A CASE STUDY OF COMMON CORE IMPLEMENTATION

IN A LINKED LEARNING ENVIRONMENT

A DISSERTATION PROPOSAL

Presented to the Department of Educational Leadership

California State University, Long Beach

Committee Members:

James W. Scott, Ed.D. (Chair)Jared R. Stallones, Ph.D.

Ayele Dodoo, Ed.D.

By Erin Broun Biolchino

August 2015

TABLE OF CONTENTS

Chapter 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3Problem Statement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6Purpose . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8Research Questions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9Conceptual Framework . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10Operational Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15Assumptions, Delimitations, and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .17Significance . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18

Chapter 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20Linked Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20

Linked Learning as Reform. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20Linked Learning and Career Technical Education . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .20The Structure of Linked Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21Existing Linked Learning Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .23

The Common Core State Standards . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 Standards-Based Education as Reform . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32Overview of CCSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .33Implementing the CCSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .36

The Intersection of Linked Learning and CCSS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42

Chapter 3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47Site . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48Sample . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50Procedures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52Data Collection Methods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 54General Methodological Design and Defense of Method Chosen . . . . . . . . .56Data Collection Instruments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .57Data Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60Protection of Subjects . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62Positionality . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63Trustworthiness and Credibility . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .65

References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67

Appendices . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .74

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CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Linked Learning is a high school reform effort designed to engage high school students in

their education and prepare them for post-secondary opportunities through a deliberate

combination of academic content and real-world technical skills. The first Linked Learning

pathways began in 2009 with nine school districts in California participating in the California

Linked Learning District Initiative (ConnectEd, “California Linked Learning District Initiative”).

In 2013, the state of California expanded the Linked Learning work to twenty additional districts

via Assembly Bill 790 (AB 790) (ConnectEd, “AB 790 Linked Learning Pilot Program”). The

James Irvine Foundation funded grants to the nine original school districts across California to

develop initial pathways, and additional funding came from the Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) to

fund the twenty AB 790 pilot districts (ConnectEd, “AB 790 Linked Learning Pilot Program”).

A Linked Learning pathway is a course of study for high school students focused on a

specific career theme. Linked Learning is based on four core components: “rigorous academics,

career-based learning in the classroom, work-based learning in real-world workplaces, and

integrated student supports” (Guha et al., 2014, p. 1). Each of these components works together

to provide a cohesive, relevant educational program for high school students related to the

industry theme of their pathway. Students take a series of three or four technical elective courses

—one during each year of high school—related to that career so that the students can develop

real-world career skills while still in high school. Additionally, a student’s core academic

courses complement the work in the elective courses through cross-curricular projects and

thorough integration of the career theme into the curriculum. Ideally, a team of pathway teachers

works closely together to collaboratively plan the curriculum and support a student as he or she

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moves through high school and transitions to college and/or career. Linked Learning pathways

offer UC-approved “a-g” courses in the core subject areas as part of the traditional college

readiness curriculum, and Linked Learning pathways also focus on teaching 21st century skills.

Accordingly, Linked Learning students are being prepared for college and career at the same

time they receive technical career skills. Students in a pathway have the opportunity to interact

with industry professionals through work-based learning experiences such as fieldtrips and

internships.

California recognizes fifteen different industry sectors that are vital to the California

economy, and each industry sector contains a set of standards, updated in 2013, that define what

should be taught in career-technical education (CTE) courses in California (California

Department of Education, CTE Model Curriculum Standards). Each Linked Learning pathway

develops around one of the fifteen CTE industry sectors in California. Within each California

industry sector are several (usually three) different pathways, which are more narrow career

options within a given industry sector. For example, within the Public Services industry sector

there are pathways in Public Safety, Emergency Response, and Legal Practices (California

Department of Education. Public Services: California Career Technical Education Model

Curriculum Standards). These CTE standards for the industry sector serve as the content

standards for the CTE elective courses within a Linked Learning pathway, and teachers within a

pathway reference the CTE standards when writing Student Learning Outcomes for the pathway.

Student Learning Outcomes are objectives for students to reach at each grade level as they

participate in the pathway. This work of investigating the content standards, making connections

between content areas, and planning relevant learning experiences for students is central to

Linked Learning pathways. Because of the hands-on, real-world focus of pathways,

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multidisciplinary projects focused on the Student Learning Outcomes are the ideal instructional

strategy in a Linked Learning environment.

Woodbridge Unified School District (WUSD) (pseudonym) was one of the original nine

school districts participating in the California Linked Learning District Initiative. WUSD began

with six Linked Learning pathways in the 2009-2010 school year, and during the 2015-2016

school year there are eleven pathways in operation in WUSD. The WUSD Board of Education

passed a resolution in 2012 that fifty percent of the district’s high school students will be

enrolled in a Linked Learning pathway; this action by the Board emphasized that Linked

Learning pathways is the major high school reform initiative in WUSD with the support of the

entire district behind the effort (Woodbridge Unified School District, 2012). Although there is

no date set for WUSD to reach the fifty percent mark, enrollment in Linked Learning pathways

has been increasing steadily every year. During the 2014-2015 school year, eighteen percent of

the district’s high school students were enrolled in a pathway, and WUSD anticipates thirty

percent pathway enrollment for the 2015-2016 school year (WUSD Director of Pathways,

personal communication, February 26, 2015).

WUSD operates seven of its Linked Learning pathways on comprehensive high school

campuses, and four of its pathways are at Hills High School (HHS) (pseudonym), a small, wall-

to-wall pathways high school. All students and teachers at HHS are part of a Linked Learning

pathway, so Pathways are the central focus of HHS. Teachers at HHS are expected to utilize

project-based learning (PBL) as the primary instructional strategy, creating projects that

encompass their pathway’s Student Learning Outcomes and the Common Core State Standards

(CCSS). Accordingly, HHS is a unique environment where all teachers are experiencing the

implementation of CCSS through the lens of Linked Learning.

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Problem Statement

While the first nine Linked Learning districts were grappling with the work of creating

and building new pathways, the curricular landscape for California changed greatly with the

adoption of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010. The problem being investigated

in this study is that Linked Learning teachers face the challenge of implementing both CCSS and

Linked Learning with fidelity so that students have a rigorous, engaging high school experience.

Teachers in Linked Learning pathways had already begun to rethink their curriculum to fit the

pathway structure, and the CCSS added an additional layer of complexity to the Linked Learning

curriculum design process. The Law of Initiative Fatigue explains that when teachers are met

with an increasing number of new expectations, the emotional energy that can be devoted to each

separate initiative decreases (Reeves, 2010). In a school setting with a fixed amount of money,

professional development, time, and other resources, teachers only have so much energy and

resources to devote to new initiatives such as Linked Learning and CCSS (Reeves, 2010).

After the state adopted the CCSS in August 2010, school districts began scrambling to

develop CCSS implementation plans to prepare teachers and students for the new standards in

time for the new Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments that began in

the spring of 2015. The CCSS contain entirely new sets of content standards for English

Language Arts (ELA) and mathematics in addition to literacy standards for social studies,

science, and technical subjects. The shift to CCSS means that teachers have to adjust their

pacing guides, lesson plans, and even the instructional strategies they use with students to meet

the increased rigor and depth that the CCSS demand. The Common Core also requires a

different approach to assessing student learning, as the SBAC assessments require that students

apply their learning through performance tasks. To implement CCSS, teachers have had to

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create performance assessments that mirror the SBAC assessment in order to prepare students for

the reading, writing, and transfer of knowledge that performance tasks require.

Education has gone through reform movements and changes since the inception of public

education, and change serves as the backdrop for everything that occurs in education (Fullan,

1993). “For the past thirty years we have been trying to up the ante in getting the latest

innovations and policies into place” (Fullan, 1993, p. 1). We are in the midst of many large-

scale changes in curriculum, instruction, and assessment in the state of California. The CCSS

were adopted in 2010, with most districts just beginning to implement these new standards fully.

WUSD began full implementation of CCSS in the 2014-2015 school year. The new testing and

assessment framework for California formally began in the spring of 2015 with the

implementation of the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments. New

standards for other subject areas, as well as changes to traditional assessments like the Scholastic

Aptitude Test (SAT) and California High School Exit Exam (CAHSEE), are also pending. The

California State Board of Education just decided in March 2015 that they would suspend the

Academic Performance Index for the 2014-2015 school year because there is so much change

occurring at the present time that they have not yet decided how to calculate new API scores for

schools (Torlakson, 2015).

States, districts, and schools build their structure within the environment of change,

trying to add some order and efficiency to the process of education (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

Districts have made numerous structural adjustments in response to the CCSS, such as reworking

their technology policies; allocating resources for professional development; creating new

positions/roles such a librarians, technology specialists, and instructional coaches; creating new

approaches to and calendars for instruction and assessment. Teachers, the practitioners on the

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ground who work with students daily, operate within the overarching environment of change, the

structure of their particular school district and site, and often under the burden of initiative

fatigue. In order to carry out their role as teachers as proscribed by their districts, teachers must

juggle an increasing number of educational initiatives. This study will examine both the

structure put in place by the district and at the school site to support teachers as they navigate the

complex intersection between Linked Learning and CCSS.

Purpose

The purpose of this case study is to examine the intersection between Linked Learning

and the Common Core State Standards. The researcher will investigate Linked Learning

structures and practices at HHS and how these have shaped implementation of the CSSS. A case

study is “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon (‘the case’) in depth

and within its real-world context” (Yin, 2014, p 16). A combination of interviews, observations,

and document analysis will be used to explore the intersection of Linked Learning and CCSS at

HHS. HHS opened in 2011, right after California’s implementation of the CCSS in August

2010. WUSD began professional development for its teachers regarding aspects of the Common

Core in 2011, just as HHS opened its doors. The instruments used in this study are designed to

elicit teachers’ experiences and perceptions as they implemented these two reform initiatives—

Linked Learning and CCSS—simultaneously.

Teachers at HHS face the challenge of implementing the CCSS while still trying to

develop the Pathways at a relatively new high school. Because HHS is just beginning its fifth

year of operation, the curriculum and culture of each pathway is still in development, and

teachers are also just integrating the CCSS into their classes. Teachers at HHS had to learn about

Linked Learning pathways at the same time they began to implement the CCSS. Starting a new

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Pathway requires that teachers collaborate to write Student Learning Outcomes, plan projects,

and create their pathway’s culture. Teachers at HHS were doing all of these things while also

learning about the CCSS and integrating the CCSS into their curricula, instruction, and

assessments. This case study will examine the perceptions of teachers as they continue this

work, shedding light on the intersection of Linked Learning and the CCSS. Teachers will

participate in interviews to provide them with an opportunity to share their perceptions of the

connection between Linked Learning and the CCSS. Teachers will also be able to share the

challenges they have experienced with curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Site and district

administrators who were involved in shaping the structure of the site will be interviewed to

ascertain their vision of the intersection of Linked Learning and the CCSS. Documents from

HHS related to the implementation of Linked Learning and the CCSS will also be analyzed in

order to provide a complete picture of the story of Common Core implementation in a Linked

Learning environment at HHS. This triangulation of three sources of data will help to verify the

data obtained from each source, contributing to the credibility of the study (Lichtman, 2014).

Research Questions

The purpose of this case study is to examine the intersection of Linked Learning and

CCCS at Hills High School, a wall-to-wall Linked Learning pathways high school that is in the

process of implementing the CCSS. In order to address this issue, the following research

questions will be used:

1. How do teachers perceive the connection between teaching in a Linked Learning environment

and their implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

2. What challenges have Linked Learning teachers experienced when making the shift to the

Common Core State Standards?

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a. What curricular challenges have Linked Learning teachers experienced when making

the shift to the CCSS?

b. What instructional challenges have Linked Learning teachers experienced when

making the shift to the CCSS?

c. What challenges with student assessment have Linked Learning teachers experienced

when making the shift to the CCSS?

3. How does the Linked Learning Pathway structure of the school support teachers’

implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

Conceptual Framework

This case study is based on a conceptual framework that is an integration of Fullan’s

Change Theory, Bolman & Deal’s Structural Frame, and Reeves’ Law of Initiative Fatigue. The

combination of these three theories explains the context for the experiences of teachers and

administrators who planned the structure of and are carrying out the work at Hills High School.

Change is an omnipresent force in society, and it provides the environment in which the structure

of districts and schools are designed (Fullan, 1993). Teachers conduct their curriculum,

instruction, assessment, and many other tasks, based on the foundation of the structures of their

schools and districts (Bolman & Deal, 2008). All of the initiatives that educators face are a

result of the structure of their school and district, so teachers are left to balance multiple

initiatives while also balancing on the structures built by their school district and school site in an

environment of change. Practically speaking, teachers are engaged in several balancing acts at

once. Figure 1 below illustrates this conceptual framework.

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FIGURE 1. Conceptual Framework.

Change Theory explains that schools have a moral purpose to educate students, and in

order to achieve this moral purpose change is necessary (Fullan, 1993). Fullan acknowledges

that change exists everywhere in society, but he insists that educators must move past this

abstract view of change to become change agents within their educational organizations so that

they can effectively achieve the moral purpose of making a difference for students (Fullan,

1993). Fullan (1993) explains the “deeper reason” for change in education:

A deeper reason…is that education has a moral purpose. The moral purpose is

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to make a difference in the lives of students regardless of background, and to help

produce citizens who can live and work productively in increasingly dynamically

complex societies. This is not new either, but what is new, I think, is the realization

that to do this puts teachers precisely in the business of continuous innovation and change

(p. 4).

Educational initiatives and reform efforts are always in flux, but students’ needs are always

changing too, so schools must respond to all of these changes if they are going to truly meet the

needs of students. Fullan (1993) also draws a distinction between merely existing amidst change

and acting as change agents within education systems. The latter, he argues, must be done in a

deliberate, sustained manner. “The new problem of change, then, ... is what would it take to

make the educational system a learning organization—expert at dealing with change as a normal

part of its work, not just in relation to the latest policy, but as a way of life” (Fullan, 1993, p. 4).

Fullan’s Change Theory is really a call to educators to embrace the complex change occurring in

society and in education and to let it affect their teaching practice for the better. Fullan (2007)

outlines three elements that are critical for “change in practice” in education:

(1) the possible use of new or revised materials (instructional resources such as

curriculum materials or technologies),

(2) the possible use of new teaching approaches (i.e., new teaching strategies or

activities), and

(3) the possible alteration of beliefs (e.g., pedagogical assumptions and theories

underlying particular new policies or programs) (p. 30).

Teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of change will be examined using these three

elements as a framework.

