Examining Elementary Literacy Teachers’ Perceptions of their Preparedness to Implement the English Language Arts Common Core State Standards

Yıl 2015, Cilt: 1 Sayı: 1, 19 - 33, 31.07.2015

Melissa Adams-budde Samuel Miller

https://doi.org/10.22596/erj2015.0101.19.33

Öz

The purpose of our study was to examine elementary literacy teachers’ perceptions of their preparedness to implement the ELA CCSS. We defined preparedness across three dimensions: teachers’ perceived levels of knowledge of the standards and its components; efficacy to implement changes; and actual changes to their instructional practices. A survey was developed based on the literature and administered to 158 elementary school teachers in two districts.  Findings document the nature of their professional development and identify areas where additional development opportunities are necessary. While all teachers reported receiving professional development on the ELA CCSS, they varied in knowledge ratings across various dimensions of the standards, self-efficacy ratings, and the degree they reported implementing changes in their practice with the introduction of the ELA CCSS. Discussion focuses on the need to provide more time and supports to teachers as they deal with the challenges of the new standards.

Anahtar Kelimeler

English Language Arts Common Core State Standards, teacher preparedness, instructional change, professional development

Kaynakça

• American Federation of Teachers. (2013). AFT poll of 800 teachers finds strong support for Common Core Standards and a moratorium on stakes for new assessments until everything is aligned [Press Release]. Retrieved from http://www.aft.org/newspubs/ press/2013/050313.cfm.
• Applebee, A. N. (2013). Common Core State Standards: The promise and the peril in a national palimpsest. English Journal, 103(1), 25–33.
• Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD). (2012). Fulfilling the promise of the common http://www.ascd.org/ASCD/pdf/siteASCD/commoncore/CCSSSummitReport. state standards. Retrieved from ASCD website:
• Au, W. (2007). High-stakes testing and curricular control: A qualitative metasynthesis. Educational Researcher, 36(5), 258–267.
• Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.
• Bandura, A. (2006). Adolescent development from an agentic perspective. In F. Pajares & T. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp. 1–44). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
• Beach, R. (2011, December). Analyzing how formalists, cognitive-processing, and literacy practices learning paradigms shaping the implementation of the Common Core State Standards. Paper session presented at the Literacy Research Association, Jacksonville, FL.
• Berliner, D. C. (2004). Describing the behavior and documenting the accomplishments of expert teachers. Bulletin of Science, Technology & Society, 24(3), 200-212.
• Birman, B. F., Desimone, L., Porter, A. C., & Garet, M. S. (2000). Designing professional development that works. Educational Leadership, 57(8), 28–33.
• Chrysostomou, M., & Philippou, G. N. (2010). Teachers’ epistemological beliefs and efficacy beliefs about mathematics. Procedia – Social and Behavior Sciences, 9, 1509–1515. doi: 10.10/j.sbspro.210.12.357
• Clotfelter, C. T., Ladd, H. F., & Vigdor, J. L. (2007). Teacher credentials and student achievement: Longitudinal analysis with fixed student effects. Economics of Educational Review, 26(2), 673-682.
• Council of the Great City Schools. (2012). Implementing the Common Core State Standards in urban public from Centricity/Domain/87/Implementing%20the%20Common%20Core%20State%20Standards.pdf
• Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Darling Hammond. (2010). The flat world of education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. New York: Teacher’s College.
• Desimone, L. M. (2009). Improving impact studies of teachers’ professional development: Toward better conceptualizations and measures. Educational Researcher, 38(3), 181–199.
• Duffy, G. G. (2005). Developing metacognitive teachers: Visioning and expert's changing role in teacher education and professional development. In S.E. Israel, C. C. Block, & K. L. Bauserman (Eds.), Metacognition in literacy learning: Theory, assessment, instruction, and professional development (pp. 299–314). Mahwah, NJ: Routledge.
• Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. (2013). Findings from a national survey of teacher perspectives on the Common Core. Bethesda, MD: Author.
• Emmer, E., & Hickman, J. (1991). Teacher efficacy in classroom management and discipline. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 51, 755-765.
• Field, A. P. (2013). Discovering statistics using IBM SPSS Statistics: And sex and drugs and rock and roll (4th ed.). London: Sage.
• Giallo, R., & Little, E. (2003). Classroom behaviour problems: The relationship between preparedness, classroom experiences, and self-efficacy in graduate and student teachers. Australian Journal of Education and Developmental Psychology, 3, 21–34.
• Goldhaber, D., & Anthony, E. (2007). Can teacher quality be effectively assessed? National Board Certification as a signal of effective teaching. The Review of Economics and Statistics, 89, 134-150.
• Guskey, T. R. (2009). Closing the knowledge gap on effective professional development. Education Horizons, 87(4), 224–233.
• Hall, G. E., & Hord, S. M. (2011). Implementation: Learning builds the bridge between research and practice. Journal of Staff Development, 32(4), 52–57.
• Howell, D.C. (2007). Statistical methods for psychology: Sixth edition. Belmont, CA: Thomason Higher Education.
• Kane, T. J., Rockoff, J. E., & Staiger, D. O. (2008). What does certification tell us about teacher effectiveness? Evidence from New York City. Economics of Education Review, 27(6), 615-631.
• Kober, N., McIntosh, S., & Rentner, D. S. (2013). Year three of implementing the Common Core State Standards: Professional development for teachers and principals. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational Policy website: http://www.cep- dc.org/display Document.cfm?DocumentID=422
