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Common Core
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Running head: COMMON CORE REFLECTION

Connecticut’s Common Core of Teaching Reflection

Daryl Kagan

University Of Connecticut

The Connecticut Common Core of Teachingdiscusses the skills and attributes that

the state has determined important for educators to know. The document as a whole

provides guidelines for what knowledge teachersshould have, as well as how to apply that

knowledge in the classroom. The document also notes that there are different standards
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for pre-service teachers, beginning teachers, and experienced educators. After the general

guidelines the document is then separated into discipline areas. My focus is Special

Education. The section dedicated to special education teachers provides an overview of

content knowledge that special education teachers need to have. It also sets forth the duty

that special education teachers have to provide proper and appropriate instruction, to

collaborate and share with other members of the school community and to understand

student needs so they can make appropriate assessments and create a positive learning

environment.

One statement that resonated with me was under the Content Knowledge section.

The Common Core states that special education teachers need to not only know about

different disabilities, but they also need to be very aware of how those disabilities affect

classroom performance. It is important to know how a disability may manifest itself in

the classroom because students react in different ways depending on their circumstances.

A student who is observed at home will not necessarily have the same behaviors at

school. It is necessary for special education teachers to be constantly attune tohow their

students are performing in the classroom, both academically and socially.

Another statement under content knowledge that I found useful is that the special

education teacher is responsible for implementing strategies to enable students to learn

and behave appropriately. I noticed that it does not say, developing strategies - it

statesimplementing, which is an important distinction. Special education teachers need to

make sure that whatever programs they develop for a student, those programs need to be

put in place and followed immediately in order to ensure that the student is receiving the

education he or she is entitled to by law. When I am student teaching,I need to make sure

that I not only help develop plans for students that have clear and measurable goals, but

that these plans are immediately put into effect.

Another aspect of the Common Core thatis important to special education is under

the heading of Instruction. The Core makes it clear that special education teachers need
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to know the content and then be able to modify or adapt itin order to build independent

working in the student. In is important that students do not have a sense of learned

helplessness. Theprograms and strategies developed for each individual student need to

be designed so that the student can achieve. In essence, it is the goal of the special

education teacher to make the curriculum available to all of the students in the school, not

just a select few. When I am student teaching, I can make sure to uphold this ideal by

setting high but achievable goals, providing students with numerous chances for practice,

and being well prepared with content knowledge and modifications when beginning a

lesson.

The third statement that struck me while reading the Common Core was where it

discussed the value of understanding motivation in order to create a positive learning

environment for students. The idea of motivation is one that has been written about and

studied by people in the Education field. Kolencick (2008) writes about the two types of

motivation: intrinsic, meaning coming from within oneself, and extrinsic, meaning

comingfrom an outside source. She writes that although we often want our students to be

internally motivated,it is sometimes necessary for the teacher to provide motivation. She

also says that we can use the idea of hot cognition in order to develop appropriate ways

of motivating a student. Hot cognition is the idea that a student will be more likely to

engage in the material if the student is emotionally attached to it in a positive way. I want

to use this idea in my teaching because it is important imperative to connect with students

in a way that they can relate to. I will incorporate this ideal into my student teaching

experience by providing my students with opportunity to explore their own interests

while showing them how they can engage with those interests in a meaningful and critical

way.

Ultimately the most challenging part of teaching will be to make sure that

students understand and grasp the core concepts of the curriculum while trying to connect

with them and keep them motivated to learn. This can be especially difficult in special
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education because there are even more factors affectingthe environment. I will need to

go in knowing that no matter how well prepared I am, the unexpected will happen,and I

need to be comfortable with change. When I enter my student teaching experience I want

to be as prepared as possible, use it as my opportunity to put my ideas to practice, and

keep the Common Core ideals in my head as a guide.

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Reference List

Kolenick, P. (2008). Affective and motivational factors for learning and achievement. In

G.S. Goodman (Ed.) Educational psychology: An application of critical

constructivism (pp.163-183). Peter Lang: New York.