Issue link: https://digital.copcomm.com/i/252703
AEA Advocate x Spring 2014 17 PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT New site provides educators with tools to ensure students are college and career ready NEA and BetterLesson Launch New Site with Over 3,000 Common Core Lessons The National Education Association (NEA) and BetterLesson launched a new website last month, cc.betterlesson.com/mtp, featuring more than 3,000 classroom-ready lessons that are easily accessible and can be integrated into any curriculum. Teachers also have an opportunity to learn and share what works in the classroom on the site. This new BetterLesson product was built entirely for the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), known as the Arizona College and Career Readiness Standards, and features the lessons of 130+ Master Teachers (MTs), who represent every K-12 grade level for math and English Language Arts & Literacy. This is one of several long-term partnerships NEA has pursued to support its members' professional development and leadership in the teaching practice; members have been recruited around the country to participate and develop comprehensive materials along with these partner organizations. "The new Common Core State Standards are a transformation for the students in our nation's public school system and we owe it to them to provide teachers with the time, tools and resources to get it right," said National Education Association President Dennis Van Roekel. "The best ideas for the classroom come from classroom teachers, and our new site will allow educators to share lessons to help ensure all students have the skills they need to succeed." Before the CCSS were introduced, 62 percent of teachers in the U.S. reported feeling unprepared for daily work in the classroom, according to the "Educating School Teachers" report. BetterLesson aims to help those teachers become more prepared by providing 5 to 10 lessons for every single Common Core standard. By the fall of 2015, BetterLesson will have more than 16,000 Master Teacher lessons live. According to a NEA poll from this past September, more than 75 percent of NEA members supported the standards wholeheartedly or with some reservations. Unfortunately, while two-thirds of members indicated they had participated in trainings around CCSS, just 26 percent said the trainings were helpful. Every week, Master Teachers will be sharing new lessons, which other educators can use immediately. By the end of the project, each Master Teacher will have shared a full year's worth of lessons (120 or more!) on the cc.betterlesson.com/mtp site. In these lessons, Master Teachers will share: • The "how" and the "why" of their effective practice, narrating their enactment of each section of a lesson; • Videos of particular instructional strategies; • Thoughts on their implementation of CCSS; • Resources they've tried and the results; and • Examples of student work. NEA is taking the lead within the education profession through BetterLesson, the NEA Master Teacher Project and a series of initiatives that put educators in positions of leadership within their practice. 2 Spring.14advo.indd 17 1/28/14 5:11 PM