CCSSO Policy Update
The Council of Chief State School Officers (CCSSO) has announced that the committee revising the InTASC standards has completed its work and released a draft version of the revised standards for public comment. The public comment period will last through October of 2010. To review the Model Core Teaching Standards and to complete the survey, go to http://ccsso.teaching-standards.sgizmo.com/s3/.
In addition to the standards themselves, the committee has drafted a companion policy piece entitled Model Core Teaching Standards: A Resource for State Dialogue. CCSSO would appreciate if readers review this piece as well.
Key changes to the standards include:
- INTASC becomes InTASC (Interstate Teacher Assessment and Support) to signify that the standards are no longer intended to define practice for new teachers only, but apply to teachers of all levels of experience.
- A Focus on 21st Century Knowledge and Skills: problem solving, curiosity, creativity, innovation, communication, interpersonal skills, the ability to synthesize across disciplines, global literacy, ethics and technological expertise.
- Personalized Learning for Diverse Learners: teachers need knowledge and skills to customize learning for learners with a range of individual differences.
- A Collaborative Professional Culture: teaching is not a private act, but one that involves intensive collaboration with colleagues, administration, parents, students and the community.
- Increased emphasis on assessment literacy: teachers need to have greater knowledge and skill around how to develop a range of assessments and how to use assessment data to improve instruction and support learner success.
- New Leadership Roles for Teachers and Administrators: recognizing a shift in leadership, from teachers working autonomously in their classrooms to administrators, teachers and others sharing leadership roles and responsibilities for student learning.
The ten new standards have been grouped as follows:
The Learner and Learning
Principle #1: Learner Development
Principle #2: Learning Differences
Principle #3: Learning Environments
Content Knowledge
Principle #4: Content Knowledge
Principle #5: Innovative Applications of Content
Instructional Practice
Principle #6: Assessment
Principle #7: Planning for Instruction
Principle #8: Instructional Strategies
Professional Responsibility
Principle #9: Reflection and Continuous Growth
Principle #10: Collaboration
Each standard contains three categories: performances, essential knowledge and critical dispositions.
The standards revision committee reflected representation from teachers, faculty preparing educators, national organizations, state education agencies and education policy organizations.