How to "Common Core" Any Subject

by John R. Walkup, Ph.D.

Many subjects have largely become forgotten in all the big rush to implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS). Although the Next Generation Science Standards will overhaul science instruction, what about other subjects such as history, art, foreign language, and career technical education? Do the Common Core State Standards have anything to say about these subjects?

Yes, but somewhat indirectly.

Consider that the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium has adopted the concept of Cognitive Rigor to drive test item selection for the Next Generation Assessments. And, since the Next Generation Assessments are designed to assess Common Core proficiency, then we can safely assume that employing an instructional approach centered on Cognitive Rigor aligns closely to Common Core instruction. We can then take the next step and note that Cognitive Rigor is not subject-specific.

Therefore, regardless of the subject, the key to teaching the Common Core is to deliver a curriculum that samples a wide range of Cognitive Rigor.

Common Core Instruction for a non-Common Core Subject

Physical education probably lies farther outside the scope of the Common Core Standards as any other subject. Surely, if we can deliver a Common Core-aligned lesson in physical education, we should be able to align just about any subject to the Common Core standards.

Let us first distinguish physical education from recreation and focus on the academic side of PE, and not just athletic ability.

Again, the key to the CCSS lies in its reliance on Cognitive Rigor, that is, the area where Depth of Knowledge and Bloom's Taxonomy intersect. Therefore, the key to creating CCSS lesson plans in PE comes down to the following:

• Asking questions that sample various types of thinking modes (Bloom's Taxonomy)
• Casting the questions in a context that correlates to a wide range of cognitive complexity (Depth of Knowledge).

Example

To exercise students' ability to evaluate (Bloom's Level 5), an instructor could ask them to compare the rules of volleyball and tennis. To do so, students need to define the rules for both, categorize those rules (e.g., fields of play, number of volleys), and then directly compare them.

To raise the cognitive complexity, an instructor could place the activity within certain contexts. For example, their instructor could ask them to write a persuasive essay favoring one sport over the other using arguments that

• form a consensus on the three most important differences, justifying their selections, and
• evaluate the impact of each difference on the enjoyment and difficulty levels of the game.

The above activity aligns most closely to DOK-3.

To raise the Depth of Knowledge even further, teachers could ask students to create their own graphic organizer to carry out the task of organizing their information as a pre-writing exercise. (Remember, cross-disciplinary learning is a vital component of Common Core instruction.)

Instructional Strategies

Unlike Bloom's Taxonomy (for the most part), Depth of Knowledge directly impacts the manner in which we deliver the questions to the students. If we employ a DOK-3 activity, we need to think about forming students into groups, and giving them wait time on the order of 10 minutes, or even more. Also, we would need to be mindful that DOK-3 activities and above often don't feature one single answer.

The Depth of Knowledge of the activity also impacts the mode of instruction, with higher DOK levels relying more on student-centered learning. In such cases, it entrenches the need to form students into groups so that they can banter their ideas back and forth. The foundational content, however, will require more emphasis on direct instruction. Therefore, using direct instruction to teach the basic rules of volleyball is perfectly appropriate. (The accompanying figure illustrates this relationship between DOK and mode of instruction.)

In a future article, I will discuss how to "Common Core" art instruction using a middle school lesson as an example. So, stay tuned.

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Seeking training at your school or district centered on Cognitive Rigor or Depth of Knowledge?  Call me at (559) 903-4014 or email me at jwalkup@standardsco.com. 

We will discuss ways in which I can help your teachers boost student engagement and deep thinking in their classrooms. I offer workshops, follow-up classroom observation/coaching, and curriculum analysis to anywhere in the country (and even internationally).