Teaching Using Common Core State Standards (CCSS) The establishment of Common Core State Standards (CCSS) is one of the most important components in the field of education that is geared towards enhancing student learning and outcomes. Common Core Standards are essential in enhancing student learning and outcomes since they are a set of objectives for students to accomplish by the conclusion of their school year. However, these standards are not curriculum and do not determine the techniques employed by teachers in the classroom year. Currently, I teach Business Marketing in Grade 9-12 in a school where we utilize Pennsylvania Common Core Standards. My classroom comprises of students from different backgrounds with different learning needs and in different stages in their growth and development. The students are usually very attentive during the lessons and participate in classroom discussions. My students are seemingly interested in pursuing a career in the marketing field as shown in their attentiveness and participation in the lessons and other learning activities relating to this subject.

Standards Reflecting Students’ Strengths

The applicable Pennsylvania Common Core Standards for my subject and students is Business, Computer and Information Technology (BCIT) Standards for Grades Pre K-12. Pennsylvania’s Department of Education developed these standards to guide what public schools shall teach, challenge, and support each student to achieve his/her maximum potential and to obtain knowledge and skills relating to the various components in business, computer and information technology (Pennsylvania Department of Education Standards Aligned System, 2012). These Common Core Standards for Pennsylvania comprises various standards for business marketing course for different grade levels including marketing fundamentals, communication in marketing, marketing mix, marketing as a profession, and research.

The standard that reflects my students’ strengths in BCIT 15.9.12, which is a Business Marketing standard for Grade 9-12. This standard reflects my students’ strengths in two major ways i.e. understanding of marketing as a profession and marketing fundamentals. In a recent survey, the overall student score in each of these marketing concepts was at least 70% as shown in the figure below…

Figure 1 – Overall Students’ Performance in Marketing Concepts

Through the course, my students have enhanced their understanding of marketing as a profession and have demonstrated huge interest in pursuing a career in the marketing field. My students have been able to show understanding of the various...

Additionally, my students have demonstrated grasp of professional designations and organizations in the marketing field as well as the required educational and certification qualifications for the various marketing careers. In this case, BCIT 15.9.12.A. standard of Pennsylvania Common Core Standards reflects one of my students’ major strengths in the classroom.
Secondly, BCIT 15.9.12.B and 15.9.12.C reflect my students’ strengths in terms of their understanding of the various marketing influences in the business world and the various members in the marketing channel. Throughout class discussions and assignments, my students have shown understanding on how marketing affects modern business, households, and society. When I asked them to name the various ways through which marketing influences households, business and the society, my students provided various answers including consumer-to-consumer, business-to-business, and business-to-consumer. With regards to the various members of a marketing channel, my students provided several members including the company, wholesaler, retailers, consumers, and other intermediaries. Through this my students have demonstrated that some of their major strengths include understanding of marketing as a profession and marketing fundamentals, which are the foundations towards pursuing a career in this field. Therefore, my students have a suitable foundation and framework for pursuing a career in the field of marketing.

Teaching Strategies that have Influenced Mastery of this Standard

My students’ development of a suitable foundation for pursuing a career in the marketing field is influenced by the teaching strategies I have employed in the classroom. These teaching strategies have enabled these students to successfully master the standard, which has become one of their major strengths. The first step I took towards developing a suitable teaching strategy for the classroom was to identify the relevant PA Common Core Standard to be accomplished by the end of the school year with respect to Business Marketing. This was followed by conducting an analysis of the specific needs of my students in order to develop an instructional strategy that meets their needs and enhance their learning and outcomes. Once the standard and students’ needs was identified, I selected an instructional strategy that would help in delivery of the curriculum in a manner that meets students needs and promotes the accomplishment of this standard (The Teacher’s Academy, 2014).

The instructional strategy I utilized in teaching these…