WeAreTeachers Blog

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You're busy.  We get that.  And as new standards and testing requirements are introduced, it's can be overwhelming to try to adapt your teaching to new ideas all while maintaining high expectations for achievement in your classroom. But, new standards can be a good thing—really—because with new standards comes an opportunity to grow, learn and even to return to the basics of effective teaching strategies that you know will drive student learning and achievement.  Here are six ways that the Common Core standards can do just that.

1. Common core standards can help you focus on the future.  No longer is a test the end-all for education—but instead, college and career goals are integrated into the standards, so by teaching to the standards, you are teaching skills that will carry your students into their futures.
2. Common core can help you to rethink professional development.The new standards give educators permission to step outside of a pre-conceived box and take risks in the classroom—learning and growing as a corporate professional network instead of as individual teachers working in isolation. That's a lot of creative leverage given directly to you as a teacher—leverage that can be combined with professional growth to assure success.
3. Common core standards can help you focus.  Instead of working to figure out how to teach to a particular test, teachers now have a clear, consistent understanding of what students are expected to learn long-term—so your focus can shift from teaching to a test to teaching students.
4. Common core standards can help you improve instruction.  You no longer have to create every lesson or teaching strategy in isolation, but instead, through common core, you belong to a huge network of teachers, all who are working towards a common goal.  Great minds working together can accomplish great things.
5. Common core standards allow you to be flexible.  No one is telling you to teach a certain topic in a certain way—but instead, you have been given the opportunity to personalize your instruction to fit your students' individual needs within the boundaries of common high expectations.
6. Common core allows for formative assessment.  With the new standards, learning begins with assessment—which means you can allow assessments measure student learning instead of to drive your teaching.  A big shift—but one that was much needed.

Question for you:  How do you assure student achievement regardless of standards or testing?  Tell us and you could win $100, an iPod Touch, an iPad and the opportunity to participate in a professional development course about iPod/iPad teaching.  Click here to learn more.