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Bolman and Deal (2008) developed four frames that serve as lenses through which to

view an organization and its challenges. The four frames (structural, human resource, political,

and symbolic) were developed as a structure for examining “how organizations work, how they

should work, and why they often fail” (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 61). “Multiframe thinking” is a

means of gaining a holistic view of an organization by taking into account the structural, human

resource, political, and symbolic aspects of an organization (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 68). The

four frames work in collaboration with one another and have overlapping elements. One of the

four frames is the structural frame, which “looks beyond individuals to examine the social

architecture of work” (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 165). The structural frame is concerned with an

organization’s circumstances and also addresses issues of “structural change and redesign”

(Bolman & Deal, 2008, p. 85). The school site that is the subject of the case study was built as

an attempt by a school district to redesign the high school experience for students, so the

structural frame is the space in which the this school site lives. “The right structure depends on

prevailing circumstances and considers an organization’s goals, strategies, technologies, and

people” (Bolman & Deal, 2008, p, 166). This case study will examine HHS from the perspective

of the structural frame, looking at the school’s deliberate pathways design and paying special

attention to people and their roles during the school’s initial development and current existence.

Because education and schools are in a constant state of change, the demands on teachers

are always changing. Teachers are often met with educational initiative after initiative, year after

year. “Hatch (2000) reports that 66 percent of the schools were engaged with three or more

improvement programs . . . and in one district 19 percent of the schools ‘were working with nine

or more different improvement programs simultaneously’” (Fullan, 2001, p. 110). Each new

instructional strategy or school reform effort promises to solve some critical problem plaguing

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education, but these new ideas are often perceived by teachers as just one more thing being

added to their already overflowing plate. Reeves (2010) defines the “Law of Initiative Fatigue”

as follows:

The Law of Initiative Fatigue states that when the number of initiatives increases

while time, resources, and emotional energy are constant, then each new initiative—

no matter how well conceived or well intentioned—will receive fewer minutes,

dollars, and ounces of energy than its predecessor (p. 27).

Often, these new initiatives are born out of the best intentions of school and district leaders, but

rather than helping teachers they become a burden (Reeves, 2010). As Fullan (2001) explains,

“leaders and members of the organization, because they live in a culture of frenetic change, are

vulnerable to seeking the comforting clarity of off-the-shelf solutions” (p. 45). As new

initiatives—wrapped as “solutions”—are added, it is rare that anything else is taken away, thus

leading to an accumulation of initiatives. An increasing pile of initiatives can be confusing to

teachers because they do not know what the true focus of the school or district is and what their

first priority should be (Reeves, 2010). This, in part, contributes to veteran teachers’

unwillingness to participate in new initiatives because they have seen so many new initiatives

during their career that they know the next one is just around the corner. Reeves explains that

the remedy for the condition of initiative fatigue is focus; districts must concentrate their

attention and resources on fewer initiatives with a coherent focus (Reeves, 2010).

States, districts, and schools build their structure within the environment of change,

trying to add some order and efficiency to the process of education (Bolman & Deal, 2008).

Districts have made numerous structural adjustments in response to the CCSS, such as reworking

their technology policies; allocating resources for professional development; creating new

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positions/roles such a librarians, technology specialists, and instructional coaches; creating new

approaches to and calendars for instruction and assessment. Teachers, the practitioners on the

ground who work with students daily, operate within the overarching environment of change, the

structure of their particular school district and site, and often under the burden of initiative

fatigue. In order to carry out their role as teachers as proscribed by their districts, teachers must

juggle an increasing number of educational initiatives, including new curriculum/standards,

instructional methods, and assessment. Teachers at the site face all of the changes just

mentioned, some of which come in the form of educational initiatives, but they face additional

initiatives as well. Linked Learning requires additional structures be in place in the district and

school site, and it also places additional demands on teachers. This case study will examine the

structures put in place by the district and at the school site to support teachers and will examine

teachers’ perceptions and experiences as they navigate the complex intersection between Linked

Learning and CCSS.

Operational Definitions

Assessment: Assessment in this study refers to classroom- or pathway-based assessments (both summative and formative) that are designed by teachers. As discussed in this study, both Linked Learning and Common Core require a move toward assessment as authentic demonstrations of student learning. State and federal assessments, such as the Smarter Balanced Assessment Consortium (SBAC) assessments, are not part of the present study.

Common Core State Standards (CCSS): The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are the new content standards adopted by California in August 2010. These are new standards for mathematics, grades K-12, which replaced the 1997 math standards. There are also new standards for English Language Arts, grades K-12, which replaced the 1997 English Language Arts Standards. The CCSS also include literacy standards for all subjects for grades K-12, which are in addition to existing standards for these subjects (including social science, science, and technical subjects). All Common Core State Standards (math, ELA, and literacy) are part of the present study. The Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) and other standards are not part of the present study.

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Linked Learning (LL): Linked Learning refers to the high school reform effort that links engaging, real-world learning with strong academics. The four core components of Linked Learning are rigorous academics, real-world technical skills, work-based learning, and student support. Linked Learning was formerly known as “multiple pathways.” For the purposes of this study, the same definition of Linked Learning is used as defined by the James Irvine Foundation, ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career, and the Linked Learning Alliance.

Pathway: A Pathway is a single small learning community at a high school that exists within the larger structure of Linked Learning. A high school may have several pathways, but each student enrolls in one pathway, following a specific course of study for that pathway. Typically, each teacher also participates in only one pathway. For the purposes of this study, a pathway is synonymous with Linked Learning Pathway, as Pathways exist within a larger structure of Linked Learning. At its core, a pathway is a small learning community (SLC), so a pathway is one specific type of SLC (all pathways are SLCs, but not all SLCs are pathways). Also, the term “pathway” has its roots in CTE academies, so the term “academy” is interchangeable with “pathway” throughout this dissertation (for example, when it appears in the literature), although the present study will utilize the term “pathway.”

Pathway Student Learning Outcomes: Each team of Pathway teachers creates a set of Student Learning Outcomes that are benchmarked by grade level, according to the model of Linked Learning outlined by ConnectEd: The California Center for College and Career. Student Learning Outcomes are objectives for students to reach at each grade level as they participate in the pathway. These are specific to the pathway and are usually derived largely from the California Career-Technical Education Standards from the industry sector represented by the pathway. These outcomes drive instruction for a pathway, enabling all teachers to know what students should know and be able to do at the end of each grade level. These outcomes are a living document that needs to be revised periodically to meet the needs of the pathway’s students.

Project-Based Learning (PBL): PBL is an instructional strategy where all learning in a classroom is centered on an inquiry-based project. Students are presented with a compelling driving question, and all instruction occurring in the classroom is focused on guiding students to answering this question and creating a final product or presentation of learning. Traditional teaching methods, such as lectures, can play a role in PBL, but they exist only to the extent they are needed to further students’ progress toward answering the driving question under the umbrella of a project. PBL is an opportunity for students to demonstrate what they have learned through authentic assessment. For the purposes of this study, the definitions of PBL utilized by the Buck Institute, New Tech Network, and Connect Ed: The California Center for College and Career are applicable.

21st Century Skills: These are the skills that today’s students will need to be successful in their post-secondary endeavors, including college and career. Examples of 21st century skills include oral communication, written communication, technological literacy, work ethic, collaboration, problem solving, creativity, leadership, and adaptability. For the purposes of this study, the term 21st century skills includes “soft skills” or “career readiness skills.”

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Assumptions, Delimitations, and Limitations

The researcher assumes, for the purpose of this study, that all teachers at Hills High

School are attempting to implement the four core components of Linked Learning Pathways and

the Common Core State Standards with fidelity. Although there is strong dependence on this

assumption, the teachers’ responses during interviews will shed light on the extent to which they

are familiar with and are attempting to implement the CCSS and Linked Learning. Data from

teacher observations will also provide information about the extent to which teachers at HHS are

implementing the CCSS and delivering pathway-focused instruction.

The limitations of a study are the “potential weaknesses or problems with the study”

(Plano Clark & Cresswell, 2010, p. 373). The sample size for the study is small: a total of

approximately fifteen teachers and five administrators will be interviewed. While this sample

size is small, it represents a large percentage of available subjects, as HHS is a small school.

There are presently 22 teachers at the site, 20 of whom taught at HHS prior to the 2015-2016

school year. Because this is a case study, the findings will not be generalizable. Yin (2014)

explains that “statistical generalization” is a “fatal flaw” in case studies because the case “will be

too small in number to serve as an adequately sized sample to represent any larger population”

(Yin, 2014. P. 40). A case study can be used for “analytic generalization,” which applies the

theories from the case study to other situations (Yin, 204, p. 41). As discussed in the significance

section below, the findings of this case study will likely have applicability to other schools in

California, at least from a theoretical perspective.

Delimitations are constraints that the researcher chooses to impose on the study,

including decisions about the research design. Only Linked Learning pathways at one high

school will be the focus of this case study, and the pathways at other high schools within the

17

same district will not be part of this study. The case study design requires the exploration of “a

bounded system in depth,” and that system is HHS (Plano Clark & Cresswell, 2010, p, 242).

Additional delimitations relate to the researcher’s choice to focus narrowly on the Common Core

State Standards and not all new standards and assessment systems occurring within California.

In addition to the CCSS, California adopted an additional set of standards for science, the Next

Generation Science Standards (NGSS), in 2013, and new social studies standards are currently

being drafted. The NGSS are still very new to districts and teachers, and WUSD has just begun

to train teachers on NGSS within the past year. The NGSS also only apply to science teachers,

while the CCSS (literacy standards) have an application in every classroom. The researcher is

not including the NGSS in this study and will only focus on the CCSS standards for English

Language Arts, Mathematics, and Literacy.

Significance

Although the subject of this case study is a small high school in California, the findings

of this research could help shape the implementation of CCSS and Linked Learning in other

schools and districts. HHS is one of the first small high schools built with a wall-to-wall focus

on Linked Learning Pathways, and after HHS was built other districts have been opening similar

small schools. For example, the Long Beach Unified School District (LBUSD) opened McBride

High School, a small high school with three Linked Learning Pathways, for the 2013-2014

school year (Zonkel, 2013). Additional school districts are also beginning to implement Linked

Learning Pathways. In 2011, California Senate Bill 1070 (SB 1070) provided funding to twenty

AB 790 pilot districts to begin Linked Learning Pathways (ConnectEd, “AB 790 Linked

Learning Pilot Program”). In 2014, the first round of California Career Pathways Trust (CCPT)

18

grants provided $250 million in funding to school districts across the state to develop Pathways

(Reimers, 2014). An additional $250 million in CCPT grants were issued across California in

May of 2015. These additional schools and districts impacted by AB 790 and the CCPT grants

have funding to implement Pathways, and this study will provide the benefit of the wisdom of

existing Pathways. The experiences and perceptions of the HHS teachers, in addition to the

administrative experiences in structuring HHS, will be useful to schools and districts who are

just beginning their journey with integrating Linked Learning and the Common Core.

19

CHAPTER 2

Linked Learning

Linked Learning as Reform

Linked Learning is a high school reform effort in California that is designed to engage

students in their high school education and prepare them for post-secondary opportunities by

combining real-world career experiences with rigorous academics. Linked Learning takes the

career-focused aspects of traditional career-technical education (CTE) programs and merges

them with rigorous academics to help prepare students for college and career (Rutherford-Quach

& Rice, 2013). Linked Learning formally began in 2009 with 9 districts receiving grants from

the James Irvine Foundation through the California Linked Learning District Initiative (the

Initiative) to create a system of Linked Learning in California (Guha et al. 2014). In 2013, 63

additional districts received state funding to create a system of Pathways (Guha et al., 2013).

Linked Learning is a relatively new program, having only been in existence since 2009 and only

having graduates who participated in four years of Linked Learning since 2013. Accordingly,

there have been few studies conducted about Linked Learning, and there are minimal data about

Linked Learning’s effectiveness.

Linked Learning and Career-Technical Education

Vocational education began in the United States to provide students with the skills they

would need to enter the workforce and support the economy by filling high-demand jobs.

Federal funding for CTE programs began with the passage of the Perkins law in 1984; Perkins

has been reauthorized in 1998 and 2006 (Levesque et al., 2008). As Stern (2010) explains:

In the 1980s, what was then called vocational education (VE) started evolving toward

what is now called career-technical education (CTE). VE courses were explicitly

20

intended to prepare students for direct entry into full-time work—not for college or

university. In contrast, CTE courses are meant to fit together with classes in academic

subjects so that high school students are prepared both for work and postsecondary

education (p. 1).

This shift from vocational to career-technical education is apparent in the federal legislation that

provides funding for CTE programs, as the most recent version of the law mentions “career and

technical” education rather than “vocational” education (Stern, 2010, p. 1). Even in its name, the

2006 version of the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act (Perkins

Act) includes major shifts away from vocational education toward college and career readiness

(Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement Act, 2006). The Perkins Act

defines career and technical education as “organized educational activities that provides

individuals with coherent and rigorous content aligned with challenging academic standards and

relevant technical knowledge and skills needed to prepare for further education and skills in

current or emerging professions” (Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Improvement

Act, 2006, S. 250(3)(A)(i)). Career-technical education is prevalent in the United States, with 88

percent of high schools offering some form of occupational program (Levesque et al., 2008).

Linked Learning is a specific type of CTE program that continues and extends the trend away

from mere vocational education (college or career) toward college and career readiness that

began with the Perkins reauthorization in 2006.

The Structure of Linked Learning

From its formal beginning in 2009, Linked Learning was guided by clear standards and

systems of support. District leaders, site leaders, and teachers involved in Linked Learning

require much support and professional development as they redesign their educational structures

21

and practices to create and develop pathways. The Stanford Center for Opportunity Policy in

Education (SCOPE), in conjunction with ConnectEd: The California Center for College and

Career (ConnectEd) have provided much of the professional development, tools, standards, and

structures to support Linked Learning districts over the first six years of Linked Learning

implementation (Guha et al., 2014). Linked Learning is based on four core components:

“rigorous academics, career-based learning in the classroom, work-based learning in real-world

workplaces, and integrated student supports” (Guha et al., 2014, p. 1). These components are

integrated to form a rigorous, career-focused high school experience for students. Additionally,

there are four guiding principles of Linked Learning:

1. Linked Learning prepares students to succeed in college, career, and life.

2. Linked Learning prepares high school students for a full range of post-graduation

opportunities.

3. Linked Learning connects academics to real-world applications.

4. Linked Learning improves student engagement. (ConnectEd, n.d.b)

Students who participate in Linked Learning select one career-themed pathway, which is a

“formal program that implements these core components and the guiding principles of Linked

Learning” (Rutherford-Quach & Rice, 2013, p. 1). Students then engage in a course of study that

incorporates CTE elective courses and core academic classes throughout their four years in high

school.

Additionally, there are seven “Essential Elements for Pathway Quality” that set the

standard for Linked Learning pathway quality: “student-outcomes driven practice; equity, access,

and achievement; program of study; learning and teaching; work-based learning; personalized

student support; and pathway leadership and partnerships” (ConnectEd, n.d.). Each of these

22

elements contains a detailed description of how a pathway would meet the criteria for quality in

the form of a rubric, which are available online and easily accessible to all pathways. ConnectEd

developed the essential elements as a clear set of standards so that new pathways would have a

direction for their improvement efforts, and ConnectEd provides coaching and support for

districts to move their pathways toward certification (ConnectEd, n.d.c).

