Group+Research+Project

=Group Research Project=

Technology in Common Core State Standards

May 30, 2013 EDET 780 Group Research Project Abigail Magaro Koshon Mitchell Susan Moore **TOPIC**

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) are academic standards that school systems across the United States are adopting in order to better prepare students for our current progressive, competitive society. As of 2010, CCSS have developed standards for mathematics and English language arts. The Standards in both content areas focus on common themes, such as coherence and collaboration. In addition, the CCSS will require a deeper, thorough, and rigorous understanding of limited “skill sets,” or broad topics, instead of scraping the surface of numerous smaller topics. These skill sets are then re-examined and the content is built upon, creating progressive, ladder-like building blocks that continually investigate topics.

CCSS was created to join all 50 states in a functional unit of instructional standards to unify the content and skills that are taught throughout the country. Before the creation of the CCSS, each state followed their own set of standards, which meant that requirements varied for each grade across the nation. CCSS was also developed to better appease the federal mandate of No Child Left Behind, and to correct the misalignment between the standards and college and career requirements... With the unified adoption of the CCSS, the state standards are no longer dysfunctional, and the performance of students in Maine will be able to be accurately analyzed in comparison with the performance of students in Oregon.

The standards of CCSS were developed after careful and extensive research of other high-achieving countries and with the expertise of educational leaders (Parks, 2013). These standards have an interesting background, as they were designed backwards – experts decided on the content and skills that students should have acquired upon graduation, and then worked backwards grade level by grade level to determine how the content and skills are learned and developed along the way.

All in all, the CCSS strive to properly “ready students for college, workforce training, and life in a technological society.” The CCSS will meet these goals by engaging students in learning and practicing comprehension, evaluation, synthesis, and research. Woven throughout the standards is the mention of technology. In fact, according to Amber Parks’ article in //The Learning Project,// “it is imperative educators teach students how to effectively utilize technology, from typing to evaluating the accuracy of web content.” This command reflects today’s society: if the CCSS seeks to prepare students to be global citizens, these new standards must prepare students not only to become familiar with, but how to utilize technology in almost every aspect.

Technology is currently utilized today for much more than simple “desk jobs.” Today, citizens depend on technology for communication, collaboration, creativity, and critical thinking. Technology has made it possible for someone in Oklahoma to communicate and see someone in China, almost instantly. Tasks are now done on a simple hand-held cell phone that once took an entire building and days at a time to complete. Children are no longer playing board games, but virtual simulation games on mobile tablets. Technology is constantly evolving on a daily basis, and the CCSS desires to mold successful students that will not only keep up in this society, but aid in the continued advancement.

**LITERATURE REVIEW** Plenty of research has been conducted and numerous articles and essays have been written in response to the dynamic rise in technology in society, along with the role it is beginning to play, or should play, in education. It is clear that as our environment is changing, so should our educational system in order to remain up-to-date. However, search results narrow immensely when searching for the topic of technology and CCSS. This is strange as technology should be a vital portion of CCSS, and should be intertwined in the classroom on a regular basis. The following literature examines technology in CCSS, as well as Common Core mathematics and the relation between and technology in general, to accurately reflect the research problem and questions that follow.

Tucker (2012) discusses technology in CCSS as the key to collaboration. He claims that collaboration, in turn, is an essential skill to success beyond high school. According to Tucker, t he Common Core Standards require students to "use technology, including the Internet, to produce and publish writing and to interact and collaborate with others." In addition to collaborating online, students must "prepare for and participate effectively in a range of [real-time] conversations and collaborations with diverse partners, building on others' ideas and expressing their own clearly and persuasively." While this might relate directly to English language arts, one could very easily find the correlation between collaboration and mathematics, as students should build on others’ ideas and express their own in many mathematical situations. Collaboration means that students are actively involved in their own learning process, which is a key principle of the Common Core Initiative. The article continues to list examples of specific programs that teachers and students may utilize in class to aid in their collaboration.

