Inquiring Into the Common Core

Nancy Fichtman Dana is professor of education and distinguished teaching scholar at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career in education as an elementary school teacher in Hannibal Central Schools, New York. Since earning her PhD from Florida State University in 1991, she has been a passionate advocate for teacher inquiry and has worked extensively in supporting schools, districts, and universities in implementing powerful programs of job-embedded professional development through inquiry across the United States and in several countries, including Belgium, the Netherlands, China, South Korea, Estonia, Slovenia, Spain, and Portugal. She has published 12 books and more than 100 articles in professional journals and edited books focused on her research exploring teacher and principal professional development and practitioner inquiry. Dana has received many honors for her teaching, research, and writing. Among them are the Association of Teacher Educators Mentoring and Distinguished Research in Teacher Education awards, the Carnegie Project on the Education Doctorate’s David G. Imig Distinguished Service Award, the National Staff Development Council (now Learning Forward) Book of the Year Award, and was one of three finalist in Baylor University’s prestigious Robert Foster Cherry Award for Great Teaching 2020 competition. Before joining the faculty at University of Florida in 2003, she worked at The Pennsylvania State University for 11 years, creating and launching their award-winning inquiry-based Professional Development School program with the State College Area School District. At the University of Florida, she worked to embed inquiry as a signature pedagogy into the undergraduate teacher education program, as well as developed and taught three popular classes on inquiry at the master’s and doctoral levels. In  partnership with the Lastinger Center for Learning, Dana led the development and implementation of inquiry-based professional development for teachers across the state that included  several of the nation’s largest school districts.  Further, she was instrumental in the development of UF’s Teacher Leadership for School Improvement Program and Professional Practice Doctorate in Teachers, Schools, and Society, both national award winning programs that highlight inquiry as a signature program feature and have been recognized by U.S. News & World Report as the #1 Online Graduate Education Programs in the nation. Jamey Bolton Burns is currently a District Coordinator for the Lastinger Center for Learning in the College of Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville. In her role of district coordinator, she develops and implements differentiated professional development for teachers, coaches and principals, and facilitates teacher inquiry leaders throughout the district. She works intensively with Title I schools across the district and recently developed a professional learning community of principals and coaches that are systematically studying their implementation of the common core state standards. She has also coordinated an alternative Educator Preparation Institute through the University of Florida where she trained alternatively certified teachers in high need schools. Before working with the Lastinger Center, she was an inclusion teacher in both second and third grades and worked in a reading clinic helping students with dyslexia, ADHD and Autism. Rachel Wolkenhauer currently serves as Teacher in Residence for the Lastinger Center for Learning in the College of Education at the University of Florida, Gainesville. She began her career as a third and fourth grade teacher and became an avid teacher researcher. In her role as Teacher in Residence for the Lastinger Center, she develops and facilitates inquiry-oriented professional development for pre-service teachers, in-service teachers, and school administrators. Her work emphasizes practitioner inquiry as a mechanism for teacher leadership and as a pedagogical approach that encourages highly engaged teaching and learning.

"A well-organized, easy-to-read format makes Inquiring into the Common Core a great resource to guide teacher inquiry, discussions in professional learning communities, or a schoolwide book study. Centered around the stories and reflective voices of teachers, this book provides authentic and practical tools and resources for educators to effectively engage in the complex and rewarding work of understanding and applying these new standards for student learning."

• List of FiguresForeword by Ann LiebermanPrefaceAcknowledgmentsAbout the Authors1. The Common Core and InquiryWhat is the Common Core?How did the Common Core Develop?Why Is the Common Core Important?How Is the Common Core Different from the Status Quo?What Difference Will the Common Core Make to Teachers and Students?How Can Teachers Learn More About the Common Core and Its Relationship to Their Practice?How Can Teachers Actualize the Common Core in their Daily Approach to Teaching?Where Can I Learn More About the Common Core?2. Teacher Inquiry: The BasicsWhat is Inquiry?Components of the Inquiry ProcessWhere Can I Learn More About Inquiry?3. Teacher Inquiry Into the Common Core: The Story of LarealFinding a Wondering and Developing an Inquiry PlanThe Start of Lareal’s InquiryCollaborating with the Reading CoachContinuing the Inquiry JourneySummative Data Analysis and Sharing with Woodson Faculty4. Student Inquiry: The BasicsWhat is Student Inquiry?What Is the Relationship Between Student Inquiry and the Common Core State Standards?How is Teaching as Inquiry Different from the Status Quo?What Does Teaching as Inquiry Look Like in Practice?What’s the General Structure for Student Inquiry?Where Can I Learn More About Student Inquiry?5. Student Inquiry and the Common Core: The Story of MaryFirst Things First: Creating a Culture of InquiryStarting Small: An Inquiry-Based LessonExpanding Horizons: An Inquiry-Based Unit6. Making the Common Core Come Alive Through Inquiry: Lessons LearnedLessons About Teacher Inquiry and the Common Core State StandardsLessons About Student Inquiry and the Common Core State StandardsThe Most Important LessonReferencesIndex