Locate the Standards of Learning (SOL) for
your content and grade level(s) at the Virginia Department of Education web
site listed below. The Standards of Learning is the minimum content of
what you will be teaching. How useful will these standards be in your
lesson/unit planning? How will you use these standards to enhance students'
opportunity to learn and lead to higher student achievement?
I
will be certified to teach Math 6-12, but Algebra is my true love and the class
I’d love to teach so I decided to focus on those SOL guidelines. I don’t have
any children, but I did tutor students for a semester a few years ago so I have
had limited exposure to the SOL guidelines.
I knew that teachers had to focus on teaching those standards but I
didn’t know how specifically it was set up.
According
to the Virginia Department of Education (n.d.) the Standards of Learning “establish
minimum expectations for what students should know and be able to do at the end
of each grade or course in English, mathematics, science, history/social
science, technology, the fine arts, foreign language, health/physical education
and driver education.” This serves as a guideline for student and teacher
expectations.
I
think the SOL’s will be critical for planning my lessons and units. The
Virginia Department of Education gives you a list of standards as well as the
curriculum framework.
The Mathematics Standards of
Learning for Virginia Public Schools lists the sections that must be covered
for Algebra I, such as Equations and Inequalities and Functions as well as the
units, such as “The student will solve multistep linear and quadratic equations
in two variables” under the Equations and Inequalities section (“Mathematics
Standards of Learning for Virginia Public Schools,” 2009). As a teacher this
will be very useful for me to see where I need to take the class in terms of
their learning.
The Curriculum Framework provides a list of essential understandings
and essential knowledge and skills (“Mathematics Standards of Learning
Curriculum Framework,” 2009). For example for the topic Equations and
Inequalities the students must understand that “A solution to an equation is the value or set of
values that can be substituted to make the equation true. “ and must be able to
“solve a literal equation (formula) for a specified variable” (“Mathematics
Standards of Learning Curriculum Framework,” 2009).
One
of the things I like about the SOL curriculum framework is that it clearly
spells out what the students need to know and be able to do. One of my worries
as a new teacher is that I will have a lack of direction for my students and
not prepare them properly for future classes. By following the SOL’s I have a
direction already planned out and I know on what topics to focus my attention
on. It gives me the clear overall goals for the year as well as smaller goals
while allowing me the discretion of how long to spend on each topic and how I
should teach it.
The
downside of course to using the SOL curriculum framework is that it leaves
little flexibility for teachers. As a teacher I will have to carefully budget
my time not just during class but also throughout the year to make sure that
all topics are covered and that the students understand them. This takes away
my flexibility in teaching. I realize that in a subject like math it is not
typical for students to want to discuss something that may branch off of what
is being discussed but I could see this being a bigger problem in other
classrooms, especially in history and science. As a math teacher I don’t think
I’ll have to worry about tangents, my biggest issue will be moving along at the
pace required to get through all the material. I want to ensure that my
students understand the material and sometimes that means covering a topic for
a longer period of time or starting a topic over using a new method to reach
the students. I don’t want my students to get lost in my teaching because I’m adhering
to too strict of a timetable.
To
help my students learn and gain high achievement I would use the SOL curriculum
framework to ensure that I am hitting all the critical areas in my subject
matter, as listed. By focusing on the standards I will be ensuring that my
students are ready for the next level of classes. I think one of the keys to
making the SOL’s work is for me to properly assess my students and their needs
so that I can use teaching methods that work best for my students. I also hope
that I am able to take my class beyond what is stated in the SOL curriculum.
The SOL guidelines provide the minimum expectations for students (Virginia
Department of Education, n.d.). I do not want my students to just succeed at
the minimum requirements but succeed in all they do.
Works Cited
Mathematics Standards of Learning Curriculum
Framework. (n.d.). VDOE: Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved
January 25, 2013, from
www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/frameworks/mathematics_framewks/2009/framewk_algebra1.pdf
Mathematics Standards of Learning for Virginia
Public Schools – February 2009. (n.d.). VDOE: Virginia Department of
Education. Retrieved January 25, 2013, from
www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/sol/standards_docs/mathematics/2009/stds_algebra_1.pdf
VDOE: Standards of Learning (SOL) and Testing.
(n.d.). VDOE: Virginia Department of Education. Retrieved January 25,
2013, from http://www.doe.virginia.gov/testing/
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