• Kober, N., & Rentner, D. S. (2011a). States’ progress and challenges in implementing Common Core State Standards. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational Policy website http://www.cep-dc.org/displayDocument.cfm? DocumentID=343
• Kober, N., & Rentner, D. S. (2011b). Progress and challenges in school districts’ implementation. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational Policy website http://www.cep-dc.org/displayDocument. cfm?DocumentID=374
• Kober, N., & Rentner, D. S. (2012). Year two of implementing the Common Core State Standards: States’ progress and challenges. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational servlet/ERICServlet?accno=ED528907 website:
• http://www.eric.ed.gov/ contentdelivery/
• Learning Forward. (2012). Definition of professional development. Oxford, OH: Learning Forward. Retrieved from: http://www.learningforward.org/who-we-are/professional-learning-definition#.Uqt5A8RDtXk.
• Levin, B., & He, Y. (2008). Investigating the content and sources of teacher candidates’ personal practical theories (PPTs). Journal of Teacher Education, 59(1), 55–68.doi: 10.1177/0022487107310749
• Litwin, M. S. (1995). How to measure survey reliability and validity. The Survey Kit (Volume 7). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage Publications.
• Lincoln, Y. S., & Guba, E. G. (1985). Naturalistic inquiry. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage. McLaughlin, B. M., & Overturf, K-5 standards. Reading Teacher, 66(2), 153–164. J. (2012). The Common Core: Insights into the
• McMurrer, J., & Frizzell, M. (2013). Year three of implementing the Common Core State Standards: State education agencies’ views of postsecondary involvement. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational Policy website http://www.cep-dc.org/publications /index.cfm?selectedYear=2013
• Merriam, S. B. (1985). The case study in educational research: A review of selected literature. Journal of Educational Thought, 19(3), 204–217.
• Miles, M. B., Huberman, A. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis, (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Murphy, P., & Regenstein, E. (2012). Putting a price tag on the Common Core: How much will smart implementation cost. Thomas B. Fordham Institute. Washington, D.C.
• National Governors Association (NGA) & Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO). (2010). Common Core State Standards for English Language Arts & Literacy in History/Social Studies, Science, and Technical Subjects. Washington, DC: CCSSO & National Governors Association.
• Ormrod, J. E. (2006). Educational psychology: Developing learners (5th ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson/Merrill Prentice Hall.
• Pajares, M. F. (2006). Self-efficacy during childhood and adolescence: Implications for teachers and parents. In M. F. Pajares & T. Urdan (Eds.), Self-efficacy beliefs of adolescents (pp. 339–367). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
• Rentner, D. S. (2013a). Year three of implementing the Common Core State Standards: An overview of states’ progress and challenges. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational Policy website: http://www.cep-dc.org/publications/index.cfm? selectedYear=2013
• Rentner, D. S. (2013b). Year three of implementing the Common Core State Standards: State education agencies view on the federal role. Washington, DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center selectedYear=2013 Policy website:
• http://www.cep-dc.org/publications/index.cfm?
• Rentner, D. S. (2013c). Year three of implementing the Common Core State Standards: States prepare for Common Core assessments. Washington DC: Center for Educational Policy. Retrieved from Center for Educational Policy website http://www.cep-dc.org/ publications/index.cfm? selectedYear=2013
• Richardson, V. (1990). Significant and worthwhile change in teaching practice. Educational Researcher, 19, 10–18.
• Rothman, R. (2012). How we got here: The emergence of the Common Core State Standards. State Education Standard, 12(2), 4–8.
• Sawchuk, S. (2012). Many teachers not ready for the common core. Education Digest, 78(2), 16–22.
• Scholastic & Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. (2013). Primary sources: America’s teachers on teaching in an era of change. Retrieved from http://www.scholastic.com/primarysources/2013 preview/Primary SourcesCCSS.pdf.
• Schraw, G. (2006). Knowledge: Structures and processes. In P. Alexander & P. Winne (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (pp. 245–263). Mahwah, NJ: Erlbaum.
• Shanahan, T. (2013). The Common Core ate my baby. Educational Leadership, 70(4), 10–16.
• Sleeter, C. (2007). Democracy, equity, and accountability. In C. Sleeter (Ed.), Facing accountability in education: Democracy & equity at risk (pp. 1–12). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Sleeter, C., & Stillman, J. (2007). Navigating accountability pressures. In C. Sleeter (Ed.), Facing accountability in education: Democracy & equity at risk (pp. 13–29). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
• Smith, T. W. & Strahan, D. (2004). Toward a prototype of expertise in teaching: A descriptive case study, Journal of Teacher Education, 55(4), 357-371.
• Turner, J. C. (2006). Measuring self-regulation: A focus on activity. Educational Psychological Review, 18, 293-296.
• Valencia, S. W., & Wixson, K. K. (2013). Suggestions and cautions for implementing the reading standards. Reading Teacher, 67(3), 181-185. doi: 10.1002/TRTR.1207
• Vygotsky, L. (1978). Mind in society. London: Harvard University Press.
• Walker, T. (2013, September). NEA poll: Majority of educators support the Common Core State Standards. NEA Today. Retrieved from http://neatoday.org/2013/09 /12/nea-poll-majority-of-educators-support- the-common-core-state-standards/.
• Wixson, K. K. (2013). In conclusion: On implementing the Common Core Standards successfully in grades 3– 5. In L. M. Morrow, K. K. Wixson, & T. Shanahan (Eds.) Teaching with the Common Core Standards for English Language Arts, Grades 3–5 (pp. 187–200). New York, NY: Guilford Press.
• Zimmerman, B. J. (1998). Academic studying and the development of personal skill: A self-regulatory perspective. Educational Psychologist, 33, 73-86.