Getting Ready for College, Careers, and the Common Core: What Every Educator Needs to Know

by David T. Conley

Overview

Written for all educators (with the spotlight on those at the secondary level), this important resource shows teachers and school leaders alike how they can get students ready for college and careers, while simultaneously preparing them for the Common Core assessments. Getting Ready for College, Careers, and the Common Core is based on numerous research studies conducted by education expert David T. Conley and insights gained from his work with dozens of effective secondary schools. The book offers techniques and strategies for teaching the Common Core State Standards in ways that result in improved learning for all students.

Conley outlines a comprehensive framework for college and career readiness, which can be used to gauge readiness of both students and schools. His nationally known "Four Keys" model (Key Cognitive Strategies, Key Content Knowledge, Key Learning Skills & Techniques, and Key Transition Knowledge & Skills) specifies the teachable knowledge, skills, and abilities students must have to be effective learners. Most importantly, students must be able to take ownership of their learning and make connections between their aspirations and goals and what they are learning in school.

The book helps educators understand the "big picture" behind the Common Core by showing them how to teach toward the "deeper learning" that research has confirmed leads to more complex understanding and greater retention. This type of learning prepares students for the Common Core assessments and for success in college, careers, and beyond.

The book is ideally suited to study and discussion groups, for use by individual educators, and as a schoolwide resource. Central office administrators, board members, and educational policymakers will also find this book to be an essential resource for understanding college and career readiness and the Common Core.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781118585009
Publisher:	Wiley
Publication date:	09/03/2013
Sold by:	JOHN WILEY & SONS
Format:	eBook
Pages:	336
File size:	4 MB

About the Author

David T. Conley, Ph.D., is professor of Educational Policy and Leadership and founder and director of the Center for Educational Policy Research at the University of Oregon. He is also founder, CEO, and chief strategy officer at the Educational Policy Improvement Center (EPIC). In addition, he serves as president of a consulting company devoted to strategic advising and licensing of intellectual property designed to foster new educational methods and models.

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Table of Contents

Preface xi

Acknowledgments xix

The Author xxi

Introduction 1
The Common Core State Standards, Student Ownership of Learning, and College and Career Readiness • The Role of Elementary and Secondary Schools • Overview of the Chapters • Using This Book to Support Implementation of the Common Core State Standards

1 The New Challenge: All Students College and Career Ready 19
Why College and Career Readiness for All? • From Vocational Education to Career Technical Education • The Academic Core • Creating College Readiness and Career Readiness for All • The Rise of College Readiness Standards

2 College Readiness, Career Readiness: Same or Different? 37
Exploring Readiness More Deeply • Connecting Student Interests and Goals to College and Career Readiness • Levels of Readiness • My Defi nition of College and Career Ready

3 The Four Keys to College and Career Readiness 53
The Four Keys: An Overview • Key Cognitive Strategies in Depth • Key Content Knowledge in Depth

4 The Four Keys Continued: Learning Skills and Transition Skills 71
Key Learning Skills and Techniques in Depth • Key Transition Knowledge and Skills in Depth • The Complexity of College and Career Readiness

5 Toward Deeper Learning 99
Some Framing Characteristics of the Learning Process • Knowledge Complexity Progression • What Is Deeper Learning? • Four Models of Deeper Learning • Overview of Research Foundation for Deeper Learning

6 Deeper Learning at the Classroom Level 119
Characteristics of the Deeper Learning Classroom • Challenges of the Deeper Learning Classroom • A Closer Look at Scoring Student Work for Deeper Learning • Deeper Learning, the Common Core State Standards, and College and Career Readiness

7 A Closer Look at the Common Core State Standards 139
Where Did the Common Core Come From? • An Overview of the Common Core State Standards • Structure and Organization of the English Language Arts and Mathematics Standards • The Heart of the Challenge of Teaching the Common Core State Standards • What the Common Core State Standards Don’t Do • Appendix: Key Elements of the Common Core

8 The Common Core State Standards and College and Career Readiness 169
The Reaching the Goal Study • Implementing the Common Core State Standards to Improve College and Career Readiness • Who Owns the Responsibility to Teach the Common Core State Standards? • Understanding Key Areas Related to College and Career Readiness • A Key Role for Elementary School Teachers • The Challenge of the Common Core and College and Career Ready

9 The Consortia Assessments and College and Career Readiness 193
The Goals of the Consortia Assessments • Characteristics of Each Consortium’s Assessment • Preparing for the Consortia Assessments • The Challenge Remaining

10 From an Assessment System to a System of Assessments 215
Performance Tasks: Key Element in a System of Assessments • How a System of Assessments Addresses a Wider Range of Standards • Moving toward Student Profiles

11 Where to from Here? 235
What Will “Ready” Mean? • A Blurring of the Line between High School and College • The Future of the Common Core State Standards and Consortia Assessments • The Overall Outlook Conclusion: Changing Demographics, New Instructional Challenges 263

Appendix: A Nine-Part Readiness System 267

Index 287