This session presents a researched curriculum for middle school students with significant disabilities (including early symbol users and/or those nonverbal) that aligns English/language arts instruction and content to Common Core Standards; it will include demonstrations of evidence-based teaching procedures (including use of AAC) and age-appropriate content.

The Common Core State Standards and the National Council for the Social Studies (C3 Framework) have recently prompted renewed emphasis on literacy, particularly in history, therefore it is important to analyze and compare what exactly the teacher educators of leading journals are saying about historical literacy. This study examines the literacy messages for the history classroom in The Journal of Adolescent and Adult Literacy and Theory (JAAL) and Research in Social Education (TRSE) from 2010-2015. An emergent, qualitative content analysis was used to analyze data from these journals. Results from this study indicates definitions on historical literacy vary between journals, both journals focused on elements of historical literacy over the whole concept, and historical literacy is addressed differently for distinctive intended participants. Implications from this study concerning teacher educators and history teachers are examined and possibilities for further research are also discussed.

Public policymakers have failed to address public high school students' social and emotional learning (SEL). Recent public policies such as Common Core State Standards (CCSS) do not measure SEL outcomes as significant. Public education is government funded and therefore public policy driven. Research indicates SEL competencies have a positive influence on students' academic successes, classroom behaviors, and future career outcomes. The conceptual framework for this study was based on SEL components described by the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and served as the lens though which the data were analyzed. Research questions for this phenomenological study explored teachers' self-reported knowledge and classroom implementation of the 5 SEL tenets: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making skills. Participants were a purposive sample of 10 teachers of all subjects and levels at Title 1 schools in the southwestern United States. Semistructured open-ended interviews were used to collect the data. Key results indicated teachers needed clarification on SEL competencies and wanted SEL training. Participants discussed structured SEL activities necessary for well-rounded citizens. SEL may contribute to positive social change if policymakers, education administrators, teachers, and other stakeholders seeking policy reforms focus on SEL inclusion into public policies such as CCSS.

In 1 urban Tennessee school, students in Grades 3 through 5 had not met adequate yearly progress in reading for the past 5 years. The purpose of this case study was to explore teachers' perceptions of current district-recommended teaching practice in reading. The research questions related to current instructional strategies, teaching practices, challenges, and perceptions of current instructional strategies and changes needed to improve students' reading achievement. This study was grounded in the constructivist theoretical framework of Vygotsky. Twelve educators from Grades 3 through 5 and a reading specialist participated in this study. The data were collected from interviews, minutes from professional learning community meetings, and the district guidelines for instruction. Data analysis included open coding to determine common patterns and development of common themes. Findings indicated that teachers described the district learning strategies and guidelines as aligned with the reading curriculum map, and they saw the reading specialist as a valuable resource. Teachers specified that although they were trained in district-recommended strategies, they needed more professional development and support to implement the reading strategies effectively. Teachers wanted job-embedded professional development (PD) to help them develop expertise in implementing effective reading instruction to increase student achievement. To address this, a professional learning community PD project was created. Participation in the PD project may help teachers to implement reading instruction using research-based strategies in accord with district guidelines to improve student reading achievement.

Current research and declining test scores indicate that changes in educational practice are required for successful implementation of the Common Core State Standards for Mathematics (CCSSM). Using a constructivist change theory framework, this grounded theory study explored the experiences 6 purposefully selected, experienced teachers at an Upstate New York school district had related to the implementation of the CCSSM. The research question investigated the experiences that educators had related to implementing the CCSSM and the accompanying New York State mathematics modules. Observation notes, interview transcripts, and teachers' journals were collected and analysed simultaneously through coding, constant comparison, theoretical sampling, and memoing. The core concern that emerged was the lack of alignment between the standards and the curriculum being used to teach them. This lack of alignment was related to oversized and repetitive lessons, as well as the de-emphasis on teaching the mathematical practice standards that are a large part of CCSSM. These factors caused teachers to invest large amounts of time re-writing curriculum. Findings suggest that administrator-supported adaptive professional development is required to strategically address experienced educator needs while allowing for educator autonomy in curriculum design. The project, an adaptive professional development plan, will support experienced educators as they enact modifications to curriculum in order to address the changes in teacher practice and student learning that are needed to align instruction with CCSSM . This project can be used on a wider scale and can contribute to the knowledge base of implementation models for educators to enact the changes in instruction necessary to improve student mastery of the CCSSM.

The challenges of implementing the Common Core State Standards at the classroom level resulted in political pushback to the reform initiative after the local media covered poor implementation decisions. This study explored how elementary school teachers and instructional leaders described teachers' progress along the implementation continuum for the standards. The concerns-based adoption model served as the conceptual framework for this study. This multicase study design consisted of 16 interviews of teachers and instructional leaders from 4 schools. Data were analyzed through a process that began with open coding followed by axial coding to identify themes. Teacher collaboration driving implementation progress emerged as a theme. The following needs also emerged: (a) training to make the required instructional shifts, (b) common processes to monitor implementation progress, and (c) aligned resources. The results led to a semester-long professional development project pairing a quality improvement process popular in other fields with the existing professional learning community structure to address the problem. This project built on the implementation progress made through working collaboratively to meet the training needs of the teachers; the project also included mechanisms for monitoring teachers' progress in implementing the standards. The project study provides insight and specific steps for teachers and leaders working to implement the standards. Students will be the ultimate beneficiaries of this project study through improvements in their teachers' instructional practice.

