Inquiring Into the Common Core

Nancy Fichtman Dana is currently professor of education in the School of Teaching and Learning at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Hannibal Central Schools, New York. Since earning her PhD from Florida State University in 1991, she has been a passionate advocate for teacher inquiry and has worked >extensively in supporting schools, districts and universities in implementing powerful programs of job-embedded professional development through inquiry across the United States and in several countries, including China, South Korea, Belgium, Portugal, The Netherlands, Slovenia, and Estonia. She has published ten books and over 100 articles in professional journals and edited books focused on her research exploring teacher and principal professional development and practitioner inquiry. Dana has received many honors, including the Association of Teacher Educator's Distinguished Research in Teacher Education Award and the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward) Book of the Year Award, both honoring Dana and Yendol-Hoppey's work related to practitioner inquiry. Jamey Bolton Burns is currently a District Coordinator for the Lastinger Center for Learning in the College of Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville. In her role of district coordinator, she develops and implements differentiated professional development for teachers, coaches and principals, and facilitates teacher inquiry leaders throughout the district. She works intensively with Title I schools across the district and recently developed a professional learning community of principals and coaches that are systematically studying their implementation of the common core state standards. She has also coordinated an alternative Educator Preparation Institute through the University of Florida where she trained alternatively certified teachers in high need schools. Before working with the Lastinger Center, she was an inclusion teacher in both second and third grades and worked in a reading clinic helping students with dyslexia, ADHD and Autism. Rachel Wolkenhauer currently serves as Teacher in Residence for the Lastinger Center for Learning in the College of Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career as a third and fourth grade teacher and became an avid teacher researcher. In her role as Teacher in Residence for the Lastinger Center, she develops and facilitates inquiry-oriented professional development for pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and school administrators. Her work emphasizes practitioner inquiry as a mechanism for teacher leadership and as a pedagogical approach that encourages highly engaged teaching and learning.

List of Figures Foreword by Ann Lieberman Preface Acknowledgments About the Authors 1. The Common Core and Inquiry What is the Common Core? How did the Common Core Develop? Why Is the Common Core Important? How Is the Common Core Different from the Status Quo? What Difference Will the Common Core Make to Teachers and Students? How Can Teachers Learn More About the Common Core and Its Relationship to Their Practice? How Can Teachers Actualize the Common Core in their Daily Approach to Teaching? Where Can I Learn More About the Common Core? 2. Teacher Inquiry: The Basics What is Inquiry? Components of the Inquiry Process Where Can I Learn More About Inquiry? 3. Teacher Inquiry Into the Common Core: The Story of Lareal Finding a Wondering and Developing an Inquiry Plan The Start of Lareal's Inquiry Collaborating with the Reading Coach Continuing the Inquiry Journey Summative Data Analysis and Sharing with Woodson Faculty 4. Student Inquiry: The Basics What is Student Inquiry? What Is the Relationship Between Student Inquiry and the Common Core State Standards? How is Teaching as Inquiry Different from the Status Quo? What Does Teaching as Inquiry Look Like in Practice? What's the General Structure for Student Inquiry? Where Can I Learn More About Student Inquiry? 5. Student Inquiry and the Common Core: The Story of Mary First Things First: Creating a Culture of Inquiry Starting Small: An Inquiry-Based Lesson Expanding Horizons: An Inquiry-Based Unit 6. Making the Common Core Come Alive Through Inquiry: Lessons Learned Lessons About Teacher Inquiry and the Common Core State Standards Lessons About Student Inquiry and the Common Core State Standards The Most Important Lesson References Index

"A well-organized, easy-to-read format makes Inquiring into the Common Core a great resource to guide teacher inquiry, discussions in professional learning communities, or a schoolwide book study. Centered around the stories and reflective voices of teachers, this book provides authentic and practical tools and resources for educators to effectively engage in the complex and rewarding work of understanding and applying these new standards for student learning." -- Mary Conage, Title I Director "Using inquiry as a means of addressing the Common Core Standards is a wonderful way to transform the learning experiences for everyone. With teachers and students as learners, leaders and inquirers, the inquiry process provides a great framework for diving into the Common Core Standards. This book highlights possibilities for teaching and learning with the ingenuity of teachers and the resilience of students as they venture into the raised standards of the Common Core." -- Donnan Stoicovy, Lead Learner "In Inquiring Into the Common Core, Nancy Dana has provided practitioners with another 'go to' book for ideas and guidance. Teachers, principals, and central office administrators will discover a very helpful book full of useful examples and references for implementing the Common Core State Standards. Once again, Nancy and her colleagues guide educators through the inquiry process with a focus on increased student learning. Inquiring Into the Common Core presents a well conceived process for using teacher and student inquiry to implement the Common Core State Standards." -- Cynthia Simonsen, Director of Learning and Instruction "We must answer the call of the Common Core to empower our teachers as professionals and inquirers. Dana, Burns and Wolkenhauer provide a framework for how to go about this work in a clear and urgent manner. The Common Core is clear about what to teach. How to teach is up to us. To reach the promise of the Common Core, we must position ourselves as studiers of our own practice. As good as we are, we can always get better; this is the inherent message of Inquiring Into the Common Core. Inquiry is not a scary thing!" -- Katherine Reed, Teacher Development Specialist "This book is clearly a must read for any educator responsible for implementing the Common Core State Standards. Through authentic classroom examples, the authors present a compelling argument for using inquiry as both a powerful professional learning design for developing teachers' expertise in the implementation of the Common Core, and as an effective instructional approach to actively engage students in their learning of the standards." -- Amy B. Colton, Executive Director "In the book Inquiring Into the Common Core, practitioners will find a roadmap, travel guide, and even 'snap shots' of inquiry work with the Common Core standards. As we travel a new path in education with the Common Core standards, the pioneers of this book and the teachers at Woodson Elementary provide practical tips and motivate us for the journey. Readers will learn how to use Common Core standards as the map and inquiry as the vehicle for the learning ride of a lifetime! THIS is how we should approach bringing the Common Core standards to life in our classrooms." -- Kathy Christensen, 2010 Florida Elementary Reading Coach of the Year "Inquiring Into the Common Core is an excellent resource for educators who want to make the conversion to Common Core successfully. For anyone questioning the purpose of this broad movement in education, the authors provide us with the What, How and Why. Most importantly, this book helps to eliminate any fear associated with the transition to Common Core. This is a 'teacher-friendly' book; the authors truly understand and convey the complexities of the modern classroom and the relationship between teaching and learning. The way the authors have successfully and effectively linked learning theory to instructional practice is truly refreshing." -- Neyland G. Clark, Superintendent