Fundamentals of Learning
Fundamentals of Learning
FUNDAMENTALS
OF LEARNING
AUTHORS:
MARGARET HERITAGE, BARBARA JONES, GLORY TOBIASON, SANDY CHANG, AND JOAN HERMAN
INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
FRAMEWORK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
IN PRACTICE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
DISCUSSION TOOL . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
FOL MENU . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
BACKGROUND READING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
INTRODUCTION
This resource is part of a series produced by the Center for Standards and Assessment Implementation (CSAI) to
assist teachers and those who support teachers to plan teaching and learning from College- and Career-Ready
Standards (CCRS) for diverse learners. This resource uses the Common Core State Standards (CCSS; National
Governors Association Center for Best Practices, Council of Chief State School Officers, 2010) as an example of CCRS.
This publication provides a framework, the Fundamentals of Learning (FOL), to assist teachers in transitioning to the
classroom practices called for in the CCRS.
The content of this resource is drawn from leading theory and research about learning and assessment and from an
examination of the CCSS. A section on background reading is included at the end.
Since it is the students who actually DO the learning, this resource focuses on three fundamental aspects of learning
that underpin classroom practice for K-12 students’ attainment of the CCRS.
Future resources will address how teachers can use the FOL framework to plan lessons from the CCRS that enable
students to successfully engage in these Fundamentals of Learning and reach the high expectations that have been
established by the standards.
Acknowledgement:
We thank the Ministry of Education, New Zealand, for permission to draw from their resources for teachers.
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FRAMEWORK
The Fundamentals of Learning are the means through which learners achieve the Content Standards during their
daily learning opportunities in the classroom. Because of this, they have implications for all aspects of planning and
teaching, including content, learning activities and tasks, resources, language used, the role that both students and
teachers take in the learning process, and the culture of the classroom. The graphic below shows the integrated
nature of the Fundamentals in student learning.
STANDARDS
G
IN FU
ARN ND
LE A
M
F
O
EN
S
AL
TA
NT
LS
ME
OF
DA
LE
MAKING
FUN
AR
MEANING
NING
MANAGING
LEARNING
LEARNER
PARTICIPATING &
CONTRIBUTING
FU
ND
AME NG
NTALS OF LEARNI
RELATING TO
USING LANGUAGE, OTHER PEOPLE’S PERSEVERING
SYMBOLS, AND TEXTS IDEAS, FEELINGS, AND WITH CHALLENGES
EXPERIENCES
MAKING MEANING
Meaning making refers to the process of making sense of information,
experiences, and ideas through the use of creative, critical, and metacognitive THINKING CRITICALLY,
thinking skills. When students employ these thinking skills, they are able to CREATIVELY, AND
evaluate information, reason, solve problems, analyze and construct arguments, METACOGNITIVELY
When students are engaged in meaning making, they draw on their prior
knowledge by asking themselves what they already know about a topic or CONNECTING PRIOR
concept and how this knowledge connects to what they are currently learning. KNOWLEDGE TO
They activate this knowledge as the basis for creating new knowledge. NEW LEARNING
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PARTICIPATING & CONTRIBUTING
Engaging with others in learning involves working cooperatively to acquire
information, share and discuss ideas and interpretations, and obtain feedback.
Participating in and contributing to learning communities allows students to ENGAGING WITH
see learning as a co-constructed process in which mistakes are understood OTHERS IN LEARNING
MANAGING LEARNING
Managing learning involves self-direction and taking initiative. In the process of
managing their learning, students see themselves as active, capable learners TAKING PERSONAL
who can make sense of, take risks with, and work on increasingly complex RESPONSIBILITY
problems. When working with others, they know when to lead, when to follow, FOR LEARNING
They have strategies for meeting challenges and gain satisfaction from
persevering to meet the high expectations they set for themselves.
PERSEVERING
WITH CHALLENGES
As you prepare to implement the College- and Career-Ready Standards, use these indicators to reflect on your own
practice and think about what you do well and what you might need to strengthen.
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TEACHERS ARE LIKELY TO:
PARTICIPATING AND
• Be for both individuals and groups
CONTRIBUTING
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THE CLASSROOM CULTURE IS LIKELY TO:
The Fundamentals of Learning are represented in the CCSS documents. In the ELA standards documents, the
connections between the fundamentals and the standards can be clearly found in the section “a portrait of students
who meet the standards” (p. 7), as well as in the anchor and grade level Content Standards. In mathematics, the
fundamentals clearly are reflected in the Mathematics Practice Standards (pp. 6-8). These sections of the CCSS
documents frame the process of students’ achieving the Content Standards.
The representative touch points listed here present some main ways in which the CCSS are reflected in the
Fundamentals of Learning. Below are excerpts from the CCSS documents (www.corestandards.org) organized by
learning fundamental.
