March 11, 2013 kicked off our first webinar in the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) series titled Guide to Common Core and MAP for Teachers. I was lucky to be the facilitator and Kathy Dyer moderated for a large group of participants from nearly every state and several countries around the world. Our national and international partners were very interested in learning how the MAP assessments will align with CCSS as well as what other partners were doing to transition and how they could best help teachers. No surprise here as this is a very popular topic of interest surrounding the CCSS in general.
After seeing a preview of the new items types, the majority of participants were most interested in the Common Stimulus item type. The benefits they saw from this item type included a “more authentic reading experience” as well as getting a “more in depth picture of the reader”; keys to a successful transition to the Common Core.
After reviewing the impact on reports the majority of participants were confident that they would be able to use the reports the same as before and that no real impact would be felt when the transition takes place. Many also noted that it will help them begin to identify strengths and needs for students within the CCSS goal areas. As one participant mentioned, “It will give teachers a much clearer understanding of the CCSS and direct connections to students”.
Feedback from attendance at the webinar was positive and several reported that they would share the information with their colleagues. Many felt the CCSS alignment was on point and there was excitement around the new item types, as well as the fact that there is no significant impact on the ways in which they currently use MAP.
Be on the lookout for the next webinars in the series, which will be available on demand soon: MAP Connections to College & Career Readiness.
These will lead us right into Fusion 2013 at the end of June. We’ll share feedback from those webinars as well here at our blog, so come back soon!
The post Webinar Feedback: What Teachers Think about Common Core MAP Assessment appeared first on Teach. Learn. Grow..