Ohler (2013) criticizes the CCSS due to their lack of certain competencies and understandings that are tied to creativity and technology. Ohler recognizes the importance of technology in the CCSS, but does not believe that the Initiative was successful in incorporating four of the most important skills and principles: artistic skill, new media grammar, the interrelatedness between creativity and critical thinking, and the instruction, encouragement, and opportunities of students to value innovation. Students should be encouraged to use “critical thinking” (blending creativity and critical thinking), and should learn to be problem solvers as well as problem finders. He recognizes that creativity has a much different definition today than it did in the past, and now involves creating something new that demonstrates some kind of media. The challenges faced by 21st century students could lead to the finding of extraordinary solutions that will better society as a whole, and Ohler concludes that these solutions will only be produced through the use of creative ideas.

Killion (2013) identifies a few basic yet vital characteristics that technology must possess in order to lead to success. He states in his article his belief that technology creates opportunities for more professional, focused learning, which is the key ingredient to CCSS. Technology should be utilized to address issues of personalization, collaboration, access, and efficiency. Technology-based learning should include practice, feedback, and support to develop and deepen learning. Technology definitely has the potential to increase the productiveness of CCSS and prepare students for the global economy by making learning personal, easy to access, and effective.

Cosmah and Saine state in their article “Targeting digital technologies in common core standards” that many teachers are giving their students pieces of technology but not really implementing it into their lessons. A student who uses a laptop in the classroom to complete an assignment is not an example of a teacher implementing technology. That article states “without receiving proper training of technology integration and support, teachers are left to learn by trial and error in a time where accountability is at the forefront of determining success.” This is something that we have been looking at for a long time now. Teachers who know how to use technology in their lessons and are comfortable in doing so will use the technology they are given. Technology cannot be cast upon teachers with the expectation that teachers will have the time to learn how to use it on their own time while also preparing lessons for their classes. If a district is going to make the investment towards technologies in the classroom, the investment in teachers’ education in technology is necessary.

Mathis states in “The Common Core Standards Initiative” that “ For ―career-ready, ‖ the requirements for a pipe-fitter are not the same as for a salesperson or an accountant. Thus, while ―college- or career-ready ‖ standards are touted as high standards, in reality, the skill levels within this open-ended phrase are very diverse.” While teachers can implement as much technology into their lesson as they can, the fact still remains that some students will not necessarily need that knowledge for their future careers. I think that it is also part of the teachers’ jobs to encourage students to dream bigger with the hopes that with this new knowledge of 21st century technology, they will pursue active careers that require the use of this technology. The Common Core Standards are becoming the national academic standards for K-12 schools in the United States and have now been adopted by 45 states. This makes them the pre-eminent source of what is being taught in the vast majority of public schools in America. Since they’re only available for English-Language Arts and Math, it’s difficult to get a full picture for how they will impact public education. Schools across the globe are disrupting the traditional educational model through the incorporation of technology into instruction. With common core standards becoming the future of teaching, the integration of technology is becoming more prevalent. Teachers need to be prepared with the new technologies that states will be putting into their schools. Hew and Brush states that “lack of specific technology knowledge and skills is one of the common reasons given by teachers for not using technology.” If teachers lack the necessary skills needed to use these technologies, they will not use them and our students will be at a loss.

**RESEARCH PROBLEM**

The CCSS claim to want to develop global citizens and prepare them for future success in college and career, yet there is limited inclusion of technology, which seems to be one of the more prominent skills of a global citizen. In specific, math is easily overlooked when adding technology into curriculum. In order to prepare our students effectively for success in school as well as success in society, we must find a way to include the teaching and utilization of technology in the mathematics standards of CCSS.


 * Research Questions** Will technology in CCSS promote creativity in mathematics?
 * 1) Does technology allow for more self-motivation in mathematics?
 * 2) Will the use of technology increase learning for students who already have self-motivation and a desire for future learning?
 * 3) Is the use of technology in the mathematics classroom preparing our youth for the mathematics field?

