era of the Common Core State Standards

This manuscript explores how the changing policy context of common standards may have influenced the provision of curriculum materials in the United States. Many educational reforms do little to change the nature of classroom instruction, and prior research has argued that this constancy is, at least in part, due to the common use of instructional materials from a small set of large publishing companies (Rowan in J Educ Change 3(3–4):283–314, 2002). However, common standards have been in place in many states since 2010, creating the potential for states to create and share curricular materials with each other, as well as for new organizations to enter the curriculum marketplace. Instructional materials provide a direct link to the instructional core, and recent research demonstrates that individual teachers, schools, and districts are increasingly selecting instructional materials from a variety of online sources, including databases of open educational resources and open-access, yearlong curricula. These materials are created, curated, and/or disseminated by state education agencies, nonprofit organizations, for-profit companies, and education employees. In this essay, we describe this new context and provide several cases of the shifting landscape of supply and demand related to curriculum materials. Various configurations of organizations are taking innovative approaches to providing curriculum materials in the context of the Common Core State Standards, as well as to influencing the materials school systems adopt. Finally, we discuss the implications of this backdrop for curriculum policy and practice

Getting Connected: Finding Literacy Resources in the Common Core Era

The authors provide practical, evidence-based advice for teachers and educational leaders looking for helpful curricular and professional resources that support students’ literacy development in the era of the Common Core State Standards

(Un)Commonly Connected: A Social Network Analysis of State Standards Resources for English/Language Arts

As states continue to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), state educational agencies (SEAs) are providing professional development and curricular resources to help districts and teachers understand the standards. However, little is known about the resources SEAs endorse, the states and/or organizations sponsoring these resources, and how states and organizations are connected. This study investigates the secondary English/language arts resources provided by 51 SEAs (2,023 resources sponsored by 51 SEAs and 262 intermediary organizations). Social network analysis of states and sponsoring organizations revealed a core-periphery network in which certain states and organizations were frequently named as the sponsors of resources, while other organizations were named as resource sponsors by only one state. SEAs are providing a variety of types of resources, including professional development, curriculum guidelines, articles, and instructional aids. This study offers insight into the most influential actors providing CCSS resources at the state level, as well as how SEAs are supporting instructional capacity through the resources they provide for teachers

(Un)Commonly Connected

As states continue to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), state educational agencies (SEAs) are providing professional development and curricular resources to help districts and teachers understand the standards. However, little is known about the resources SEAs endorse, the states and/or organizations sponsoring these resources, and how states and organizations are connected. This study investigates the secondary English/language arts resources provided by 51 SEAs (2,023 resources sponsored by 51 SEAs and 262 intermediary organizations). Social network analysis of states and sponsoring organizations revealed a core-periphery network in which certain states and organizations were frequently named as the sponsors of resources, while other organizations were named as resource sponsors by only one state. SEAs are providing a variety of types of resources, including professional development, curriculum guidelines, articles, and instructional aids. This study offers insight into the most influential actors providing CCSS resources at the state level, as well as how SEAs are supporting instructional capacity through the resources they provide for teachers

State Educational Agencies in an Uncertain Environment: Understanding State Provided Networks of English Language Arts Curricular Resources

Rapid adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the Race to the Top (RTTT) competition, and backlash around these policies created widespread uncertainty among state educational agencies (SEAs). SEAs may have not had a clear direction about how to support standards implementation in a new context, and therefore, may have looked to their professional networks, their geographic neighbors or other highly regarded SEAs, or other sources for information and resources to guide their decisions about where to send teachers for information about standards. Drawing on institutional theory (Meyer & Rowan, 1977) and isomorphism specifically (DiMaggio & Powell, 1983), we posit that coercive forces (primarily due to RTTT application and CCSS status) as compared to mimetic and normative forces influenced the organizations to which SEAs turn for curriculum materials. Using Multiple Regression Quadratic Assignment Procedure and a data set of over 2,000 state-provided resources for secondary English Language Arts teachers from all 50 states and Washington, D.C., we indeed found that coercive forces had a relationship with shared organizational ties, demonstrating that RTTT application and CCSS adoption influenced resource provision

Creating Systems of Sustainability: Four Focus Areas for the Future of PK-12 Open Educational Resources

Over the past few years, state and school district education leaders have renewed their focus on the quality of learning materials available in our nation’s classrooms (Chiefs for Change, 2017; RAND Corp., 2016; RAND Corp., 2017). Many leaders have been dismayed to find that existing proprietary textbooks and supplementary resources often do not match their teachers’ and students’ needs (Ishmael, 2018a). Fortunately, there is a growing recognition of teachers and school leaders who are addressing this challenge head-on through open educational resources. Simply put, open educational resources, or OER, are “high quality teaching, learning, and research resources that are free for others to use and repurpose”(Hewlett Foundation, 2015). OER range from entire curricula and textbooks to smaller grain-size learning materials, including assessments, videos and images