Common Core State Standards is Building Thinkers
by Jenni Lipez Clausen
In the 2009-2010 school year, my work in learning about the Common Core State Standards in Mathematics (CCSS) began. As a Math Teacher Specialist in Frederick County, MD, I was part of a small team of about five math leaders that was charged to learn about the CCSS knowing that Maryland had adopted the set of standards and would need instructional leaders at the county level to lead this exciting change across the county’s 36 elementary schools.
And so our work began. Countless meetings were organized in the fall of 2009 to work together to build our understanding of what the CCSS were all about. We recognized quite clearly and quickly there would be shifts that had to be made in our traditional mathematics classrooms to honor the integrity of the Common Core. In the spring of 2010, we introduced the Standards for Mathematical Practice to teachers to ignite their learning about the Practices. The Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) are a set of standards that work in tandem with the content standards that describe the practices and behaviors a rich mathematical environment encompass. These standards are shared from kindergarten through twelfth grade, growing in sophistication based on the complexity of the content. Both content standards and practice standards are part of the CCSS and both must be understood in order to create the most outstanding math experiences for students.
In the 2010-2011 school year, our primary teachers took on the great change from the Maryland State Curriculum to the CCSS. In the 2011-2012 school year, our intermediate teachers made the transition from the MD State Curriculum to the CCSS. This transition could not have occurred without the month long summer curriculum writing sessions in the summers of 2010 and 2011. Elementary teachers as well as math leaders in the county collaborated to create grade level pacing guides, common assessments, and electronic resources to share with the teachers. Another essential move our county made to help teachers learn and prepare for the content standards was providing half day back –to- school professional development sessions. The professional development did not stop there. Each school has one teacher representative attend monthly math professional learning days facilitated by math leaders from the county. Those teacher representatives then take their learning back to teachers within their schools and share out. These monthly math meetings continue to occur as there is so much to learn with the math content as well as the instructional shifts that are critical in preparing our students for 21st century college and career readiness.
Through my work in helping to develop teachers’ content and pedagogical knowledge involving the CCSS and through my experience delivering instruction to students using the CCSS, I believe this change is what will build and is building a new generation of mathematical thinkers, not just students who memorize mathematical procedures. Students are developing a strong foundation in number and operations which entails a deep conceptual understanding also balanced with procedural fluency. This foundation will lead to more students having a readiness for advanced mathematics courses in high school and college. Our students, and hopefully more girls, will enter fields requiring math backgrounds more often. Our students will be set up to solve real world problems using reasoning and logic and able to critique the reasoning of others as well as justify their own thinking based on sound evidence. Our students will be given the opportunity to learn in ways our ever changing world demands us to change. We must change.
Editor’s Note: Jenni Clausen is a Math Teacher Specialist at Hillcrest Elementary School, Frederick, MD; Frederick County Public School Elementary Mathematics Leadership and Advisory Team Member. A graduate of Lock Haven University, she holds a Masters in Elementary Math from Walden University and an Elementary Math Instructional Leader Certificate, MD State Department of Education. This article was requested by The Record as part of background gathering as the Keystone Central School District transitions to the Common Core.
