Standards

Standards

"Standards serve as guideposts for schools, and more importantly, for teachers. Teachers, parents and students use them as a tool to focus on what students are expected to learn. Without standards, districts and schools don't have goals to shoot for. By matching what is taught in the classroom to the standards in each subject area, students (and their parents and teachers) will know what teachers should be teaching, what students should be learning and what they will be tested on." It also insures that all students have exposure to the same material, an important and key idea when teaching high school mathematics.

"Standards spell out what students are expected to learn in each grade and each subject. Each state Department of Education creates standards for schools within the state. These standards become the basis for the way teachers are trained, what they teach and what is on state standardized tests that students take." [Citation Below]

Each of the standards listed below ensure that students are learning what they are supposed to be and that the educator is upholding their responsibility of teaching in a caring, compassionate, and competent way.

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**Certification Standards **
[|Maine's Ten Initial Teacher Certification Standards]

 An important part of "teacher induction", or becoming certified to become a teacher is the ability to meet initial certification standards. The above link is directed to a page that lists the ten standards, a description of the ten that the "candidate" should be able to demonstrate, as well as what abilities are included in order to achieve that specific standard.

Teaching Standards
[|The Common Core State Standards]

This resource is a link to the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), the learning standards that Maine has adopted for mathematics and all schools must begin to use. The goal of the Common Core State Standards is to move towards greater focus and coherence in learning mathematics. The CCSS's mission statement is to "provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

 This site provides an introduction, outline of expectations, and specific listing of domains and clusters that are expected to be taught from kindergarten to high school. This resource also provides notes on courses and transitions as well as a mathematics glossary.

[|Maine.gov: Mathematics]

[|Maine Learning Results: Mathematics]

This resource is a link to the Maine learning results, or the standards that Maine used to uphold teachers to before transitioning to the Common Core State Standards. As a state currently using two different forms of standards, this resource is important for me to have access to so that old lessons and collaborative ideas can be transitioned from the MLR standards to the CCSS standards.

The Maine Learning Result standards in mathematics believe " education must equip all students with mathematical skills that provide them with the flexibility, adaptability, and creativity to function as productive citizens in the changing technological society of the twenty-first century. Mathematical skills must extend beyond the ability to calculate into the use of mathematics to investigate, analyze, and interpret."

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">In addition, "thinking mathematically is critical to every life skill from balancing a checkbook to understanding the newspaper. People use math skills daily to identify problems, look for information that will help solve the problems, consider a variety of solutions, and communicate the best solution to others"

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM) Standards]

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">This link provides resources that helps educators create high quality lessons that align with the Common Core State Standards. Created from the resource, "the //Principles and Standards for School Mathematics,// this resource outlines the essential components of a high-quality mathematics program. It presents a content that requires a common foundation to be learned by all student. The //Standards// are a guide for focused efforts to improve students' school mathematics."

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Standards are provided for the following topics: Numbers & Operations, Algebra, Geometry, Measurement, and Data Analysis and Probability. Each of the standards provide grade- appropriate standards and activities, alongside electronic examples and activities and video reflections.

**<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Student Teaching Standards **
<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">[|National Center for Education Statistics] <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The Contextual Factors Analysis is a document required of all student teachers preparing their teachers work sample. In this document, student teachers are asked to collect and interpret data regarding the school and the surrounding community in which they are teaching in. Data can, but is not restricted to, include statistics such as the size of the surrounding community that attends this schools, how many students are in each grade, how many English Language Learners there are, how many students receive free or reduced lunch, school expenditures, as well as student to teacher ratios and enrollment statistics.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">In collecting such data, the student teacher is able to better understand the environment in which his or her students come from and gain new perspectives not only on how students learn best, but what they already know. In a sense, the CFA is a pre-assessment of what students already know in a community sense. The above site provides the student teacher with access to sizable amounts of data based upon entering the school into the search engine.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Teacher Work Samples <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">As a whole, the teacher work sample demonstrates a student teachers ability and competency not only in teaching the subject, but in teaching the subject in such a way that content is engaging, relevant, and tangible to students. The teacher's work sample provides a snapshot of //who// the student teacher is, what his or her values are, and how he or she has grown and learned in the process.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">The teacher work samples linked above are digital and present the completed product of a teachers work sample. A teacher's work sample is to include a the CFA, learning goals, the assessment plan, the design for instruction, instructional decision making, an analysis of student learning, and a reflection and self-evaluation. These specific links are good references to use as I begin next semester, my student teaching.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">Standards Portfolios <span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">An important step in being recognized or reaching the goal in student teaching is providing evidence in the ability to meet Maine's Ten Initial Certification Standards. In student teaching, the teachers must be able to demonstrate their ability to meet each standard by providing two artifacts and writing rationale statements as to why they believe the artifact meets the standards.

<span style="font-family: 'Palatino Linotype','Book Antiqua',Palatino,serif; font-size: 110%;">In the link above, there are several examples of standards portfolios. Each is done in its own unique style, using wix.com. This website will be a great reference as I begin my student teaching next semester.

[|Introduction for Standards Paragraph:] Greatschools Staff,. "Why are standards important?." //Great Schools//. Great Schools, 2011. Web. 5 Dec 2011. <http://www.greatschools.org/students/academic-skills/556-why-are-standards-important.gs>.