Existing Linked Learning Research

Student Success in Linked Learning Pathways. The Center for Advanced Research

and Technology (CART) is a school in Clovis, California that utilizes the Linked Learning

model of instruction. In fact, CART was one of the earliest Linked Learning schools as it used

an early form of Linked Learning that preceded the Initiative. CART is a joint venture of the

Clovis and Fresno Unified School Districts, and it graduated its first class of 12th grade students

in 2002 (Forbes, 2011). Accordingly, CART has collected some of the earliest Linked Learning

success data, comparing college enrollment data from 2002-2008 between CART students and

“matched comparison students.” These “matched comparison students” were demographically

similar students (in the areas of gender, ethnicity, home language, CAHSEE score, English

proficiency, special education status, parent education level, and free-reduced lunch status) from

the Clovis and Fresno districts who did not attend CART (Forbes, 2011). Overall, CART

students showed larger university enrollment numbers than the comparison group, ranging from

1 to 10 percent more CART students enrolled in a university than students in the comparison

group between 2002-2008 (Forbes, 2011). Similarly, CART students showed larger community

college enrollment numbers than the comparison group, ranging from 4 to 19 percent more

CART students enrolled in a university than students in the comparison group between 2002-

23

2008 (Forbes, 2011). These results from CART seem to indicate that Linked Learning students

attend college at higher rates than non-Linked Learning peers.

In 2012 and 2013, SCOPE conducted case studies of three districts (Porterville Unified

School District, Pasadena Unified School District, and Sacramento Unified School District)

participating in the Initiative (Rice & Rutherford-Quach, 2012; Rustique & Rutherford-Quach,

2012; Rutherford-Quach & Rice, 2013). Each case study was focused on a single research

question: “How did the district’s leadership guide and support the development and

implementation of the Linked Learning Initiative?” (Rustique & Rutherford-Quach, 2012, p. 3).

In Porterville in 2010-2011, students participating in Linked Learning pathways showed double-

digit increases in math and English CAHSEE pass rates over their non-Pathway peers (Rustique

& Rutherford Quach, 2012). Quantitative data about student achievement was not available for

Pasadena and Sacramento, but the case studies did outline the work-based learning experiences

available to students and the overall district and community involvement with pathways (Rice &

Rutherford-Quach, 2012; Rutherford-Quach & Rice, 2013).

Every year there is an annual Linked Learning report written by the Stanford Research

Institute (SRI). This report is based on a comprehensive set of interviews, surveys, observations,

and data collection from Linked Learning districts across the state that are funded by the James

Irvine Foundation. Each district receives its own private report, and the collective results are

published for the public. In 2014, a fifth-year report was published that summarizes the first five

years of Linked Learning across all nine California Linked Learning District Initiative districts

(Guha et al., 2014). The focus of the fifth-year report was to shift attention to focus on students,

focusing on student outcomes, student engagement in school, student success in school, student

24

experiences in pathways, student perception of skills gained, and student post-secondary plans

(Guha et al., 2014). Several significant findings related to students emerged:

Students in certified pathways are 5% more likely than similar peers to remain in the

district through 12th grade (p. vii)

Students in certified pathways outperform similar peers in credit accumulation in the 9th-

11th grades, with the biggest difference of 7.3 more credits in 9th grade (p. viii).

“Student subgroups most frequently underserved by traditional schools—such as English

learners, underachieving students, African American and Latino students—who enrolled

in certified pathways perform at least as well as (if not better) on credit accumulation and

test score outcomes compared with their peers in the same subgroup in traditional high

school programs” (p. vii).

12th grade students in certified pathways are 12% more likely than similar peers to report

that a teacher “discussed how what they learned in class could be applied to what they

might to after high school” (p. ix).

12th grade students in certified pathways are 20% more likely to report that they had

developed skills necessary to “collaborate in a group to achieve a shared goal” (p. x).

12th grade students in certified pathways are 16% more likely to report that they had

improved their ability to speak in public (p. x).

These results offer a mere snapshot of the student success data contained in the SRI fifth-year

evaluation report; however, it is clear that Linked Learning is showing tangible benefits for

students.

Josten (2015) studied student perceptions of the impact of Linked Learning on readiness

for opportunities beyond high school. This mixed methods study utilized surveys, focus groups,

25

and interviews to ascertain students’ perceptions of their engagement in high school (Josten,

2015). Participants were from fifteen high schools within one large urban high school district in

the western United States. Sixty-three of the available 1,400 students responded to the survey.

Post-secondary readiness “could be measured through the students’ application of skills learned

in high school to their post-high school experiences” and “the extent to which . . . Linked

Learning helped prepare a student for real-world challenges after leaving high school” (Josten,

2015, p. 47). This lack of a concrete definition of post-secondary readiness led to inconclusive

findings in this area. Sixty percent of the students surveyed indicated that they were pursuing a

career directly related to their high school CTE work, and 82.5% indicated that they were better

prepared for academic courses after high school because of their CTE pathway (Josten, 2015).

Eighty-seven percent of student survey indicated that they were currently attending a two- or

four-year college; however, this college-going data for CTE students is insignificant without

non-CTE data for comparison.

Adams (2012) conducted a case study of a “Linked Learning CTE program serving more

than 100 high schools in one county in southern California” to ascertain student engagement and

preparation for post-secondary opportunities in Linked Learning pathways (p. 69). The study did

not look at college-going rates of the students but instead relied on interviews with internship

supervisors and employers to ascertain that students participating in the Linked Learning

program “had superior attitudes, came to work on time, and were open to learning” as compared

to students from the local college programs whom they had previously supervised. “The

community recognized the program as producing students who are prepared for the world of

work with quality training and experience” (Adams, 2012, p. 139).

26

Because there are only a handful of studies that have been done, to date, on Linked

Learning, a February 2015 search of the Dissertations and Theses Database yielded a total of

eight dissertations on the topic of Linked Learning. This search was conducted using the search

terms “linked learning” for dissertations and theses since 2000, which yielded 302 results. When

these results were skimmed, only the first few results appeared to be related to Linked Learning

pathways as they are being studied in the present study. Accordingly, the search was modified to

search for “linked learning” only within the title, and this search initially yielded seven results.

When this same search was tried again in May 2015, an additional dissertation published in April

2015 was added to the list, making a total of eight Linked Learning dissertations. This relatively

small number of studies on the topic of Linked Learning means that there is ample room for

further research on this topic.

Student Engagement in Linked Learning Pathways. Several of the existing studies

about Linked Learning focus on student engagement. Anderson (2014) examined the

engagement experiences of African American students at two Linked Learning pathways at

Millikan High School in the Long Beach Unified School District. Eighteen students and staff

members in these two pathways were interviewed. Anderson (2014) defined student engagement

as the “quality of student effort toward educationally purposeful activities that contribute directly

to desired outcomes” (p. 14). Linked Learning was found to have “an enormous effect on

African American students’ level of engagement in a certified pathway” (Anderson, 2014, p.

142). Anderson (2014) also examined how the structure at Millikan High School supported

student engagement. The college-going culture at Millikan was found to be a unique structure

that supported student engagement (Anderson, 2014). One shortcoming in the design of this

study is that the study relied solely on interviews, and other sources of data (e.g., documents and

27

observations) were not utilized. Additional case studies of Linked Learning pathways, schools,

and districts could utilize interviews, document analysis, and observations to triangulate data and

give a more comprehensive view of the case study subject.

Adams’ (2012) case study utilized surveys and interviews from site administrators,

students, and industry partners to investigate students’ engagement in their pathways. The study

did not offer a definition of engagement, but it did reference literature about the “cognitive,

behavioral, and emotional” dimensions of engagement since engagement is both academic and

social. (Adams, 2012, p. 35). Adams (2012) founds students to be engaged in their Linked

Learning pathway, as the students in the study expressed:

how much better they learned when they were doing the work hands-on, how the topics

they were discussing and learning greatly affected them and helped them achieve their

goals, and how the program’s high standards created a learning environment conducive to

learning (p. 89).

Overall, it was the students’ feelings of belonging to a community because they were part of a

pathway and the hands-on learning that led to engagement in their pathway (Adams, 2012).

Josten (2015) also studied perceptions of how Linked Learning contributed to

engagement while in high school and how Linked Learning prepared students for post-secondary

opportunities. The researcher used “information former students provide regarding their

attendance, school performance, and grade” to define engagement (Josten, 2015, p. 47). An

overwhelming majority (90.5%) of students surveyed reported that they “enjoyed high school

because of their CTE course of study” (Josten, 2015, p. 59). Similarly, 82.5% of student

participants agreed that their participation in CTE motivated then to remain in school, with

79.4% indicating that they were successful in other classes because of their CTE class (Josten,

28

2015). Josten (2015) also used attendance data to explore engagement, but attendance data

comparing CTE pathway students to non-CTE students was inconclusive (Josten, 2015).

The Teacher’s Role in Linked Learning Pathways. A case study on Liked Learning

teacher leads in Linked Learning academies in northern California yielded many results that are

applicable to the present study (Johnston, 2013). This study examined the role that teacher

leaders play in pathways by conducting a multi-case study of four pathway lead teachers at two

high schools in a Linked Learning district. Pathway lead teachers, site and district

administrators, pathway teachers, and industry partners were interviewed for this study, for an

average of eight total interviews per case (Johnston, 2013). One limitation of that this study is

that despite being a case study it only consisted of interviews and no other data sources, although

the participants interviewed did vary in role. This study was based on the premise that in a

Linked Learning model “lead teachers coordinate implementation of a reform model that

challenges deeply ingrained norms underlying institutional structures and teacher identity in

secondary schools” (Johnston, 2013, p. 1). This precise statement about the difficult role of a

pathway teacher—especially a lead teacher—has applications for the present study. Secondary

teachers are accustomed to subject-specific curriculum and instruction and pathways required

interdisciplinary collaboration from teachers. An overarching theme of the study was that

implementation of Linked Learning is a challenge for teachers because “the collaborative and

interdisciplinary nature of the [Linked Learning] reform model conflicts with the autonomous,

individualistic and subject-oriented nature of teacher culture in secondary schools” (Johnston,

2013, p. 62). This challenge manifested especially in the area of interdisciplinary curriculum

development (Johnston, 2013). The present study will focus on teachers’ perceptions of the

challenges—especially challenges with new curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessments

29

—associated with the change to Linked Learning and CCSS. Johnston’s (2013) study also

revealed an implication for future research in the area of role overload for pathway lead teachers,

as which is closely related to the present study’s investigation of initiative fatigue among

pathway teachers (Johnston, 2013; Reeves, 2010).

Several existing Linked Learning studies focus on the faculty who support Linked

Learning, such as teachers, administrators, and counselors. Clarke (2014) studied the role of the

counselor in Linked Learning, whereas Hamilton (2011) and Wood (2015) studied leadership in

Linked Learning, examining the leadership practices within Linked Learning schools and

principal leadership in Linked Learning, respectively. A study that is more applicable to the

current study is that of Shin (2013) regarding teacher collaboration and Linked Learning. Shin

(2013) examined the role that a teacher’s choice to participate in a pathway plays in his/her

ability to collaborate as part of a pathway team of teachers. Eight teachers in one Linked

Learning pathway at a northern California high school were interviewed about their team’s

collaboration, and all eight of these teachers voluntarily chose to be in a Linked Learning

pathway. This has implications for the present study because HHS is a wall-to-wall Linked

Learning pathway school, so teachers coming to HHS are automatically part of a Linked

Learning pathway; if a teacher is choosing to work at HHS, he/she is choosing to participate in a

Linked Learning pathway. Teachers in Shin’s (2013) study expressed that participating in a

Linked Learning Pathway helped them better understand students’ needs and has changed their

personal values about education to align with the Linked Learning philosophy that the purpose of

high school is to prepare students for college and career (Shin, 2013). Shin’s (2013) study has

implications for future research to investigate teacher collaboration and about teachers’ changing

personal values about education as a result of Linked Learning. The present study will examine

30

teachers’ personal beliefs about education as one of Fullan’s (2007) three elements critical for

educational “change in practice” (p. 30). In Shin’s (2013) study, teachers also expressed that

they had not received training on how to effectively collaborate and would benefit from such

training order to further their pathway work. This echoes the findings of Johnston (2013) about

the difficulties that pathway teachers have collaborating effectively to create interdisciplinary

projects. Accordingly, the present study will include questions for teachers about the structure of

HHS allowing for collaboration with other teachers as they implement CCSS in a Linked

Learning setting.

Civic Engagement in Linked Learning Pathways. The only additional existing Linked

Learning study deals with the role of civic learning in Linked Learning (Cain, 2012). While this

study does not directly relate to the present study, it does serve as an indication that there is a

tremendous gap in the literature surrounding Linked Learning. Linked Learning has many

facets, and researchers have only begun to scratch the surface of discovering the successes and

failures, challenges and opportunities that Linked Learning provides. Cain (2012) came close to

examining the role that curriculum plays in Linked Learning, but her study was narrowly focused

on civics education and was not related to the overall Common Core State Standards or any other

curriculum. Cain (2012) urged future researchers to construe “civic learning” broadly to include

not just social studies but also students’ “skills, knowledge, and attitudes that will prepare them

to be competent and responsible citizens throughout their lives” (p. 8). The Common Core State

Standards and Linked Learning both purport to prepare students for college and career in the 21st

century, and further research on this topic is needed. There are presently no studies about the

intersection between the Common Core State Standards and Linked Learning, which are two of

the largest school reform initiatives facing California high schools.

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The Common Core State Standards

Standards-Based Education as Reform

The 1983 publication of A Nation At Risk and its depiction of the dismal state of

American education is what many educational scholars believe to be the catalyst for the

standards-based reform movement (National Commission on Excellence in Education, 1983;

Smith & O’Day, 1991; Ravitch, 1995; Wixson, Dutro, & Athan, 2003; Hamilton, Stecher, &

Yuan, 2008). Beginning in the 1990s, American education moved toward increased

accountability by aligning curriculum, instruction, and assessment to standards. Content

standards are academic expectations for students that describe the content that is to be taught

(and learned) by subject and by grade level. “A standards-based vision was enacted in federal

law under the Clinton administration with the 1994 re-authorization of the Elementary and

Secondary Education Act (ESEA) and carried forward under the Bush administration with the

No Child Left Behind Act (NCLB) of 2001” (Shepard, Hannaway, & Baker, 2009, p. 1). When

most states, including California, responded to federal legislation and adopted content standards

for education for the first time in the late 1990s, educators faced the challenge of aligning

curriculum, instruction, and assessment to these standards. California adopted content standards

for math, English language arts, science, and social studies in 1997 and 1998.

