Sunday, September 22, 2013

Bringin' The Rigor

Today in education we talk a lot about "world class education", "ready for college and work" as ways to make sure all of our students get the education that benefits the student and his or her community.  Most of us tend to ask students, "Do you have any homework?", "How'd you do on that test?", "What did you do in school today?"  Lots of homework, doing more work, to much work for students and helping students makes it easy on them are different points of view when it comes to teaching and planning.

The beginning of the Common Core State Standards in North Carolina means that students and teachers must adjust and be able to practice the types of thinking that come with rigorous teaching and learning.  Students must be able to extend their thinking beyond simple recall and reproduction.  Copying notes and memorizing facts have their place but successful students will be those who understand how to engage creatively with others and use all of their knowledge at any given moment.

So, how do you recognize rigor?  Well, here are some key indicators we can all look for when we trying to determine rigor.
1.  Students have to explain answers and defend arguments.  Teachers and students ask questions requiring a range of knowledge.  Questions connect to other subjects and not just a narrow range of topics.
2.  Reading materials are not simple but require students to extend their vocabulary and thinking.
3.  Activities have real-world connections.
4.  Students are actively engaged. The level of focused attention is visible when engaged in the task or working with others.
5.  Collaboration is a key part of the problem-solving process. Students learn how to work together while solving problems with meaning to thier communities.
6.  Students are responsible for the quality of their work.

Rigor.  The next time you ask a student, "What did you learn in school today?" maybe a better question is, "Who did you work with today and what problems did you solve?"

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