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The Curriculum Bridge: From Standards to Actual Classroom Practice » (Second Edition)

Book cover image of The Curriculum Bridge: From Standards to Actual Classroom Practice by Pearl G. (Gold) Solomon

Authors: Pearl G. (Gold) Solomon, Pearl Gold Solomon
ISBN-13: 9780761939054, ISBN-10: 0761939059
Format: Hardcover
Publisher: SAGE Publications
Date Published: April 2003
Edition: Second Edition

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Author Biography: Pearl G. (Gold) Solomon

Pearl G. Solomon is professor emerita of teacher education at St. Thomas Aquinas College in Sparkill, New York. She has served as a director and officer for professional organizations and as a consultant to many school districts, the New York State Education Department, and the United States Department of Education. Solomon is the recipient of a number of special awards from the state and community for her work in science, math, health, and career education.

Book Synopsis

Translate standards into classroom curriculum that fulfills accountability requirements and meets students' learning needs!

Meeting the individual needs of students and the requirements of federal mandates is a challenge that educators face every day. This third edition of an award-winning book focuses on curriculum, content standards, teaching, and testing and provides teachers with solid guidelines for best practices.

In this detailed, comprehensive guide, Pearl Gold Solomon discusses the bridge between the written and the taught curriculum and gives readers a big-picture overview of how the current political environment and public opinion affect standards and curriculum. The book offers:

  • An up-to-date review of educational research, including how learning takes place
  • Ways to connect curriculum and standards to best teaching practices
  • Information on traditional, alternative, and high-stakes assessments
  • Expanded coverage of how best to plan and implement professional development

This information-rich resource is an indispensable tool for all educators who want to make informed and meaningful decisions to promote standards-based instruction, improve student outcomes, and create the best possible environments for learning.

Table of Contents

Preface
About the Author
1Why Standards and Tests Are on the Front Page1
At the Top of the Political Agenda: Education2
Why the Focus on Standards and Tests?3
The No Child Left Behind Legislation4
The Media Influence Opinions on Standards9
The Origins of the Current Wave of Public Concern11
Initial Responses of the Educational Community13
Government Calls for Reform15
Initial Responses to the Calls for Reform16
Standards in Other Countries17
A Summary: Systemic Change, Restructuring, and Reform19
2Who Chooses the Curriculum: Are Standards and Tests Necessary?22
Some Charismatic Differences of Opinion23
The Public Responds25
Teachers and Teacher Organizations Respond27
Teacher Educators and Researchers Respond29
Control of Curriculum32
Nongovernment Influences on Curriculum36
Getting Ready to Design Curriculum48
3What We Now Know About How Learning Happens50
Educational Philosophy: Piaget and Constructivism53
The Changing Nature of the Concept of Intelligence59
Cognition, Metacognition, and Goals: Connections to Practice72
Interest73
Real Experiences and Technology in the Instructional Process74
4Choosing Standards and "Designing Them Down"81
The Curriculum Committee Meets82
A Bit of History84
Defining Standards in New Terms86
Curriculum Enactment89
5Constructing Creative Classrooms102
Organizing the Environment103
The Actors114
The Script119
6How Are We Doing? Measuring Success127
Standards and Their Measures128
The Purposes of Measures or Assessments129
The Consequences of High-Stakes Assessments132
Improving HSSB Tests134
Where Should Meg, April, and Brad Begin?136
A History of Assessment Forms138
Challenge 1: Establishing Validity141
Challenge 2: Tasks or Performances Versus Concepts141
Challenge 3: Writing Rubrics149
Challenge 4: Disaggregating the Assessment Results153
Challenge 5: Levels of Performance, Grading156
Challenge 6: Sharing Results With Students, Parents, and the Community157
7Where Do We Go From Here?162
Where Will the Leadership for Needed Change Come From?163
Professional Development for Teachers169
Using Technology and Its Networks for Sharing Curriculum and Research176
Technology for Communicating With Our Public176
References179
Index191

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