Hamilton, Stecher, and Yuan (2008) explain that standards-based reform focuses on six

key features: academic expectations for students, alignment of the key elements of the

educational system, assessments of student achievement, decentralization, support and technical

assistance, and accountability (p. 2). Hamilton, Stecher, and Yuan (2008) explain

The SBR movement reflects a confluence of policy trends—in particular, a growing

emphasis on using tests to monitor progress and hold schools accountable and a belief

32

that school reforms are most likely to be effective when all components of the education

system are designed to work in alignment toward a common set of goals (p.2).

Hamilton, Stecher and Yuan (2008) indicate that there is research to support some positive

effects of standards-based reform on teacher practice and student achievement. While Hamilton,

Stecher, and Yuan (2008) indicated indicate that standards can be a “powerful lever for change,”

they also indicate that there is a lack of credible evidence of the effects of standards (p. 65).

Overview of the Common Core State Standards

Adoption of the Standards. When educators had just gotten used to the idea of

standards and had become familiar with the “old” standards (enacted in 1997 and 1998 in

California), a new set of standards was adopted by California (and forty-four other states) in

2010. The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are a new set of English/literacy and math

standards for kindergarten through twelfth grade that purport to prepare students for the rigors of

post-secondary opportunities in a way that the previous standards did not. A group of

stakeholders in education—prominently featuring the National Governors Association and the

Council of Chief State School Officers—wrote and revised the CCSS. The CCSS are

internationally benchmarked, and they attempt to raise the level of rigor for students in schools

across the United States by providing a uniform set of expectations for the forty-four states that

have fully adopted the CCSS (National Governors Association, 2010e). Part of the reason for

states’ rush to adopt the CCSS was due to $4 billion in federal Race to the Top funding that

schools were eligible to compete for if they adopted the CCSS prior to August 2, 2010 (Gewertz,

2010). By the end of 2012, forty-five states and Washington, D.C. had fully adopted the

Common Core State Standards (Achieve, 2013). One additional state, Minnesota, has adopted

only the English Language Arts and Literacy standards (Achieve, 2013). California adopted the

33

CCSS standards in August 2010, replacing the existing English Language Arts and mathematics

standards, and adding the literacy standards.

Shifts in English Language Arts. The Common Core State Standards emphasize

literacy across the curriculum. In addition to new English Language Arts and mathematics

standards, the CCSS contain three new sets of standards (two for reading and one for writing) for

literacy in grades 6-12 across science, social studies, and technical subjects (National Governors

Association, 2010a). The National Governors Association (2010a) explains this emphasis on

literacy: “Because students must learn to read, write, speak, listen, and use language effectively

in a variety of content areas, the standards promote the literacy skills and concepts required for

college and career readiness in multiple disciplines” (p. 1). This concern with real-world

application of skills is also present in the CCSS shift from fiction to information text. There are

three key shifts in the Common Core English Language Arts standards from the 1997 California

English Content Standards:

(1) regular practice with complex text and academic language;

(2) reading, writing, and speaking grounded in evidence from texts, both literary and

informational; and

(3) building knowledge through content-rich nonfiction (National Governors Association,

2010b).

Overall, these shifts all include a move from fiction to informational text, as the balance of

fiction to non-fiction text shifts to 50/50 in grades K-5 and 80/20 by high school (National

Governors Association, 2010b).

34

Shifts in Mathematics. The Common Core State Standards also contain significant shifts

in the area of mathematics. There are three key shifts in mathematics introduced in the Common

Core:

(1) greater focus on fewer topics;

(1) linking topics and themes across grades (coherence); and

(2) the pursuit of conceptual understanding, procedural skills and fluency, and

application with equal intensity (rigor) (National Governors Association, 2010c).

These shifts aim to have students develop foundational understanding and skills in math, but the

CCSS do not stop at mere accuracy in calculations. Students are also expected to apply

mathematical principles to solve problems. The CCSS math standards are also guided by a set of

eight Standards for Mathematical Practice (SMP) that provide a framework for mathematical

skill and thought across grades K-12. The SMPs spell out “the varieties of expertise that

mathematics educators at all levels should seek to develop in their students” (National Governors

Association, 2010d, p.1). The SMPs are a combination of skills and approaches to problem

solving that the Common Core math standards will develop in students:

1. Make sense of problems and persevere in solving them

2. Reason abstractly and quantitatively

3. Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of others

4. Model with mathematics

5. Use appropriate tools strategically

6. Attend to precision

7. Look for and make use of structure

35

8. Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning (National Governors Association,

2010d).

Depth of Knowledge. The CCSS math, English, and literacy standards emphasize student

learning of content deeply, focusing on depth rather than breadth. The depth of thinking that the

CCSS demands of students is divided into four levels of “Depth of Knowledge,” with each level

describing the “cognitive rigor” required to complete an assessment (Webb, 1999; Hess, Jones,

Carlock & Walkup, 2009). There are four levels of Depth of Knowledge ranging from simple

recall (Level 1) to extended thinking (Level 4) where students must engage in complex reasoning

(Webb, 1999). The concepts in the standards spiral from grade K-12 so that students have

concepts reinforced multiple times throughout their education, having many opportunities to

engage in deep thinking around the standards. The CCSS focus on content and skills with a

special emphasis on students’ ability to think critically and apply their learning to a variety of

situations, especially those outside a classroom.

Implementing the CCSS

The Common Core State standards are a relatively new adoption by the states that are

implementing them, so there is little research to date on teachers’ experiences with Common

Core implementation. Most states adopted the CCSS in 2010 and only began implementing the

new standards during the past couple of years. In fact, nearly half of the states had adopted the

new standards within a month of their final release, with four states adopting them even prior to

the final draft being released (Gewertz, 2010). This quick adoption meant there was little time to

develop new systems of curriculum, instruction, and assessment prior to adoption. Accordingly,

the work of implementing the standards is really just beginning across the nation. There are a

handful of studies and articles about the topic of CCSS implementation from a teacher’s

36

perspective, and most of these deal with challenges (with curriculum, instruction, assessment and

collaboration), supports needed, and initiative fatigue experienced by teachers as they implement

the CCSS.

Research for Action (RFA) conducted a mixed methods, cross-case study of instructional

tools aligned to the Common Core in Kentucky, Florida, and Pennsylvania (Beaver & Reumann-

Moore, 2014). Beaver & Reumann-Moore’s (2014) study used a combination of observations,

surveys, focus groups, and interviews, with district administrators, site administrators,

instructional support teachers, and classroom teachers to investigate:

Common best practices, which are implementation strategies shared across all three sites;

Distinct approaches, which are implementation strategies that, while successful, differ

across sites; and,

Areas of opportunity, which are works in progress in at least one of the three sites that

highlight ways to strengthen LDC implementation (p. 2).

Similar to other studies on Common Core implementation, Beaver & Reumman-Moore (2014)

found that CCSS implementation has implications for curriculum, instruction, and collaboration.

One major finding was that the Common Core’s demand that all teachers teach literacy marks a

significant instructional shift for most teachers which will require professional development in

order to “bridge the gap between existing classroom practice and this new, more comprehensive

approach to literacy instruction” (Beaver & Reumann-Moore, 2014, p. 25). The curricula in

Beaver & Reumann-Moore’s (2014) study were Literacy Design Collaborative (LDC) modules,

and the study found it was important these modules were created be a team of teachers and were

“designed to supplement, not replace, existing curricula” (p. 20). The present study will

investigate curricular challenges that teachers face when shifting to the CCSS.

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Lack of resources is a significant challenge facing teachers as they implement the

Common Core (Gewertz, 2012). Many districts are frantically having teachers write or locate

their own materials because there is a shortage of published resources, including textbooks,

available, so the use of LDC modules is a natural fit for many districts. The executive director of

the Council of Great City Schools said that the gap in materials is valuable because it allows

teachers to get deep into the standards and find out what they truly mean and what curriculum

will truly align to them, so curricula like the LDC modules allows teachers to become involved

in this difficult but critical work (Gewertz, 2012).

Beaver & Reumann-Moore (2014) also found that professional development was a great

need of teachers implementing the CCSS, and a collaborative approach to professional

development worked best because it helped teachers better understand CCSS instruction.

Examples of effective collaboration included: “working together to develop and/or revise

modules, observing experiences colleagues implement modules in their classrooms, and scoring

student work using common rubrics” (Beaver & Reumann-Moore, 2014, p. 26). Finally, Beaver

& Reumann-Moore’s (2014) study found that across all three states, teachers must be able to

effectively collaborate “across grade levels, content areas, schools, and, in some cases, even

within grade-level and content-area teams” as they work to implement CCSS (p. 30). The need

for teacher collaboration was echoed by others implementing the LDC modules. An English

teacher involved in the LDC explained:

Teachers crave the chance to work together. I get so many ideas from my classroom just

sitting around and talking about our modules. We steal and take from each other. I wish

there was a way we could do that as teachers all the time” (Phillips & Wong, 2012, p.

34).

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One caveat about Beaver & Reumann-Moore’s (2014) study is that the methodology of the

study was not fully explained; the methodology was only summarized very briefly in one page of

an appendix, so the precise results and the data analysis processes used by the researchers were

not made clear. Accordingly, further research is needed in the area of Common Core

implementation, especially around successful and unsuccessful instructional practices for

implementing CCSS. The present study will interview teachers and administrators about their

perceptions and experiences with Common Core instructional strategies (in a Linked Learning

environment), paying specific attention to curriculum, instruction, and collaboration.

Challenges with CCSS Implementation.

New York was one of the earliest adopters of the Common Core, and the New York City

Department of Education (NYCDOE) collaborated with the Consortium for Policy Research in

Education (CPRE) and the GE Foundation to evaluate Common Core implementation in New

York City schools (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, & Riggan, 2013). New York City schools selected

performance-based assessments (at least one in literacy and one in math) aligned to the CCSS to

be implemented during the 2011-2012 school year (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, & Riggan, 2013).

The purpose of the evaluation was to collect data surrounding how schools were structuring to

allow for implementation of the Common Core, factors aiding or inhibiting the implementing of

the Common Core, and the changing practices in schools that Common Core implementation

requires (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, & Riggan, 2013). Data was collected in the form of a phone

interview with a site administrator, site visits/observations, and on-site interviews with teachers.

Themes emerging from the study included the challenge of the instructional shifts required by

CCSS, the significant role of collaboration in CCSS implementation, and the teacher growth

resulting from struggling through transition to implement CCSS (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, &

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Riggan, 2013). Perhaps the most significant findings were in the area of teacher collaboration.

For schools where collaboration was not previously occurring, the CCSS implementation

changed the culture of the school to get teachers together to have conversations about teaching

and learning, and at schools where collaboration was already occurring teachers implementing

the CCSS experienced a new sense of shared purpose because “everyone has the same standards

now” and “as a school we’re all going toward the same goal” (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, & Riggan,

2013, p. 33). Despite the challenge that implementation of CCSS presents, teachers were largely

able to see their work toward this challenge as productive as they increased their understanding

of the standards and grew in their instructional practices (Goldsworthy, Supovitz, & Riggan,

2013).

Koning et al. (2014) conducted a reflective interview with three elementary school

teachers in Chicago that revealed some challenges next steps for implementing the Common

Core. The teachers felt overwhelmed, nervous, and afraid of the change in the beginning of

implementation. One teacher expressed, “I was worried that [Common Core] was another thing I

was going to need to learn and understand in order to implement” (Koning et al., 2014, p. 359).

Another teacher shared, “It seemed like a lot of extra work to unpack the standards, rate texts,

and write long lesson plans on top of our regular work for school” (Koning et al., 2014, p. 359).

This feeling of Common Core being “another thing” or “extra work” connects with the idea of

initiative fatigue, where an increasing number of initiatives are added to teachers’ plates, and

teachers are left to struggle with multiple initiatives without additional time or other resources

(Koning et al., 2014, p. 359; Reeves, 2010). Teachers implementing the CCSS also experienced

the need for collaboration and “took time to meet before and after school to create cohesive

lessons” (Koning et al., 2014, p. 359). All three teachers mentioned that working as a team

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helped improve their motivation to keep moving forward with the work (Koning et al., 2014).

This connects to the studies of Johnston (2013) and Shin (2013) about the role that collaboration

played in their implementation of Linked Learning.

Because the present study is about CCSS implementation at a Linked Learning high

school, it is important to review research that is focused on CCSS implementation at the

secondary level. Ruchti et al. (2013) studied Common Core implementation in middle and high

schools in Idaho, investigating the unique challenges that secondary teachers face with CCSS

implementation. A survey was administered to 241 teachers, and they indicated a need for

“professional staff development,” “collaborative time with other teachers”, and “individual

planning time” among their top priories for support (Ruchi et al., 2014, p. 252). Because Ruchi

et al.’s (2013) study was a quantitative study using surveys, more in-depth information on

teachers’ experiences is needed. A follow-up qualitative study that allows teachers the chance to

share their experiences beyond selecting a multiple-choice answer from a list. The present study

will use interviews, observations, and document analysis to really delve into teachers’ experience

with and perceptions of implementation of CCSS.

In October 2011, the Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at West Ed

conducted a series of focus groups about teachers’ readiness for Common Core implementation.

Six focus groups were convened with teachers of varied experience and content areas across

California (Sacramento, San Francisco, and San Diego) to explore teachers’ familiarity with

CCSS, beliefs about their expertise and ability to teach the CCSS, and their expected changes in

practice to implement the new standards (The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at

WestEd, 2012). Teachers identified the need for additional training, especially training in

instructional strategies to “help students think more deeply and analytically in a specific subject”

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(The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd, 2012, p. 2). The

implementation of CCSS in a Linked Learning environment likely amplifies teachers’ need for

training as expressed in this study, and the present study will explore teachers’ need for support.

Initiative Fatigue in CCSS Implementation. Several recent studies of Common Core

implementation at the K-12 level have found that teachers are facing initiative fatigue when

trying to implement the CCSS (Danielson, 2015; Adams-Budde, 2014; Langton, 2014; Tresler,

2014; Porter, 2013; Randall, 2013). None of these studies, however, used initiative fatigue as

part of their conceptual framework. In fact, initiative fatigue was barely mentioned as each study

briefly labeled their findings of teacher experiences in implementing the CCSS as initiative

fatigue (Danielson, 2015; Adams-Budde, 2014; Langton, 2014; Tresler, 2014; Porter, 2013;

Randall, 2013). Further in-depth studies are needed to see exactly what competing initiatives

teacher implementing the CCSS are facing. Additionally, none of the existing studies of CCSS

and initiative fatigue broached the subject of Common Core implementation at sites where

another major reform initiative (such as Linked Learning) was occurring. The present study of

the intersection of multiple reform initiatives—such as Common Core and Linked Learning—

occurring at one school site will help to fill an existing gap in the literature.