MAKING MEANING
Students who are Making Meaning in English Language Arts:
• Question an author’s or speaker’s assumptions and premises and assess the veracity of
claims and the soundness of reasoning (PS4)1
• Employ technology thoughtfully to enhance their reading, writing, speaking, listening, and
language use (PS6)
• Delineate and evaluate the argument and specific claims in a text, including the validity of
the reasoning as well as the relevance and sufficiency of the evidence (CCRA.R.8)2
• Draw evidence from literary or informational texts to support analysis, reflection, and
research (CCRA.W.9)3
• Evaluate a speaker’s point of view, reasoning, and use of evidence and rhetoric
(CCRA. SL.3)4
• Attend to the meaning of quantities, not just how to compute them (MP3)
• Routinely interpret their mathematical results in the context of the situation and reflect on
whether the results make sense (MP4)
• Know that technology can enable them to visualize the results of varying assumptions,
explore consequences, and compare predictions (MP5)
• See complicated things, such as some algebraic expressions, as single objects or as being
composed of several objects (MP7)
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PARTICIPATING AND CONTRIBUTING
• Independently discern a speaker’s key points, request clarification, and ask relevant
questions (PS1)
• Adapt their communication in relation to audience, task, purpose, and discipline (PS3)
• Make their reasoning clear, and constructively evaluate others’ use of evidence (PS5)
• Justify their conclusions, communicate them to others, and respond to the arguments of
others (MP3)
• Listen or read the arguments of others, decide whether they make sense, and ask useful
questions to clarify or improve the arguments (MP3)
• Communicate precisely to others and use clear definitions in discussion with others and in
their own reasoning (MP6)
• Set and adjust purpose for reading, writing, speaking, listening, and language use as
warranted by the task (PS3)
• Select and use technological tools and mediums best suited to their communication goals
(PS6)
• Plan a solution pathway rather than simply jumping into a solution attempt (MP1)
• Explain to themselves the meaning of a problem and look for entry points to its solution
(MP1)
• When solving a problem, maintain oversight of the process, while attending to the details
(MP8)
1 PS refers to Portrait of Students meeting the standards; and the number refers to the idea’s order of appearance in the section of the CCSS document.
2 CCRA refers to Career Readiness Anchor Standards; R refers to Reading; and the number refers to the standard number from which the text was excerpted.
3 W refers to Writing.
4 SL refers to Speaking and Listening.
5 MP refers to the Math Practice standards; the number refers to the standard number from which the text was excerpted.
6 L refers to Language.
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DISCUSSION TOOL
This tool is for use by teachers and by those who support teachers for reflection and discussion. The figures
below represent a continuum of teacher practices. The left columns (“More About”) reflect practices that
embody principles from the Fundamentals of Learning. The right columns (“Less About”) may occur in
classrooms at any given time, but they should not be the main practices found in classrooms.
Derived from the Fundamentals of Learning, this discussion tool highlights the emphases needed in classroom
practice to implement the CCRS effectively.
The purpose of this tool is for teacher self-reflection and is not intended to evaluate teaching practices. Here are
some questions for you to think about as you use this tool:
MAKING
MEANING
Assessment that Informs Teaching and Learning Assessment that Ranks Students
Learning Teaching
MANAGING
LEARNING
Students Articulating their Learning Status Teacher as the Sole Expert on What
Students Know
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FOL MENU
This FOL Menu includes all the FOL indicators listed in the “In Practice” section of this resource. This menu is
intended to help teachers easily access the FOL indicators while they design or review lessons. The indicators
are grouped together in the FOL Menu by: classroom culture, language, student, teacher, content, resource, and
activity and task.
Dweck, C. S., & Elliott, E. S. (1983). Achievement motivation. In P. H. Mussen (Series Ed.) & E. M. Hetherington (Vol. Ed.),
Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 4. Socialization, personality, and social development (4th ed., pp. 643-691). New York,
NY: Wiley.
Green, J., & Luke, A. (Eds.) (2006). Rethinking learning: What counts as learning and what learning counts [Special issue].
Review of Research in Education, 30(1).
González, N., Moll, L. C., & Amanti, C. (2005). Funds of knowledge: Theorizing practices in households, communities, and
classrooms. New York, NY: Routledge.
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. New York, NY: Routledge.
Moschkovich, J. (2012). Mathematics, the common core and language: Recommendations for mathematics instruction for
ELLs aligned with the common core. In K. Hakuta & M. Santos (Eds.), Understanding language: Commissioned papers on
language and literacy issues in the Common Core State Standards and Next Generation Science Standards (pp. 17-31). Palo
Alto, CA: Stanford University.
National Research Council. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. Washington, DC: National
Academy Press.
National Research Council. (2001). Knowing what students know: The science and design of educational assessment.
Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
National Research Council. (2012). Education for life and work: Developing transferable knowledge and skills in the 21st
Century. Washington, DC: National Academy Press.
Quinn, H., Lee, O., Kibler, A., & Valdés, G. (2012). Language demands and opportunities in relation to next generation
science standards for English language learners: What teachers need to know. In K. Hakuta & M. Santos (Eds.),
Understanding language: Commissioned papers on language and literacy issues in the Common Core State Standards and
Next Generation Science Standards (pp. 44-51). Palo Alto, CA: Stanford University.
Rothman, R. (2012, July/August). Nine ways the Common Core will change classroom practice. Harvard Education Letter,
28(4), 1-2. Retrieved from http://hepg.org/hel/article/543
Sawyer, R. K. (Ed.). (2006). The Cambridge handbook of the learning sciences. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Schraw, G., & Robinson, D. R. (Eds.). (2011). Assessment of higher order thinking skills. Charlotte, NC: Information Age
Publishing.
Schunk, D. H., & Zimmerman, B. J. (1998). Self-regulated learning: From teaching to self reflective practice. New York, NY:
The Guilford Press.
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