**RESEARCH DESIGN** **METHODS** Our research will be conducted in a high school setting using chronically low performing students to assess the impact of technology on their End of Course Test Scores. The data will be collected from 200 students enrolled in Math II, Accelerated Math II or Math II support at TW Josey High School divided into twelve classrooms at the 10th grade level in a predominantly low income school (98% free or reduced lunch). The school is entering its second year of implementation of their school improvement plan. Recent funding has allowed the school to be wealthy in technology, but lack training by some staff members due to high teacher turnover. Classrooms and labs have promethean boards, active vote devices, active expressions and math classes are equipped with TI-nspire Calculators. The school has 6 computer labs with 4 designated for math first. The media center has 4 portable laptop labs that can be checked out and the entire school has Wi-Fi access. The student population is 98% African-American, 1% Hispanic, 1% White/Other.
 * Setting**

The participants in this are not only the students in the mathematics classes, but also the teachers. All of the students enrolled in the support classes have not met standards on their Math 1 EOCT but received 70% or above in the course. The participants in this group will include 4 math teachers and their students (n=160). Two of the teachers are in their first year and one is in a program for alternative certification, the other two teachers have been in education for more than 5 years. Not included in our control or experimental group are students from a neighboring school that have received the same funding but decided to direct their resources on professional development and not as much on technology, data will be compared to theirs for additional assessment of effectiveness. It is important to understand the students’ opinions and views of using technology specifically in a mathematics classroom. The teachers’ beliefs in technology being used in their mathematics classrooms are also an important part of this research. The technological experience is an important aspect of the study that the researchers need to know.
 * Participants**

Prior to taking the exam the students in our control group will complete tasks using the Carnegie learning software created by Carnegie Learning collaboratively with the Department of Education. Standards addressed in the software are aligned with standards addressed on the EOCT. The research will be conducted over a 33 week period beginning at the start of the school year and ending after the exam. Student skill mastery and participation will be tracked throughout in order to align or hypothesize additional correlations between technology usage, mastery and performance outcomes on their EOCT. In order to eliminate bias and increase the validity of our research all the factors that play a role in the effectiveness of any technology, this study will include both qualitative and quantitative methods to obtain data. Before beginning the research study, the teacher and student participants will be administered a survey. The teachers’ survey will determine (1) Does technology in the lesson increase your students’ creativity, (2) Does using technology increase your students’ motivation, (3) Is the technology being used preparing your students for their future careers, (4) Is the technology being used preparing your students for their future careers, and (5) Would you be interested in workshops devoted to implementing technology in a mathematics classroom? The students’ survey will determine their perceptions of technology in the classroom. The surveys ask students (1) Does your instructor use technology in your mathematics classroom, and (2) If technology is being used, do you feel it is a vital part of the lesson? The research will be conducted over a 33 week period beginning at the start of the school year and ending after the exam. Student skill mastery and participation will be tracked throughout in order to align or hypothesize additional correlations between technology usage, mastery and performance outcomes on their EOCT. The software allows teachers adjust the placement of students and create customized lessons to accommodate students that may require additional examples or in some instances they may demonstrate mastery of particular standards. Students will have access to utilize the software away from school because it is an online module. We decided to include an additional variable to manipulate the impact of the software usage. All students will be considered a novice, but 1 of the teachers using the software has received 8hrs of professional development on utilizing the software including data tracking, student placement and customizing lessons to include or exclude examples as needed.
 * Design **

b) Yes, a few times a month c) Not at all d) Not applicable || b) No, the instructor would be fine without it c) Not Applicable || b) Yes, although I would not be struggling without it c) No, I would succeed just the same d) Not Applicable || b) Somewhat motivated c) Not motivated at all || b) Yes, somewhat c) Not at all || b) Yes, for college classes c) No, I will never use this information || b) Yes, somewhat comfortable c) No, not comfortable at all ||
 * Student Survey**
 * Question || Answer Choices ||
 * Does your instructor use technology in your mathematics classroom? || a) Yes, everyday
 * If technology is being used, do you feel it is a vital part of the lesson? || a) Yes, without it the lesson could not go on
 * Does the technology enhance your learning experience? || a) Yes, I am learning more because of the technology
 * How motivated are you to learn mathematics? || a) Very motivated
 * Does using technology increase your self-motivation? || a) Yes, absolutely
 * Do you feel as though you will use the information learned in your mathematics class in the future? || a) Yes, for my career
 * Do you feel comfortable using technology? || a) Yes, very comfortable

b) Yes, somewhat c) Not at all || b) Yes, somewhat c) Not at all || b) Yes, somewhat c) Not at all || b) Yes, but I would like more practice c) No, but I would like to learn more d) No, I am doing just fine || b) No ||
 * Teacher Survey**
 * Question || Answer Choices ||
 * Does technology in the lesson increase your students’ creativity? || a) Yes, very much
 * Does using technology increase your students’ motivation? || a) Yes, very much
 * Is the technology being used preparing your students for their future careers? || a) Yes, very much
 * Is the technology being used preparing your students for their future careers? || a) Yes, very comfortable
 * Would you be interested in workshops devoted to implementing technology in a mathematics classroom? || a) Yes