The Intersection of Linked Learning and CCSS

Due to the newness of both Linked Learning and the Common Core, there are only a few

resources available about the intersection of Linked Learning and the CCSS. SCOPE issued a

“knowledge brief” about using Linked Learning to implement the CCSS (Rustique & Stam,

2013). The brief sets forth four ways in which Linked Learning and CCSS are “mutually

supportive”:

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1. Shared student learning outcomes, with an emphasis on higher order thinking

skills

2. Compatible approaches to interdisciplinary curriculum, instruction, and

performance-based assessment;

3. Real-world integration and application of real-world technical skills and

knowledge;

4. Student assessment through authentic demonstration of learning (e.g., portfolios,

project defenses, exhibitions) (Rustique & Stam, 2013, p. 1).

This brief outlines the theoretical overlap between Linked Learning and CCSS, but it does not

offer tangible tips for teachers who are on the front lines of CCSS implementation. Also, the

brief highlights significant areas for further inquiry—such as curriculum, instruction, and

assessment—which will be addressed in the present study.

Detailed information for practitioners and recommendations for districts about the

intersection between Linked Learning and Common Core is provided in the SRI fifth-year report.

The most significant findings of the SRI fifth-year report relate to the intersection of Linked

Learning and CCSS; the SRI report tackles the complex issue of the implementation of Common

Core State Standards in Linked Learning pathways (Guha et al., 2014). Chapter 3 of the report is

devoted to curriculum, instruction, and assessment, with much of the focus of this chapter on

CCSS (Guha et al., 2014). First, a comprehensive description of the “gold standard” of Linked

Learning curriculum and instruction is detailed:

To meet the goal of preparing all young people for a range of postsecondary opportunities

and, ultimately, high-skill employment, the Linked Learning approach demands a

fundamental and complete transformation of teaching and learning. The approach

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requires teacher to deliver challenging academic content that is consciously and

effectively linked to the pathway theme and to make explicit connections across content

areas thought a project-based approach. It involved students’ being engaged in learning

that is inquiry based and contextualized in real-world experiences and applications. In a

fully developed Linked Learning pathway, students experience core academic courses

and a technical course sequence that are integrated so that what is learned in one content

area is combined with and reinforced in other content areas over an extended time. In

addition, students participate in several project-based, multidisciplinary units each year

that are aligned to the pathway theme and that immerse students in problem solving

around real-world issues (Guha et al., 2014, p. 23).

This interdisciplinary, project-based, real-world content that pathways students are expected to

learn sets the stage perfectly for the Common Core State Standards. The CCSS emphasize

practical application of deeper thinking skills just like professionals would do in the real world,

so students in pathways are perfectly situation to learn CCSS. As Guha et al. (2014) explain:

Together, Common Core and Linked Learning have the potential to lead major

improvements in the way high school teachers teach and assess students and the way

students learn, given the common focus on developing students’ higher-order thinking

skills, application of real-world concepts, and authentic demonstrations of learning (p.

24).

If anything, the Common Core State Standards provide a more detailed framework than pathway

teachers previously had, so the CCSS should fill in some specific examples of content and skills

that all students—including pathways students—need to learn in order to be successful beyond

high school. Some teachers recognized this right away, as “many pathway teachers reported

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having a head start on implementing the new standards through their experiences developing and

teaching integrated projects” (Guha et al., 2014, p. 24). Not all teachers make this connection

readily, however, and many may feel overwhelmed by the perceived competing initiatives of

Common Core and Linked Learning. “Thus, it is critical how the nine districts communicate the

alignment of Common Core and Linked Learning and implement these initiatives strategically so

that teachers view the initiatives as complementary and not competing” (Guha et al., 2014, p.

24). Guha et al. (2014) outline a vision for Linked Learning and Common Core working

together as complementary initiatives to bring about deeper student learning.

The last year covered by the SRI fifth-year report is the 2013-2014 school year, which

was “the first year that districts began implementing the new Common Core State Standards

(CCSS) in earnest” (Guha et al., 2014, p. 24). The report contains two critical findings related to

Linked Learning districts’ implementation of the Common Core:

“In districts that have provided teachers with tools and a road map to align Common Core

standards and Linked Learning, pathway teachers are better positioned to integrate the

new standards into existing curriculum” (p. 24).

“In districts where Common Core and Linked Learning efforts were not strategically

aligned, competition for professional development and planning time and a perceived

misalignment between existing pathway curriculum and the new Common Core

curriculum slowed momentum for Linked Learning” (p. 25).

It is not just the curriculum that Linked Learning strives to redesign, but instruction and

assessment are also in need of a makeover. Two additional findings emerged from the SRI

report regarding assessment and instruction:

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“Pathway staff in many Linked Learning district continued to work on developing

performance-based assessments, which provide students an opportunity to demonstrate

deep content learning through authentic application” (p. 27).

“Pathway instruction has not received the consistent focus and attention that district

leaders realize are needed to improve student outcomes, although some districts are

engaged in early efforts in this area” (p. 27).

The report goes on to say that the quality of instruction and assessment varies across districts and

even across pathways within districts, so additional support for teachers in the areas of

instruction and on developing assessments is needed (Guha et al., 2014).

The SRI fifth-year report sheds light on the need for Linked Learning districts and

schools to carefully design their professional development for teachers so that a cohesive

message that integrates both Linked Learning and Common Core is communicated. This will be

especially critical for the ATC, the site of the present case study research, to see how teachers

perceive the intersection of CCSS and Linked Learning and the related challenges with

curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

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CHAPTER 3

Introduction

Linked Learning is a high school reform effort designed to engage high school students in

their education and prepare them for post-secondary opportunities through a deliberate

combination of academic content and real-world technical skills. The first Linked Learning

pathways began in 2009 with nine school districts in California participating in the California

Linked Learning District Initiative (ConnectEd, “California Linked Learning District Initiative”).

While the first nine Linked Learning districts were grappling with the work of creating and

building new pathways, the curricular landscape for California changed greatly with the adoption

of the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in 2010.

The purpose of this case study is to examine the intersection between Linked Learning

and the Common Core State Standards. The researcher will investigate Linked Learning

structures and practices at HHS and how these have shaped implementation CSSS.

The research questions that will drive this study are:

1. How do teachers perceive the connection between teaching in a Linked Learning

environment and their implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

2. What challenges have Linked Learning teachers experienced when making the shift to

the Common Core State Standards?

a. What curricular challenges have Linked Learning teachers experienced when

making the shift to the CCSS?

b. What instructional challenges have Linked Learning teachers experienced

when making the shift to the CCSS?

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c. What challenges with student assessment have Linked Learning teachers

experienced when making the shift to the CCSS?

3. How does the Linked Learning Pathway structure of the school support teachers’

implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

This case study will rely on data from individual interviews of teachers and

administrators, classroom observations of teachers, and analysis of documents related to

professional development and Pathway collaboration to examine the intersection of Linked

Learning and the Common Core at one wall-to-wall Linked Learning Pathways high school that

opened during the early stages of Common Core implementation in California. This

triangulation of three sources of data will help to verify the data obtained from each source,

contributing to the credibility of the study (Lichtman, 2014). Fullan’s theory of educational

change “in practice” identifies three areas of change for teachers, including change with

curriculum and materials, change with instruction, and a change in beliefs about education

(Fullan, 1993). These three facets of change align with the three types of data (documents,

observations, and interviews) that will be collected in this case study. In fact, these three types

of data and their relationship to the conceptual framework makes a case study the appropriate

design for exploring the intersection of Linked Learning and Common Core as a case study

utilizes multiple sources to provide triangulation of data that is critical of a case study research

design (Yin, 2014). From this data, themes will be identified that shed light on the intersection

of Linked Learning and the Common Core.

Site

This case study will be conducted at Hills High School (HHS) (pseudonym) in the

Woodbridge Unified School District (WUSD) (pseudonym), which is located in a low

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socioeconomic urban area of California. WUSD is one of the nine original Linked Learning

District Initiative school districts, and it started its first Linked Learning Pathways at its three

comprehensive high schools in the 2010-2011 school year. WUSD began its Pathways program

with six Pathways at the three comprehensive high schools, and WUSD has expanded to a total

of eleven Pathways during the 2015-2016 school year.

WUSD opened Hills High School, a wall-to-wall Linked Learning Pathways high school,

in 2011. HHS is home to four of WUSD’s Pathways: culinary arts and hospitality, engineering,

health science, and public and legal services. All students and all teachers at HHS participate in

a Linked Learning Pathway. HHS began with only 9th grade students for the 2011-2012 school

year, and each year a grade level has been added. The 2014-2015 school year was the first year

that HHS operated with all four grade levels, 9-12, and its first class graduated in 2015.

Hills High School opened in 2011 just as WUSD was beginning its early stages of

implementing the Common Core State Standards (CCSS), putting HHS uniquely at the center of

Linked Learning and CCSS. All teachers at HHS have experienced implementation of CCSS in

a Linked Learning environment. Data will be collected about the intersection of Linked

Learning and the Common Core in the form of interviews, observations, and document analysis.

The participants in this study will be teachers at HHS and administrators with WUSD who work

at HHS or the district office at WUSD. Teachers will be interviewed about their experiences

teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway while implementing the Common Core and their

perceptions of the intersection between Linked Learning and CCSS. Teachers will also be

observed in their classrooms. Administrators who participate in the study will have been district

administrators who were involved in the planning of HHS, district administrators who are

currently involved in the implementation of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS, or site

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administrators at HHS. Documents (calendars, agendas, and minutes) from HHS regarding

professional development and Pathway meetings will be analyzed.

Sample

The sample for this study will include teachers at HHS and administrators in WUSD who

have requisite knowledge of the intersection of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS.

Accordingly, there are two categories of participants: teachers and administrators. Overall, this

case study will have a total of 15-20 participants. Purposeful, criteria-based sampling will be

used in order to select teachers and administrators who have experience with and knowledge of

the topic of this study: intersection of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS. Patton (1990)

explains the aim of purposeful sampling:

This strategy for purposeful sampling aims at capturing and describing the central themes

or principal outcomes that cut across a great deal of participant or program variation. For

small samples a great deal of heterogeneity can be a problem because individual cases are

so different from each other. The maximum variation sampling strategy turns that

apparent weakness into a strength by applying the following logic: Any common patterns

that emerge from great variation are of particular interest and value in capturing the core

experiences and central, shared aspects or impacts of a program (p. 172).

For teacher participants, they need to have taught at HHS for at least one year prior to the

2015-2016 school year so that they have enough experience teaching at HHS to be able to

answer the interview questions. Data will be collected in the fall semester, so teachers who are

brand new to HHS in fall 2015 will not have enough experience to be able to comment on the

intersection of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS. Ideally, the sample of teachers will

have a mix of teachers who have been at HHS since its opening, teachers who have been at HHS

50

for 2-3 years, and teachers who have for whom 2014-2015 was their first year at HHS; this

variation in sampling will provide insight into the variety of experiences that a teacher at HHS

may have had in implementing the Common Core in a Linked Learning environment. Between

12-15 teachers will be included in the sample, and they will participate in one individual

interview for approximately 60 minutes and will be observed in their classrooms twice for

approximately 30 minutes each time. Participants will be from all subject areas because

experiences across content will be useful (in case the experiences vary across content areas) and

also because the overall pool of teachers is too small to select only certain content areas. The

total pool of available teacher participants is rather limited as there are only 33 teachers at HHS,

and only 20 of these teachers will have taught at HHS prior to the 2015-2016 school year. This

means that 12 to 15 out of 20 possible HHS teachers will participate in the study.

For administrator participants, they must be district-level administrators who were

involved in the planning of HHS, district-level administrators who are currently involved in the

implementation of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS, or site administrators at HHS.

Between three and five administrators will participate in one individual interview for

approximately 60 minutes. There have been two different principals at HHS during its four years

of operation, so ideally both the former and current principal will participate in the study as they

have intimate knowledge of the intersection of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS. In

addition to the site administrators at HHS, district-level administrators with knowledge about

Linked Learning and CCSS at HHS will also be interviewed. District-level administrators must

have been employed by the district prior to 2011 (to have background knowledge on HHS and/or

be involved with Linked Learning and CCSS at HHS presently. There are a total of nine district-

level administrators who were involved in the planning of HHS or who are presently involved in

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the implementation of Linked Learning and Common Core at HHS, and five of these

administrators are still employed by WUSD currently. I anticipate that between three and five of

the possible nine administrators will participate in this study.

Procedures

After IRB approval is granted, the recruitment of participants will begin. Invitations to

participate will initially be sent out by the Principal at HHS to teachers and by the WUSD

Director of Pathways to administrators, and the email will contain an attachment (Appendix A

for teachers and Appendix B for administrators) with more specific information about the study.

The Principal at HHS will send the initial recruiting email to the 20 HHS teachers who taught at

HHS prior to the 2015-2016 school year, and the email will ask them to contact me if they are

interested in the study. The WUSD Director of Pathways will send a recruitment email to a total

of nine district-level and two site-level administrators who were either involved in the planning

of HHS or who served as administrators at HHS, and the email will ask them to contact me if

they are interested participating in the study. After two weeks, the researcher will send a follow-

up email (Appendix C) to the pool of potential participants until the appropriate sample size is

reached.

Once a participant emails the researcher to participate in the study, the researcher will

begin a series of communications with the participant. First, the researcher will send a follow-up

email thanking the participant for his/her voluntary participation, providing scheduling logistics

for the interview, and containing the consent form (Appendix D) to be signed by the participant

and returned to the researcher. The researcher will communicate with individual participants in

order to schedule the interview at a time and location that is convenient for each participant.

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Interviews will be conducted during the fall 2015 semester in a conference room at HHS or the

WUSD office, or another private location that is selected by the participant.

On the day of the interview, before each interview begins, the researcher will review the

items on the consent form and obtain a signed copy of the consent form from the participant (if

not already submitted). The researcher will also ask the participant to complete a demographic

questionnaire (Appendix E for teachers or Appendix F for administrators) before the interview

begins. Each interview will be recorded using the voice memo application on the researcher’s

iPhone, and the audio files will be sent to a transcriptionist. The participants will be reminded

that they do not have to answer any question that makes them uncomfortable, and at the end of

the interview they will be reminded that they will be provided with a copy of the transcript to

review.

For the teacher participants, the classroom observations will be scheduled at the

conclusion of the interview. Classroom observations will also take place during the fall 2015

semester, and each teacher participant will be observed two times for a total of approximately 30

minutes each time. The purpose of these observations is to witness teachers’ implementation of

the Common Core in a Linked Learning environment, including the challenges they face with

curriculum, instruction, and assessment.

Document review and analysis is another part of this study, with documents presenting

the third source of data. For this study, documents related to Common Core and Linked

Learning Pathways will be examined. The researcher will ask the Principal at HHS for access to

documents. The Principal can then provide the documents or put the researcher in contact with

the appropriate person at the site to provide the documents. Document collection will begin at

the start of the study, and will be occurring throughout the study at the same time as interviews

53

and observations. Documents will be analyzed throughout the study as it might take the

researcher some tome to retrieve the documents needed from 2011 to the present time.