This qualitative case study addressed a suburban school district's placement of academically at-risk English language arts (ELA) 9th graders as the district transitions from the New Jersey Assessment of Skills and Knowledge (NJASK) to use of the unfamiliar and controversial Partnership for Assessment of Readiness for College and Careers (PARCC). Based on the theoretical frameworks of the zone of proximal development, cognitive apprenticeship, and Bandura's model of self-efficacy, the purpose was to understand the characteristics of struggling (labeled 'academic') ELA students, placement practices and perceptions of these practices, and placement improvements. A purposeful sample was recruited of 7 staff members involved with placement and instruction of academic ELA students in Grades 7-10 for individual interviews. Using thematic data analysis, 4 themes emerged pertaining to the characteristics of academic students, placement practices, the efficacy of assessments used for placement, and improvements. Additionally, content analysis of data on academic students' standardized test scores and grades, collected from district reports, and research on reading assessments were conducted. Findings indicated consensus on the students' characteristics, but no standard procedure for placing academic ELA freshmen. A multiple measure placement matrix was created and incorporated in a white paper for the district's stakeholders, including administrators, teachers, guidance counselors, and child study team members. The implications for positive social change include a better understanding of academic students, their placement, and the benefits of communication, uniform policy, and the use of multiple measures to improve future placement practices.

This thesis investigates how teachers navigate Common Core State Standards, high-stakes testing, and teacher evaluation while creating their own curriculum to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. As a former teacher, I conducted a practitioner research case study of four successful colleagues in a bilingual Pre-K-8 school in Washington, DC. When given flexibility in curriculum, teachers integrated knowledge from their relationships with students to foster a caring environment that supports learning and created their own systems of accountability by deciding what data matters. Teachers centered student engagement as what drives their curriculum and used a variety of differentiation methods based on their own “toolbox” of instructional strategies. Findings suggest a flexible curriculum model allows teachers to be curriculum makers who actively go beyond the standards to integrate knowledge from their practice and relationships with students to create curriculum that successfully supports language learners.

This thesis investigates how teachers navigate Common Core State Standards, high-stakes testing, and teacher evaluation while creating their own curriculum to meet the needs of culturally and linguistically diverse students. As a former teacher, I conducted a practitioner research case study of four successful colleagues in a bilingual Pre-K-8 school in Washington, DC. When given flexibility in curriculum, teachers integrated knowledge from their relationships with students to foster a caring environment that supports learning and created their own systems of accountability by deciding what data matters. Teachers centered student engagement as what drives their curriculum and used a variety of differentiation methods based on their own “toolbox” of instructional strategies. Findings suggest a flexible curriculum model allows teachers to be curriculum makers who actively go beyond the standards to integrate knowledge from their practice and relationships with students to create curriculum that successfully supports language learners.

Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2017-06-20T13:21:07Z No. of bitstreams: 1 claudiopellinivargas.pdf: 3029286 bytes, checksum: 3b86457985c53cbf73e663f97b3f0773 (MD5) / Rejected by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br), reason: Favor corrigir: Membro da banca: Lemos, Daniel Cavalcanti de Albuquerque on 2017-06-29T12:38:33Z (GMT) / Submitted by isabela.moljf@hotmail.com (isabela.moljf@hotmail.com) on 2017-06-29T13:22:56Z No. of bitstreams: 1 claudiopellinivargas.pdf: 3029286 bytes, checksum: 3b86457985c53cbf73e663f97b3f0773 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-08T11:55:55Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 claudiopellinivargas.pdf: 3029286 bytes, checksum: 3b86457985c53cbf73e663f97b3f0773 (MD5) / Approved for entry into archive by Adriana Oliveira (adriana.oliveira@ufjf.edu.br) on 2017-08-08T11:57:54Z (GMT) No. of bitstreams: 1 claudiopellinivargas.pdf: 3029286 bytes, checksum: 3b86457985c53cbf73e663f97b3f0773 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2017-08-08T11:57:54Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 claudiopellinivargas.pdf: 3029286 bytes, checksum: 3b86457985c53cbf73e663f97b3f0773 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2017-03-22 / FAPEMIG - Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais / Colocar-se diante de uma perspectiva histórica e crítica da Educação Física (EF) significa refletir sobre sua condição epistemológica, política e social numa realidade de disputas e contingências. Isso implica em considerar seus currículos como artefatos preciosos de investigação, pois se aceitamos que sejam invenções da modernidade, se constituindo num meio poderoso de organizar as experiências de estudantes objetivando construir determinadas identidades, eles tornam-se legítimos objetos de questionamento. Assim posto, são objetivos desta tese: (1) identificar e analisar os procedimentos de elaboração da proposta curricular de EF de Minas Gerais - os Conteúdos Básicos Comuns (CBC) - desenvolvidos pelos seus organizadores; (2) identificar que procedimentos nortearam suas decisões e em que contexto político isso ocorreu; e (3) analisar criticamente a proposta curricular, suas fundamentações teóricas, diretrizes, articulando as análises documentais com as falas dos sujeitos que elaboraram a proposta. O trabalho pretende investigar seus contextos de influência de produção considerando o método do Ciclo de Políticas de Ball. As questões principais são: (1) Quais teorias curriculares subsidiaram tal proposta? (2) Que aspectos políticos, ideológicos e epistemológicos aparecem na construção e no interior dos CBC? Os procedimentos metodológicos envolveram diferentes momentos articulados entre si: (1) revisão bibliográfica; (2) análise do conteúdo documental – o CBC de EF; (3) análise dos contextos de influência (histórico e político); e (4) o uso de entrevista não estruturada focalizada realizada com as elaboradoras centrais da proposta em pauta. A discussão é iluminada por referenciais consagrados no cenário educacional dos estudos de currículo, destacando-se Antonio Flavio Moreira, Tomáz Tadeu da Silva e José Augusto Pacheco, além dos teóricos com os quais costumam dialogar. Para o debate no campo da EF, destacam-se as teorias críticas do Movimento Renovador, desde João Paulo Medina e Valter Bracht, chegando aos trabalhos pós-críticos de Marcos Neira e Mário Nunes. Depreende-se da pesquisa que os CBC mantiveram-se vinculados às perspectivas tradicionais e instrumentais da área por inúmeras razões: (1) a inspiração nos PCN e o fomento das corporações neoliberais sobre a Educação mineira; (2) a fragilidade das propostas críticas, com dificuldade em significar um currículo que privilegie o pensamento crítico por meio do se-movimentar; (3) a influência das perspectivas da psicomotricidade que, mais do que estimular uma mudança, reforçam a visão acrítica da EF como suporte para a cognição; (4) a falta de coerência epistemológica interna do documento; (5) a influência dos padrões tecnicistas do documento curricular mineiro precedente; (6) a avaliação da EF escolar mantida na ideia de controle e pressão regulatória; (7) a política do processo e a falsa prerrogativa de autonomia que o poder central atribuía as escolas; (8) a frágil participação dos professores escolares nos Grupos de Desenvolvimento Profissional (GDP); e (9) a influência de outros setores institucionalizados do governo sobre a EF escolar. Argumentase, por fim, sobre a possibilidade de uma recontextualização cultural da política curricular como etapa que privilegie as localidades escolares. / Placing oneself before a historical and critical perspective of Physical Education (PE) means reflecting on its epistemological, political and social condition in a reality of disputes and contingencies. This implies considering their curriculum as precious research artifacts, because if we accept that they are inventions of modernity, being a powerful means of organizing students' experiences in order to construct certain identities, they become legitimate objects of inquiry. Thus, the objectives of this thesis are: (1) to identify and analyze the procedures for the elaboration of the curricular proposal of EF of Minas Gerais - the Common Basic Content (CBC) - developed by its organizers; (2) to identify which procedures guided their decisions and in what political context this occurred; And (3) to critically analyze the curricular proposal, its theoretical foundations, guidelines, articulating the documentary analysis with the lines of the subjects that elaborated the proposal. The work intends to investigate its influence contexts of production considering the method of the Ball Policy Cycle. The main issues are: (1) What curriculum theories subsidized such a proposal? (2) What political, ideological, and epistemological aspects appear in the construction and within the CBC? The methodological procedures involved different moments articulated among themselves: (1) bibliographical review; (2) analysis of documentary content - the CBC of EF; (3) analysis of contexts of influence (historical and political); And (4) the use of a focused non-structured interview with the central processors of the proposal in question. The discussion is illuminated by consecrated references in the educational scenario of curriculum studies, especially Antonio Flavio Moreira, Tomáz Tadeu da Silva and José Augusto Pacheco, as well as the theoreticians with whom they usually talk. For the debate in the EF field, the critical theories of the Renovation Movement, from João Paulo Medina and Valter Bracht, stand out, reaching the post-critical works of Marcos Neira and Mário Nunes. It is clear from the research that the CBCs remained linked to the traditional and instrumental perspectives of the area for a number of reasons: (1) inspiration in NCPs and the promotion of neoliberal corporations over education in Minas Gerais; (2) the fragility of critical proposals, with difficulty in signifying a curriculum that privileges critical thinking by moving; (3) the influence of the perspectives of psychomotricity, which, rather than stimulating a change, reinforce the uncritical view of EF as a support for cognition; (4) the lack of internal epistemological coherence of the document; (5) the influence of the technical standards of the previous Minas Gerais curricular document; (6) the evaluation of school EF maintained in the idea of control and regulatory pressure; (7) the politics of the process and the false prerogative of autonomy that central power attributed to schools; (8) the fragile participation of school teachers in the Professional Development Groups (GDP); And (9) the influence of other institutionalized government sectors on school EF. It is argued, finally, about the possibility of a cultural recontextualization of curricular politics as a stage that favors school locations.