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We are in the first year of our elementary science reform project and have many lessons to learn. In the planning stage of our project, to obtain support from the elementary faculty, students, parents and participating school divisions, we had to assure them that our new curriculum materials and the teaching strategies would be consistent with the state standards of learning. The divisions (more or less) use the state standards as division standards. There are sufficient exemplary materials available for us to build our curriculum framework around the standards and meet our goals and objectives. I suppose it would be acceptable to say that we are carefully, and selectively building our curriculum around an already existing set of standards.
anonymous,
1/15/2000
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You ask a politically charged question and will probably get a few more anonymous replies. Just as an editorial stated recently, "The cart is before the horse, and the poor animal is being dragged through the streets. An important question to be asked is, "Are the children learning good mathematics and science?" Development of the standards should be a learning process for all key stakeholders. This should also include critical analysis of the curriculum used, its level of implementation, level of support for teachers, and the effectiveness on learning and teaching. If the curriculum has resulted in higher student achievement, increased participation by all students, and teacher buy-in, then the impact on standards should be positive. Don't let it turn into a battle for individuals' or institutions favorite subject or content with no consideration of current research on how children learn. I urge you to issue as required reading for all individuals involved in the development of your standards the following: How People Learn: Bridging Research and Practice. National Academy Press. 1999. http://books.nap.edu/books/0309065364/html/1.html
anonymous,
1/18/2000
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