Data Collection Methods

For this study, one of the major sources of data collection is interviews. Interviews of

teachers and administrators will be conducted using two protocols that were developed by the

researcher (Appendices G and H). The interviews will be semi-structured and should last

approximately one hour each. The semi-structured nature of the interviews means that there is a

protocol created by the researcher ahead of time, but the questions are open ended and allow

room for the participants to share their experiences and perceptions. Although the protocols are

similar, the teacher protocol focuses more on teacher experiences as they implement Linked

Learning and Common Core, and their intersection, at HHS, which relates to the first and second

research questions. The administrator interviews will mostly relate to the third research

question, which is about the structure of HHS and how it supports teachers, because

administrators might have a different perspective or additional information about the design

behind the structure of HHS. Administrators will also be asked about the intersection of Linked

Learning and Common Core at HHS, and they might have a different perspective from the

teachers who are on the ground implementing Linked Learning and CCSS every day. The data

from interviewing administrators and teachers will be helpful to determine whether there is a

consistent perception about the intersection of Linked Learning and Common Core between

teachers and administrators. It is only through interviews that the experiences of those—teachers

and administrators—involved in the implementation of Common Core in a Linked Learning

environment can truly share their story in their own voices.

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For this study, documents related to Common Core and Linked Learning Pathways will

be examined. Specifically, the researcher will review and analyze calendars, agendas, and

minutes from professional development and Pathway meetings at HHS from 2011 to the present

time. These documents will be analyzed using a document analysis protocol developed by the

researcher (Appendix I). These documents will contain critical information about the structure

and content of collaboration and professional development at HHS that will help to answer the

research questions. This information will provide an in-depth look at how the structure of HHS

supports teachers as well as challenges teachers facing with curriculum, instruction, and

assessment while implementing Common Core and Linked Learning.

The final source of data for this study is classroom observations of teacher participants.

Each teacher will be observed two times for approximately 30 minutes, and an observation

protocol (Appendix J) will be used. The researcher will take detailed notes using the observation

protocol, and each observation will last for approximately 30 minutes. The notes taken during

observations will rely strictly on what is seen and heard in the classroom and not on the

researcher’s interpretation. As much as possible, direct quotations will be used in the notes to

capture written material from the classroom in addition to the teachers’ words. The observation

protocol focuses on the elements of Linked Learning as well as the facets of Common Core that

have been a major focus in WUSD. The goal is to see whether these separate elements can be

integrated in the classroom, whether they are being covered separately, and whether they are

being covered at all.

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General Methodological Design and Defense of Method Chosen

Qualitative research is concerned with “understanding the complex interrelationships

among all that exists” (Stake, 1995, p. 37). The purpose of this qualitative study is to investigate

the intersection between Linked Learning and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) at the

Hills High School (HHS). The complexity of HHS as a wall-to-wall Linked Learning Pathways

school that opened in 2011, just at the time the CCSS were emerging as new standards, makes

HHS an ideal case for qualitative research. The interrelationship between Linked Learning and

the CCSS will be an explicit part of the present study. The study will include an exploration of

teachers’ and administrators’ perceptions and experiences implementing CCSS in a Linked

Learning environment, giving meaning to these participants’ experiences in the uncharted waters

where Linked Learning and CCSS intersect.

A case study is “an empirical inquiry that investigates a contemporary phenomenon (‘the

case’) in depth and within its real-world context” (Yin, 2014, p 16). Because HHS is one school

site, it is cleanly one case that can be studied as a whole unit. Forming meaning from the

experiences and perceptions of teachers and administrators involved in the planning and day-to-

day operations of HHS—as it relates to Linked Learning and CCSS—is the primary focus of this

study. “The case researcher recognizes and substantiates new meanings” (Stake, 1995, p. 97). A

combination of interviews, document analysis, and observations will be used to provide a

complete picture of CCSS implementation within the context of Linked Learning at HHS. This

mix of methods is in line with the case study design, as Patton (1997) indicates that “the

evaluator using a qualitative approach seeks to capture what a program experience means to

participants in their own words, through interviews, and in their day-to-day program settings,

through observation” (p. 273). These three sources of data—interviews, observations, and

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document analysis—will be analyzed in order to provide triangulation of data that is critical of a

case study research design (Yin, 2014).

Data Collection Instruments

For this study, the researcher created four separate instruments for data collection: a

teacher interview protocol (Appendix G), an administrator interview protocol (Appendix H), a

document analysis protocol (Appendix I), and an observation protocol (Appendix J). The

contents of each instrument were informed by the research questions, conceptual framework, and

literature relevant to the study.

Interview Protocols

The researcher made sure that the protocol questions were connected to the research

questions, conceptual framework, and literature by developing an item rationale table (Appendix

K). The researcher also used her background knowledge of HHS, Common Core, and Linked

Learning to inform the development of the protocols (see Positionality section for additional

information about the researcher’s background). Lichtman (2014) urges researchers to “use your

knowledge of the topic and your experience to generate discussion in specific areas” during an

interview (p. 261). The conceptual framework—a combination of Fullan’s change theory,

Bolman & Deal’s Structural Frame, and Reeves’ Initiative Fatigue—played the largest role in the

development of the questions and the structure of the protocols as the questions address the issue

of the Linked Learning structure at HHS, the change involved in both Linked Learning and

CCSS, and the intersection of these two initiatives. Additionally, Lichtman (2014) provides an

outline for the types of questions in an interview protocol that proved helpful, suggesting that the

interview opens with a “grand tour,” moves into “concrete questions” and then

“comparison/contrast,” continues with “new elements/topics” and then concludes with a closing

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(p. 264). The administrator and teacher protocols both follow this structure, beginning with a

general opening that discusses the topic broadly and warms up the participant, moving into

specific questions about the specific topics of Linked Learning and then Common Core, and

finally exploring their intersection. Literature about Linked Learning, the Common Core, and

the intersection of these two initiatives was used primarily to provide follow-up questions or

specific topics and themes for probes for the interview protocols.

The two interview protocols were reviewed by content experts and piloted shortly after

their development. A teacher who is a teacher on special assignment (TOSA) in WUSD in the

area of Common Core and who often works with Linked Learning teachers served as one content

expert, and the other is a university professor with expertise in both Linked Learning and

Common Core. From the review by the content experts and review from additional university

faculty, the researcher learned that the teacher protocol might be too long, so the protocol was

revised, with several questions being eliminated or turned into follow-up questions that will only

be used if needed. Both content experts confirmed that the questions in the protocol were

appropriate to the topics involved in this study and the research questions.

The next step in protocol development was to pilot the protocols. The teacher protocol

was piloted with a teacher from within WUSD who is familiar with Linked Learning, the

Common Core, and HHS. From this pilot, the researcher determined that the protocol allowed

the interview to flow smoothly, elicited the desired information, and was close to the desired 60-

minute timeframe for the interview. The administrator protocol was piloted with a former high

school principal who is moving into a position as Assistant Director of Pathways in WUSD; the

administrator’s former high school also had Linked Learning Pathways at the site. As a result,

this individual is very familiar with both Common Core and Linked Learning. Although the

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questions in this protocol yielded the desired information, the researcher learned that it is likely

that not every administrator will be able to answer every question in the administrator protocol.

This administrator had to skip a couple of questions (about the structure of HHS), and it is likely

that some of the district administrators will have to skip some different questions (perhaps about

Common Core). Accordingly, the researcher will have to memorize the protocol thoroughly so

that questions can be skipped or rearranged depending on the expertise of the particular

administrator being interviewed. This will probably also be true of the teacher protocol since

teachers also have different levels of expertise, but this issue was made really obvious during the

pilot of the administrator protocol. The need to be clear on the probes and to ask for elaboration

was also made evident during both pilots. Lichtman (2014) echoes the need for elaboration and

probing during an interview in order for the participant to have an opportunity to “reveal other

ideas that the participant had thought about but not mentioned,” which will help to “delve deeper

into the meaning” of the answers (p. 268).

Document Analysis Protocol

The document analysis protocol and observation protocols were developed using a much

simpler process. The document analysis protocol (Appendix I) was created using samples

provided in the researcher’s class. The point of this protocol is to provide a space to record basic

information about the document (such as the title, date, and type of document), in addition to a

space for any important words or phrases contained in the document and a connection to this

study’s research questions. This protocol will provide the researcher with a way to condense the

many documents collected for the study into a more manageable pile of document analysis

forms. If needed, the original document can always be located and additional details pulled from

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it, so the document analysis protocol is really meant to be a type of organizational strategy to use

when analyzing the documents.

Observation Protocol

The observation protocol (Appendix J) was developed by the researcher based on her

inside knowledge of the Linked Learning and Common Core focus in WUSD over the past

several years in addition to the literature about Common Core and Linked Learning. The basic

components of Common Core implementation that have been a focus in WUSD are included for

math, English, and literacy (in all subjects). There is also a question about a connection to the

Pathway and the overall activity that the teacher is engaged in during the class. This information

will be useful to provide some insight into specific examples that teachers may have given in

their interviews and how what the teachers say plays out in a real classroom, as the observations

will occur after the interviews.

Data Analysis

The data collected from this study will be analyzed and used to identify codes, categories,

and ultimately themes that will answer the three research questions and three sub-questions. As

Patton (1997) indicates, “Qualitative data consists of detailed descriptions of situations, events,

people, interactions, and observed behaviors; direct quotations from people about their

experiences, attitudes, beliefs, and thoughts; and excerpts or entire passages from documents,

correspondence, records, and case histories” (p. 273). Data in the form of interview audio

recordings and transcripts, observation notes, and document analysis will comprise the

qualitative data for this study.

After the interviews, the researcher will send the audio recordings to a transcriptionist.

The researcher will then listen to the recordings while reviewing the transcripts. The purpose of

60

this will be twofold: it will help to catch any possible errors in transcription, and it will begin to

familiarize the researcher with the content of the interviews. The preliminary themes used in the

data analysis will be shaped primarily by the conceptual framework, as the big ideas from Fullan,

Bolman & Deal, and Reeves will be used as a starting point for themes. For example, the three

aspects of curriculum, instruction, and beliefs from Fullan’s change theory will be used, structure

from Bolman & Deal’s structural frame, and initiative fatigue from Reeves. Additional major

themes emerged from other literature about Linked Learning and CCSS that complemented the

themes from the conceptual framework, such as collaboration, support, and assessment.

While the researcher listens to the recordings from the interviews, notes will be taken to

begin to identify emergent codes. As part of the research log for this study, the researcher will

keep analytic memos to memorialize the researcher’s thinking about the data, its meaning, and

preliminary codes (Saldana, 2013). Saldana (2013) explains:

The purposes of analytic memo writing are to document and reflect on: your coding

processes and code choices; how the process of inquiry is taking shape; and the emergent

patterns, categories and subcategories, themes, and concepts in your data—all possibility

leaning toward theory (p. 41).

The original list of numerous codes emerging from the data and analytic memos will be

consolidated into a more manageable number of codes (for example, between 20 and 40).

The researcher will then upload all interviews, observation notes, and documents to

Nvivo, a qualitative data analysis software program. Next, the researcher will identify passages

to allow comparison of responses between teachers and administrators and between the

interviews, observations, and documents. These codes will begin to be grouped into categories

which will turn into themes as the study evolves. Saldana (2013) outlines a streamlined model of

61

moving from codes to categories to themes and ultimately to a theory as the data analysis

progresses from the more literal to the more conceptual. The categories and themes emerging

from the data will be compared with the themes from the literature, and they will be organized

according to the elements of the conceptual framework from Fullan, Bolman & Deal, and

Reeves. These themes and codes will be reviewed by peers, professors, and participants in the

study to ensure that they are consistent with the literature and not just a product of the

researcher’s bias (Stake, 1995; Carlson, 2010; Plano Clark & Cresswell, 2010; Lichtman, 2014).

Protection of Subjects

The researcher is concerned with protecting the participants throughout the study, and

several steps will be taken to protect the participants. From the beginning of the study, the

district, school site, and all participants will be assigned pseudonyms. A list of participants’

actual names linked to the pseudonyms will be kept in one document that will be stored on the

researcher’s password-protected computer. The Principal of HHS will not be made aware of

which teachers participate in the study so that teachers will not have to fear any type of negative

consequence from their supervisor as a result of their participation in the study and to add

another layer to their anonymity. The researcher will also communicate clearly with the

participants about the purpose of the study from initial contact all the way to the end of the study.

The study is about HHS broadly and not them specifically as individuals, so they will also be

reminded of the fact that all results will be reported in the aggregate and not individually.

Administrators will simply be labeled as “administrator” with no mention being made of their

specific position or whether they are at the district or site. Participants will be able to choose a

private interview location where they feel comfortable. The consent form will be provided to

them electronically and will be reviewed prior to the start of each interview. The researcher will

62

also continuously remind all participants that their participation is completely voluntary and that

they can skip any questions, review the transcripts, and can completely opt out of the study at

any time during the process.

All materials related to this study will be stored in a private residence and will only be

accessible to the researcher. This includes consent forms, the list linking individuals to their

pseudonyms, audio recordings, transcripts, documents, observation notes, researcher notes, and

all other materials. All materials will either be stored on the researcher’s private, password-

protected personal computer or in a locked file cabinet in the researcher’s office at her private

residence when not in use.

Positionality

From 2007-2013, the researcher was employed by WUSD as a high school teacher and as

a teacher on special assignment in the Pathways office. From 2007-2010, the researcher was

employed as a social studies teacher at a comprehensive high school in WUSD. When the first

Pathways opened in 2010, the researcher served as the lead teacher for one of WUSD’s initial six

Pathways. Additionally, the researcher worked at the case study site, HHS, during its first two

years of operation, from 2011-2013. While teaching at HHS, the researcher also served as a

teacher leader and frequently provided instructional coaching and professional development for

other teachers at HHS. Some of these teachers still teach at HHS and might be participants in

this study. Currently, the researcher is employed as a freelance consultant with WUSD,

providing instructional support to teachers at HHS. As a result, the researcher has regular

contact with the participants in the study and will already know them prior to the study’s start.

The researcher’s close relationship to the case study site might provide a source of bias.

The researcher has been an active participant in the implementation of both Common Core and

63

Linked Learning and has helped other teachers in their implementation of these initiatives. As a

result, the researcher has definite opinions about the intersection of Linked Learning and

Common Core, which is the subject of the present study. Although the researcher believes that

Linked Learning and CCSS are complementary initiatives and that it is possible for HHS

teachers to implement both with fidelity, the researcher is also aware of the many challenges that

exist for teachers and the overall difficult task of implementing Common Core in a Linked

Learning environment. The researcher wants the voices of teachers to be heard so that those in

WUSD and in other Linked Learning districts have an opportunity to truly learn from the

experiences and perceptions of teachers. It is only through actually listening to teachers that

appropriate support can be provided to teachers. The researcher is also more concerned with

telling the accurate story of HHS, from the time it was just a vision of WUSD to its current

reality, and this can only be done by letting the participants’—both teachers and administrators—

voices be heard. This study can serve as a guide for other Linked Learning districts as they seek

to implement the Common Core, especially at small high school sites that are wall-to-wall

Linked Learning schools.