**DATA ANALYSIS** Once the survey, observation and test data are collected, the data will be put into charts so it can analyzed systematically using a one-way analysis of variance to determine the effectiveness of the technology: The data will determine whether technology is being implemented on a regular basis in a mathematics classroom. The data will also let researchers know how the technology is affecting learning and if it is a beneficial tool based on the results of the survey.
 * || **10th Graders Using E-learning Software** || **10th Graders not using E-learning Software** ||
 * EOCT Math scores Before ||  ||   ||
 * EOCT Math Scores After (Same Standards) ||  ||   ||

1) Types of instructional strategies used with students and degree of frequency outside of the lab setting. 2) Professional development opportunities provided to teachers and number of hours of professional development. 3) Student perceptions of the e-learning environment and perceptions of their own performance. 4) Formative assessment data from EOCT scores noting progress from both groups of students.

From the data analysis, it should be easy to determine if seminars and workshops should be put in place so that teachers know a) how to use the technologies they are given and b) how to incorporate these technologies into their lesson plans.

After the workshops and seminars and the teachers have had some time to implement the new technologies, the students and teachers will be given the survey again. The data from the previous survey and the new survey will be compared to one another to determine if educating teachers in technology promotes the implementation of technology in the classroom.

**CONCLUSION**

The results of this study will help inform educators and assist in the creation of the most effective curriculum and related lesson plans. Technology is a main aspect of our entire society, and we must find a way to educate our students accordingly. Technology must be used as a vital supplement to the Common Core State Standards in order to properly prepare our students for any college path or career available. The Common Core State Standards provide a consistent, clear understanding of what students are expected to learn, so teachers and parents know what they need to do to help them. The standards are designed to be robust and relevant to the real world, reflecting the knowledge and skills that our young people need for success in college and careers. With American students fully prepared for the future, our communities will be best positioned to compete successfully in the global economy.

This topic yields a variety of options for further research. For one, different levels of education could be investigated, such as technology in the primary and elementary setting. In addition, a variety of subjects could also be explored, such as CCSS English language arts. One could even choose to research a more specific aspect of math, such as accelerated math or even math geared towards students with special needs and abilities. Examples of the way technology can disrupt the traditional educational model can be seen in tools like I-Books and I-Tunes-U. With I-Books, students can interact with text by writing notes and sharing those notes with their peers and teachers. They can define unfamiliar words as they read them or even have the pronunciation of those words spoken to them. It is clear that our students will have to apply the same higher order thinking asked of the Common Core to an on-line assessment.

**REFERENCES** Brush, T., & Hew, K. (2007). Integrating technology into k-12 teaching and learning: current knowledge gaps and recommendations for future research.//Association for Educational Communications and Technology//

Cosmah, M. Saine, P. (2013). Targeting Digital Technologies in Common Core Standards: A Framework for Professional Development, 48(2). Retrieved from []

Killion, J. (2013). Tapping Technology’s Potential. Journal Of Staff Development, 34(1), 10-14. Retrieved from []

Mathis, W. J. (2010). The “Common Core” Standards Initiative: An Effective Reform Tool? Boulder andTempe: Education and the Public Interest Center & Education Policy Research Unit. Retrieved [date] from http://epicpolicy.org/publication/common-core-standards

Ohler, J. (2013). The Uncommon Core. Educational Leadership, 70(5), 42-46. Retrieved from []

Parks, A. (2013) Understanding the central themes of the Common Core Standards and the need to develop digital literacy and 21st century skills in today’s classrooms. //The Learning Project.// Retrieved May 27, 2013 from []. com/sites/daleadershipinstitute/files/Digital-Literacy-Common-Core-white-paper-121029.pdf

Tucker, C. (2012). Common Core Standards: Transforming Teaching with Collaborative Technology. Teacher Librarian, 39(6), 30-37. Retrieved from []