Curriculum development concepts and applications

Prof Organizations / Curriculum

Website

Mission Statement

International Reading Association www.reading.org

The mission of the International Reading Association is to promote reading by continuously advancing the quality of literacy instruction and research worldwide.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics www.nctm.org

The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics is a public voice of mathematics education supporting teachers to ensure equitable mathematics learning of the highest quality for all students through vision, leadership, professional development and research.

National Education Association www.nea.org

Our mission is to advocate for education professionals and to unite our members and the nation to fulfill the promise of public education to prepare every student to succeed in a diverse and interdependent world.

The International Reading Association has been in existence since 1956. With over 70,000 members worldwide, the IRA supports literacy professionals with resources, advocacy efforts, volunteerism, and professional development activities. IRA "participates actively in shaping sound public policy in education" (IRA, 2012). The research by IRA members helps inform instructional practice. The IRA promises its members will have access to practical teaching tools they can use in the classroom, access to journals, innovative research and best practices, and membership in a community of reading professionals. Their publications and annual meetings help strengthen the organization because members can read about what other teachers are doing and meet with them to discuss and share ideas.

As the IRA points out, "Each year, hundreds of studies related to literacy teaching and learning are published with the intention that educational practice be amended to incorporate current findings from research." A professional organization such as the IRA has the means to disseminate information. Teachers and administrators can make decisions about curriculum and instruction based on the latest information.

Another strong professional association is the National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. Founded in 1920, it is now the world's largest organization for mathematics education with nearly 100,000 members worldwide. Like the IRA, NCTM is instrumental in shaping public policy and provides math teachers with resources, professional development, research and advocacy. The organization publishes four journals, one which cover research in mathematics education, and the others geared towards teachers of mathematics from Pre-K to 6, grades 5-9, and high school, respectively. The NCTM was part of a joint task force that was formed to develop recommendations for supporting the implementation of the Common Core State Standards.

The National Education Association was founded in 1857 in Philadelphia as the National Teachers' Association. In 1900, there were fewer than 2,400 members, but by 2001, the rolls had swelled to more than 2.3 million members in over 13,000 local affiliate organizations (Kirkpatrick, 2001). By the early 1970s, the NEA also became the first national education organization with a political action committee. It remains one of the nation's largest and most influential. The NEA led the charge for the establishment of a U.S. Department of Education, which Congress did with the support of Jimmy Carter in 1979. Since then, the NEA has made strong showings at both the Republican and Democratic National Conventions. The NEA and its affiliate organizations engage in direct political action at the national, state and local levels. They fight to get elected the candidates who support their causes, such as increases in education funding. The NEA has been very adamant in its opposition to "No Child Left Behind," (Hoff, 2007). One of teachers' chief complaints is the reliance on standardized test scores to make the determination whether a school is "good" or "bad." They are also opposed to rewarding teachers financially based on their students' achievements on the tests.