Although the researcher’s proximity to both the case study site and the topics involved in

the study may be seen as a detriment that opens the door for undue influence or bias, this

familiarity can actually be an asset to the study. Patton (1997) explains that “the qualitative

evaluator must get close enough to the people and situation being studied to be able to

understand the depth and details of what goes on” (p. 274). The researcher’s past with WUSD

and HHS will enable the researcher to establish this closeness; due to the researcher’s familiarity

with the site and subject of the study, she will be able to develop interview protocols that

64

accurately reflect the topic of the study, to develop rapport with participants, and to find meaning

within the data.

Trustworthiness and Credibility

The researcher can enhance the trustworthiness and credibility of a study through the use

of thick, rich description, triangulation of data, and member checking (Carlson, 2010; Plano

Clark & Cresswell, 2010; Lichtman, 2014). “Member checking is basically what the term

implies—an opportunity for members (participants) to check (approve) of particular aspects of

the interpretation of the data they provided” (Carlson, 2010, p. 1105).

Stake (1995) further elaborates on the process used in member checking:

In a process called “member checking,” the actor is requested to examine rough drafts of

writing where the actions or words of the actor are featured, sometimes when first written

up but usually when no further data will be collected from him or her. The actor is asked

to review the material for accuracy and palatability” (p. 115)

In the present study, the researcher will provide copies of transcripts to all participants for their

review. The researcher will also select three teachers and two administrators to review the

preliminary findings (interpretation of the interviews) for accuracy. Ideally, the three teachers

will have varied experience levels at HHS, with one who has been there since its opening in

2011, one for whom the 2014-2015 school year was the first year, and one who has 2-3 years of

experience at HHS. Ideally, one site administrator and one district administrator will review the

preliminary findings. By allowing one representative of each type of participant, the most broad

perspective possible will be heard during the member checking phase. The researcher will also

debrief the preliminary findings with peers and faculty at the university to enable those outside

the study to provide feedback (Plano Clark & Cresswell, 2010).

65

To the extent possible, the researcher will also clearly describe the site, participants, and

data collection process in great detail as well as utilizing the participants’ own words to enable

thick, rich description. “To describe the case, we try to present a substantial body of

uncontestable description” (Stake, 1995, p. 110). The purpose of thick, rich description is to

make the researchers’ processes more credible and to “draw the reader more closely into the

story or narrative to increase coherence” (Carlson, 2010, p. 1104). The researcher will explain

all procedures, from data collection to data analysis, in clear detail. The researcher will also

keep a research log that documents each step along the way from the development of protocols to

data collection to data analysis.

For this case study, the research will collect data in the form of interviews of teachers and

administrators, classroom observations, and document analysis. The premise of triangulation of

data sources is that “if researchers can substantiate these various data sets with each other, the

interpretations and conclusions drawn from them are likely to be trustworthy” (Carlson, 2010, p.

1104). In this case study, interviews from teachers and administrators can be compared, and

these findings can also be compared across the other data sources (observations and document

analysis). When a theme shows up in more than one data source, it conforms the its importance.

For example, if the idea of needing more time to collaborate comes up in teacher interviews,

administrator interviews, and the documents, then the researcher will know it is significant,

especially since the same theme also came up in the literature.

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Appendix A

Dear Teacher,My name is Erin Biolchino, and I am writing to invite your participation in a research study that I will be conducting for completion of my Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at California State University, Long Beach. I will be studying the intersection of Linked Learning (LL) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) at the Applied Technology Center (ATC). The Superintendent of the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) and the Principal at the ATC have approved this study.

The title of my study is: A Case Study of Common Core Implementation in a Linked Learning Environment. You are being contacted because you were a teacher at the ATC prior to the 2015-2016 school year. The focus of this study will be how the Linked Learning structure at the ATC was designed and how it affects teachers’ implementation of the Common Core at the ATC.

The nature and duration of participation: This study will take place from August 2015 to March 2016. Participants will be individually interviewed about their perceptions of and experiences with implementing the CCSS within the Linked Learning Pathway structure at the ATC. Individual interviews will last approximately one hour. I will also be observing participant teachers in their classrooms two times, for approximately 30 minutes at a time. Participation is voluntary.

Before you agree to the interview I can confirm that: Your confidentiality will be maintained at all times and no data will be attributed to you

by name in any written document or verbal presentation. Nor will any data be used from the interview that might identify you to a third party.

You will be free to withdraw from the research at anytime. The interview can take place at a location of your choice. A copy of the interview schedule will be sent to you seven days before the interview. You will receive a $20 Starbucks gift card for your participation in the study

I understand the beginning of the school year is here and there are a multitude of activities and responsibilities that go along with this time of year. I am here to work around your schedule. I sincerely hope that you will be able to help me with my research and the continued exploration of the impact Linked Learning is having on schools, particularly implementation of the Common Core. If you have any questions concerning the nature of the research or are unclear about the extent of your involvement in it please contact me at erin@biolchino.com. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.Sincerely,Erin BiolchinoCalifornia State University, Long BeachEmail: erin@biolchino.comPhone: 562-212-2523

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Appendix B

Dear Administrator,My name is Erin Biolchino, and I am writing to invite your participation in a research study that I will be conducting for completion of my Ed.D. in Educational Leadership at California State University, Long Beach. I will be studying the intersection of Linked Learning (LL) and the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) at the Applied Technology Center (ATC). The Superintendent of the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) and the Principal at the ATC have approved this study.

The title of my study is: A Case Study of Common Core Implementation in a Linked Learning Environment. You are being contacted because you played a role in the vision and planning of the Linked Learning Pathway structure of the Applied Technology Center (ATC) before its opening or the implementation of Linked Learning and Common Core at the ATC since its opening. The focus of this study will be how the Linked Learning structure at the ATC was designed and how it affects teachers’ implementation of the Common Core at the ATC.

The nature and duration of participation: This study will take place from August 2015 to March 2016. Participants will be individually interviewed about the district’s vision for the ATC, the Linked Learning Pathway structure at the ATC, and the implementation of the CCSS at the ATC. Experiences of MUSD administrators will help tell the story of the ATC. Individual interviews will last approximately one hour. Participation is voluntary.

Before you agree to the interview I can confirm that: Your confidentiality will be maintained at all times and no data will be attributed to you by

name in any written document or verbal presentation. Nor will any data be used from the interview that might identify you to a third party.

You will be free to withdraw from the research at anytime. The interview can take place at a location of your choice A copy of the interview schedule will be sent to you seven days before the interview. You will receive a $20 Starbucks gift card for your participation in the study

I understand the beginning of the school year is here and there are a multitude of activities and responsibilities that go along with this time of year. I am here to work around your schedule. I sincerely hope that you will be able to help me with my research and the continued exploration of the impact Linked Learning is having on schools, particularly implementation of the Common Core. If you have any questions concerning the nature of the research or are unclear about the extent of your involvement in it please contact me at erin@biolchino.com. Thank you in advance for your time and consideration. I look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,Erin BiolchinoCalifornia State University, Long BeachEmail: erin@biolchino.comPhone: 562-212-2523

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Appendix C

Dear ___________,

I recently contacted you regarding my research project on the intersection of Linked Learning and the Common Core State Standards in partnership with California State University, Long Beach. I am following up with you about your willingness to participate in my study regarding your experience with Linked Learning Pathways at the Applied Technology Center (ATC).

As explained in the previous letter, the interview should take approximately one hour, your confidentiality will be maintained at all times and no data will be attributed to you by name in any written document or verbal presentation. Nor will any data be used from the interview that might identify you to a third party.

Thank you in advance for your cooperation. I greatly appreciate the time and effort involved in complying with my request. If you have any questions concerning the nature of the research or are unclear about the extent of your involvement in it please contact me at erin@biolchino.com

Sincerely,

Erin Biolchino

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Appendix D

CONSENT TO PARTICIPATE IN RESEARCH

A Case Study of Common Core Implementation in a Linked Learning Environment

You are asked to participate in a research study conducted by Erin Broun Biolchino, a doctoral student from the Department of Educational Leadership at California State University, Long Beach. The results will be contributed to a dissertation study. You were selected as a possible participant in this study because you are a teacher at the Applied Technology Center (ATC) in the Montebello Unified School District (MUSD) or an administrator for MUSD who has been connected to the work at the ATC.

PURPOSE OF THE STUDY

The primary intent of this study is to investigate the intersection of Linked Learning and the Common Core State standards. Part of this study will seek to shed light on the experiences of perceptions of teachers at the ATC regarding their implementation of the Common Core State Standards in a Linked Learning environment. Another part of this study will seek to understand how the structure and design of the ATC affect the implementation of Linked Learning and the Common Core State Standards. This study will attempt to inform current and future educators working with Linked Learning Pathways, high school districts, and community partners of the intersection between Linked Learning and the CCSS.

PROCEDURES

If you volunteer to participate in this study, you will participate in the following:

A one-on-one interview of approximately one hour with the researcher and a Demographic Questionnaire that will be given to you at the beginning of the interview. You will have your choice of location for the interview. Your interview can occur in your office, a conference room, or a quiet, off-site location. Audio recordings of the interview will be made with your permission, both on the consent form and at the start of the interview. Handwritten notes will also be taken. A pseudonym will be assigned to protect your identity. A pseudonym will also be used for the school and district. Audio recordings and/or handwritten notes may not be reviewed or edited. I will, however, touch base with you once the interview has been transcribed to confirm the accuracy of each transcript. Teacher participants will also be observed twice in their classrooms for approximately 30 minutes each time.

POTENTIAL RISKS AND DISCOMFORTS

If a participant’s comments are linked to them, this may have adverse implications for their reputations and/or their relationships with colleagues. Moreover, if a participant is critical of

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their experience, describes perceived lack of support, or discusses obstacles, this could create difficulties with colleagues, site administrators, or district administrators.

To protect against or minimize these risks: 1. There is a potential for loss of confidentiality since the recorded interview files may be

heard by someone else and the transcriptions may be seen by someone other than the researcher and the professional transcriptionist.

2. A pseudonym will be used from the moment the study begins. A single document linking actual name to pseudonym will exist only on my computer and a professional transcriptionist will transcribe all data.

3. All information from the study will be reported in the aggregate and will not be connected to individual teachers or administrators. To promote confidentiality, no mention will be made of which grade level(s) or subjects teachers teach. Similarly, administrators will be referred to simply as administrators, with no differentiation between site and district, past or present.

4. All research documents, which I have direct control over, with the exception of the single document linking actual name to pseudonym and the consent forms, will reflect the participants’ pseudonyms.

5. To help minimize risk, participants do not have to answer all of the questions; they may skip questions of their choosing, and/or stop the interview at any point.

POTENTIAL BENEFITS TO SUBJECTS AND/OR TO SOCIETY

1. You may benefit from the opportunity to explore and reflect on your experiences at the ATC related to the implementation of Linked Learning and the CCSS. This can provide you with a forum to discuss personal successes and/or frustrations. I expect the interviews will be more of a conversation and this may provide some level of validation of your experiences and perceptions. Teachers and administrators often work in isolation and may assume their experiences are unique or atypical.

2. Generalized findings will be shared with the Linked Learning Initiative and other stakeholders within this grant as a means of providing possible direction to future professional development opportunities and future participation in Linked Learning Pathways implementation. Specific findings will not be shared.

PAYMENT FOR PARTICIPATION

At the conclusion of the one-hour interview, you will receive a $20 Starbucks gift card. If you withdraw or the researcher withdrawals you from the research, you will still keep your gift card.

CONFIDENTIALITY

Any information that is obtained in connection with this study and that can be identified with you will remain confidential and will be disclosed only with your permission or as required by law.

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Generalized findings will be shared with the Linked Learning Initiative and other stakeholders within this grant as a means of providing possible direction to future professional development opportunities and future participation in Linked Learning Pathways implementation.

This study data will be handled confidentially. If results of this study are published or presented, individual names and other personally identifiable information will not be used. I will retain these records for up to 36 months after the study is over. The same measures described above will be taken to protect confidentiality of this study data.

PARTICIPATION AND WITHDRAWAL

You can choose whether to be in this study or not. If you volunteer to be in this study, you may withdraw at any time without consequences of any kind. Participation or non-participation will not affect your reputation or employment status. You may also refuse to answer any questions you don't want to answer and still remain in the study. The investigator may withdraw you from this research if circumstances arise which in the opinion of the researcher warrant doing so. If you withdraw or the researcher withdrawals you from the research, you will still keep your gift card.

IDENTIFICATION OF INVESTIGATORS

If you have any questions or concerns about the research, please feel free to contact Erin Broun Biolchino (Principal Investigator): Cell Number (562) 212-2523 email: erin@biolchino.com or Dr. James Scott (Faculty Sponsor): Work Number (562) 985-4988 email: James.Scott@csulb.edu

RIGHTS OF RESEARCH SUBJECTS

You may withdraw your consent at any time and discontinue participation without penalty. You are not waiving any legal claims, rights or remedies because of your participation in this research study. If you have questions regarding your rights as a research subject, contact the Office of University Research, CSU Long Beach, 1250 Bellflower Blvd., Long Beach, CA 90840; Telephone: (562) 985-5314 or email to ORSP-Compliance@csulb.edu.

SIGNATURE OF RESEARCH SUBJECT OR LEGAL REPRESENTATIVE

I understand the procedures and conditions of my participation described above. My questions have been answered to my satisfaction, and I agree to participate in this study. I have been given a copy of this form.

_________________________________________________Name of Subject

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__________________________________________________ ____________Signature of Subject Date

Please sign below if you are willing to have this interview recorded on audiotape. You may still participate in this study if you are not willing to have the interview recorded.

I am willing to have this interview recorded on audiotape.

_______________________________________ _____________Signature of Subject Date

STATEMENT and SIGNATURE OF INVESTIGATOR

In my judgment the subject is voluntarily and knowingly giving informed consent and possesses the legal capacity to give informed consent to participate in this research study.

