Knowledge From the Field

Supporting Instruction: Investing in Teaching

Published: December 2010

Publisher(s): Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

Funder(s): Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

View Report (18 pages; 4.70MB; PDF)

Supporting Instruction: Investing in Teaching

Area of Focus: Teacher Quality and Leadership; Educational Standards

Abstract

This report describes the work of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation in supporting the Common Core State Standards for literacy and math and developing tools for teachers to help students meet these standards, including template tasks, instructional modules, and courses.

Key Findings and/or Recommendations

+The Common Core State Standards have produced rigor and clarity and have been widely praised by nearly all who have read them, particularly classroom teachers.

=The Foundation has worked to produce a series of formative assessment lessons (FALs) for grades 7 through 10 designed to give students the essential math skill necessary for college and to be used by teachers every two weeks as part of their courses.

=The Foundations sponsored the design of The Literacy Design Col­laborative (LDC), which involves a framework that includes purpose-specific template tasks, instructional modules for teachers and courses that focus on college- and career-ready literacy in­struction. 

=The Foundation is working to develop courses in alignment with the Common Core State Stan­dards, which is currently the least developed part of the LDC framework

Geographic Focus: National

Subjects/Keywords: Elementary and Secondary Education; Elementary and Secondary Education, School Reform; Education, Leadership Development

+ Successful strategy
= Observation
– Challenge