__________________________________________________ ____________Signature of Investigator Date

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Appendix E

Administrator Demographic Questionnaire

1. Administrator Pseudonym: ___________________________

2. Sex Female Male Decline to state

3. Age: 20-24

25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49

50-54 55-59 60-64

65+ Decline to state

5. Number of years in current position prior to 2015-2016: _________

6. Number of years in MUSD (any position) prior to 2015-2016: _________

6. Number of years as a full-time administrator (any position) prior to 2015-2016: _________

7. Educational Background (include degrees/certificates earned):

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Appendix F

Teacher Demographic Questionnaire

1. Teacher Pseudonym: ___________________________

2. Sex Female Male Decline to state

3. Age: 20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49

50-54 55-59 60-64

65+ Decline to state

5. Number of years as a full-time teacher at any school prior to 2015-2016: _________

6. Number of years in MUSD (any position) prior to 2015-2016: _________

7. Number of years as a full-time teacher at the ATC prior to 2015-2016: _________

8. Number of years as a teacher in a Linked Learning Pathway prior to 2015-2016:_________

9. Educational Background (include degrees/certificates earned): ___________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

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Appendix GTeacher Interview Protocol

Teacher Pseudonym: ____________________

Date/Time of Interview: _______________________

Hello _______________________, Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I appreciate your willingness to participate in this research study. Thank you for signing the consent form and completing the demographic survey. As a reminder, if you feel uncomfortable at any time you can stop the interview, and you can skip any question that you do not feel comfortable answering. I will be recording this interview and taking notes.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

1. To begin, tell me a little bit about how you came to be a teacher at the ATC. Probes: Did you choose to come? What made the ATC appealing to you?

2. As a teacher at the Applied Technology Center, what do you perceive to be the primary focus of the school?

Teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway3. Describe your overall experience participating in a Linked Learning Pathway at the

ATC?4. How has teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway affected you as a teacher?

Probes: Affected curriculum or teaching materials? Instructional practices? Assessment? Planning processes?

Follow-up question: How has teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway affected your beliefs or theories about education? Explain.

Implementing the Common Core5. Describe your overall experience implementing the Common Core State Standards at the

ATC?6. How have the Common Core State Standards affected you as a teacher?

Probes: Affected curriculum or teaching materials? Instructional practices? Assessment? Planning processes?

Follow-up question: How has implementing the Common Core affected your beliefs or theories about education? Explain.

Follow-up question: Can you provide some examples of when you implemented the Common Core State Standards into classroom instruction? What does it that look like in practice?

The Intersection of Linked Learning & Common Core7. What do you perceive to be the connection between Linked Learning and the Common

Core?

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8. How does the Linked Learning Pathway structure at the ATC affect your implementation of the Common Core?

Follow-up question: To what extent (or in what ways) does teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway aid or inhibit your implementation of the Common Core State Standards? Explain.

Follow-up question: Can you provide an example of a time when teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway supported your implementation/made implementation easier of the Common Core State Standards?

Follow-up question: Can you provide an example of a time when teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway added an additional layer of challenge to your implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

9. What are some challenges you have experienced while implementing the Common Core while teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway at the same time?

Probes: challenges with curriculum/materials, instruction, assessment, collaboration?

10. While at the Applied Technology Center, what support have you received regarding implementation of Linked Learning and the Common Core State Standards?

Probes: professional development, collaboration, coaching, resources, admin support

11. Follow-up question: What additional support do you need?12. As a teacher at the Applied Technology Center, do you ever feel that you are balancing

multiple initiatives at once? Explain.

Closure13. Is there anything else you can tell me that will help me to know about what it is like to

implement Linked Learning and Common Core at the Applied Technology Center?14. Is there anything that you feel that I should have asked that I didn’t? If so, please explain.15. May I follow up with you in a few weeks to confirm with you some of the ideas that I

have found from my research?

Thank you for your time today. Please feel free to contact me via phone or email if you need to discuss anything that may come up for you regarding this interview session. [Researcher provides participant with contact information on a card.] This interview will be transcribed, and I will provide you with a copy of the transcript to check for accuracy.

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Appendix HAdministrator Interview Protocol

Administrator Pseudonym: ____________________

Date/Time of Interview: _______________________

Hello _______________________, Thank you for taking the time to meet with me today. I appreciate your willingness to participate in this research study. Thank you for signing the consent form and completing the demographic survey. As a reminder, if you feel uncomfortable at any time you can stop the interview, and you can skip any question that you do not feel comfortable answering. I will be recording this interview and taking notes.

Do you have any questions before we begin?

History of the Applied Technology Center

1. The Applied Technology Center opened during the 2011-2012 school year, so it is a relatively new high school and the newest school in the Montebello Unified School District. What led to the district’s decision to open a new high school?

2. What was Montebello Unified School District’s vision for the Applied Technology Center?

What led to the decision to make the ATC a wall-to-wall Pathways school? How is the ATC different from other high schools in the district?

o Probes: Different curriculum? Different instruction? Different assessment? Different beliefs about education?

3. As an administrator in the district, what do you perceive to be the primary focus of the Applied Technology Center?

This study is about the intersection between Linked Learning and Common Core. The next questions will explore how Linked Learning and Common Core intersect at the ATC.

The Intersection of Linked Learning & Common Core

4. How did Linked Learning Pathways and the Common Core State Standards fit into the district’s vision for the Applied Technology Center?

5. What do you perceive to be the connection between Linked Learning and the Common Core State Standards?

6. How does the Linked Learning structure at the Applied Technology Center affect implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

Follow-up question: To what extent (or in what ways) do you believe teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway aids or inhibits teachers’ implementation of the Common Core State Standards? Explain.

7. How does the Linked Learning structure at the Applied Technology Center support teacher collaboration?

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8. What support has been provided to ATC teachers as they implement Linked Learning and the Common Core?

Probe: Support for curriculum, instruction, assessment?

9. What challenges have you faced providing support in the areas of Common Core State Standards and Linked Learning for teachers at the Applied Technology Center?

Probe: Support for curriculum, instruction, assessment? Probe: Challenges like lack of resources, lack of collaboration time, lack of

training on collaboration, need for more professional development?10. Do you believe that teachers at the Applied Technology Center are balancing multiple

initiatives at once? Explain.

Closure

11. Is there anything that you feel that I should have asked that I didn’t? If so, please explain.12. May I follow up with you in a few weeks to confirm with you some of the ideas that I

have found from my research?

Thank you for your time today. Please feel free to contact me via phone or email if you need to discuss anything that may come up for you regarding this interview session. [Researcher provides participant with contact information on a card] This interview will be transcribed, and I will provide you with a copy of the transcript to check for accuracy.

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Appendix IDocument Analysis Protocol

Document Number:

Date Reviewed:

Date of Document:

Document Title/Description:

Summary of Document:

Why is it important?

Which research question does it help answer:

Key parts/quotations:

Follow up:

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Appendix JClassroom Observation Protocol

Teacher Pseudonym: _________________

Date: _____________ Time: _____________

What is the teacher doing? Leading class discussion Giving a lecture/workshop Demonstrating a skill Checking for understanding Conferencing with individual students Conferencing with a group of students Other

Is there an explicit connection to the Pathway? If yes, explain.

What is the general response to the teacher?

What evidence is there of Common Core?

ELA Matho SMP 1: Make sense of problems and persevere in solving themo SMP 2: Reason abstractly and quantitativelyo SMP 3: Construct viable arguments and critique the reasoning of otherso SMP 4: Model with mathematicso SMP 5: Use appropriate tools strategicallyo SMP 6: Attend to precisiono SMP 7: Look for and make use of structureo SMP 8: Look for and express regularity in repeated reasoning Literacyo Close reading of complex texto Text-dependent questionso Justify-think-pair-shareo Writing from sources/citing evidence

What depth of knowledge is observed? DOK 1/Recall: define, label, memorize, identify DOK 2/Skill or Concept: distinguish, predict, modify, apply DOK 3/Strategic Thinking: revise, assess, hypothesize, construct DOK 4/Extended Thinking: critique, synthesize, design, connect

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Appendix KAdministrator Interview ProtocolInterview Question Research

QuestionLiterature

13. The Applied Technology Center opened during the 2011-2012 school year, so it is a relatively new high school and the newest school in the Montebello Unified School District. What led to the district’s decision to open a new high school?

N/A(Background)

N/A (Background)

14. What was Montebello Unified School District’s vision for the Applied Technology Center?

What led to the decision to make the ATC a wall-to-wall Pathways school?

How is the ATC different from other high schools in the district?

o Probes: Different curriculum? Different instruction? Different beliefs about education?

RQ3 Fullan (1997)Shin (2013)Guha et al. (2014)

15. How did Linked Learning Pathways and the Common Core State Standards fit into the district’s vision for the Applied Technology Center?

RQ1, RQ2 Bolman & Deal (2008)

16. How does the Linked Learning structure at the Applied Technology Center affect implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

RQ1, RQ3 Rustique & Stam (2013)Guha et al. (2014)

17. Do you believe that teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway aids or inhibits teachers’ implementation of the Common Core State Standards? Explain.

RQ2 Bolman & Deal (2008)Rustique & Stam (2013)Guha et al. (2014)

18. How does the Linked Learning structure at the Applied Technology Center affect teacher collaboration?

RQ3 Bolman & Deal (2008)Guha et al. (2014)ConnectEd (n.d.)Johnston

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(2013)Shin (2013)Koning et al. (2014)Ruchi et al. (2014)

19. What challenges have you faced providing support in the areas of Common Core State Standards and Linked Learning for teachers at the Applied Technology Center?

Probe: Support for curriculum, instruction, assessment?

Probe: Challenges like lack of materials, lack of collaboration time, lack of training on collaboration, need for more professional development?

RQ2 Rustique & Stam (2013)Guha et al. (2014)Fullan (1997)Beaver & Reumann-Moore (2014)Ruchti et al. (2014)The Center for the Future of Teaching and Learning at WestEd (2012)

20. As an administrator in the district, what do you perceive to be the primary instructional focus of the Applied Technology Center?

RQ1, RQ3 Reeves (2010)Fullan (1997)

21. Do you believe that teachers at the Applied Technology Center are balancing multiple initiatives at once? Explain.

RQ3 Reeves (2010)Johnston (2013)

22. Is there anything that you feel that I should have asked that I didn’t? If so, please explain.

N/A(Closure)

N/A(Closure)

23. May I follow up with you in a few weeks to confirm with you some of the ideas that I have found from my research?

N/A(Closure)

N/A(Closure)

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Teacher Interview ProtocolInterview Question Research Question Literature1. To begin, tell me a little bit about how you came to be a teacher at the ATC.

N/A (Background) N/A (Background)

2. What has your overall experience been participating in a Linked Learning Pathway at the ATC?

RQ1 Guha et al. (2014)

3. How has teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway affected you as a teacher?

Probes: Affected curriculum or teaching materials? Instructional practices? Planning processes?

Follow-up question: Has teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway affected your beliefs or theories about education? Explain.

RQ1 Guha et al. (2014)Shin (2013)Rutherford-Quach & Rice (2013)Rustique & Rutherford-Quach (2012)Rice & Rutherford-Quach (2012)Josten (2015)Forbes (2011)Hamilton (2011)Johntson (2013)ConnectEd (n.d.)Fullan (1997)

4. What has been your biggest challenge in participating in a Linked Learning Pathway at the ATC?

Probes: challenges with curriculum/materials, challenge with instruction, challenges with assessment, challenges with collaboration?

RQ2 Guha et al. (2014)Shin (2013)Johnston (2013)Clarke (2014)Hamilton (2011)Josten (2015)Fullan (1997)

5. While at the Applied Technology Center, what support have you received regarding Linked Learning Pathways?

RQ3 Bolman & Deal (2008)Guha et al. (2014)Shin (2013)Johnston (2013)

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(Probes: professional development, collaboration, coaching, resources, admin support)

Follow-up question: What additional support do you need regarding Linked Learning Pathways?

Clarke (2014)Hamilton (2011)Josten (2015)

6. What has been your overall experience implementing the Common Core State Standards at the ATC?

RQ1 Fullan (1997)Porter (2013)Ruchi et al. (2013)Tresler (2014)Koning et al. (2014)Gewertz (2012)The Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at West Ed (2013)Adams-Budde (2014)Langton (2014) Beaver & Reumann-Moore (2014)

7. How has implementing the Common Core affected you as a teacher?

Probes: Affected curriculum or teaching materials? Instructional practices? Planning processes?

Follow-up question: How has implementation of the Common Core affected your beliefs or theories about education? Explain.

Follow-up question: Can you provide a specific example of a time when you implemented the

RQ1 Fullan (1997)Porter (2013)Ruchi et al. (2013)Beaver & Reumann-Moore (2014)Tresler (2014)Koning et al. (2014)Gewertz (2012)The Center for the Future of Teaching & Learning at West Ed (2013)Adams-Budde (2014)Langton (2014)

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Common Core State Standards into classroom instruction?

8. What has been your biggest challenge in implementing the Common Core at the ATC?

Probes: challenges with curriculum/materials, challenge with instruction, challenges with assessment, challenges with collaboration?

RQ2 Tresler (2014)Ruchti et al. (2013)Porter (2013)Koning et al. (2013)Gewertz (2012)Beaver & Reumann-Moore (2014)

9. While at the Applied Technology Center, what support have you received regarding implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

(Probes: professional development, collaboration, coaching, resources, admin support)

Follow-up question: What additional support do you need regarding the Common Core State Standards?

RQ3 Bolman & Deal (2008)Koning et al. (2013)Gewertz (2012)Beaver & Reumann-Moore (2014)

10. What do you perceive to be the connection between Linked Learning and the Common Core?

RQ1 Reeves (2010)Guha et al. (2014)Rustique & Stam (2013)

11. How does the Linked Learning Pathway structure at the ATC affect your implementation of the Common Core?

Follow-up question: Do you believe that

RQ1 Reeves (2010)Bolman & Deal (2008)Guha et al. (2014)Rustique & Stam (2013)

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teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway aids or inhibits your implementation of the Common Core State Standards? Explain.

Follow-up question: Can you provide an example of a time when teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway supported your implementation/made implementation easier of the Common Core State Standards?

Follow-up question: Can you provide an example of a time when teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway added an additional layer of challenge to your implementation of the Common Core State Standards?

12. What are some challenges you have experienced while implementing the Common Core while teaching in a Linked Learning Pathway at the same time?

Probes: challenges with curriculum/materials, challenge with instruction, challenges with assessment, challenges with collaboration?

RQ2 Fullan (1997)Reeves (2008)

13. As a teacher at the Applied RQ1, RQ3 Reeves (2008)

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Technology Center, what do you perceive to be the primary instructional focus of the school?

14. As a teacher at the Applied Technology Center, do you ever feel that you are balancing multiple initiatives at once? Explain.

RQ1, RQ3 Reeves (2008)Randall (2013)Danielson (2015)Honig & Hatch (2004)Malen et al. (2015)Bridwell-Mitchell (2015)

15. Is there anything that you feel that I should have asked that I didn’t? If so, please explain.

N/A (Closure) N/A (Closure)

16. Is there anything else you can tell me that will help me to know about what it is like to implement Linked Learning and Common Core at the Applied Technology Center?

N/A (Closure) N/A (Closure)

17. May I follow up with you in a few weeks to confirm with you some of the ideas that I have found from my research?

N/A (Closure) N/A (Closure)

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Appendix L

96

97

Appendix M

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Appendix N

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