Integrating tasks, technology, and the Common Core Standards in the Algebra II classroom

Abstract

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics were released in June of 2010. The standards were developed by a team of over 75 teachers and specialist in response to improve math education in the United States through more focused, coherent, rigorous standards to help our students be competitive in the 21st century. As of June 2012, 45 states had adopted the new standards which better coordinate what students at individual grade level should know and be able to do to in order to be college and career ready by grade twelve. With new computer based assessments being developed and set to be given to students as early as 2014 to assess understanding of these standards, it is necessary for teachers to begin implementing instructional shifts in the classroom that prepare students for both the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The concept of dual intensity emphasizes that both procedural and conceptual skills are of equal importance in the classroom and changes should be made to provide opportunities for students to experience both in an atmosphere that is both rigorous and intense. Providing students opportunities to demonstrate The Standards for Mathematical Practice will involve the most change in the classroom. It will involve a change in the classroom environment involving the roles of both the teacher and the student. This thesis discusses how the use of tasks and technology were used in the Algebra II classroom to implement the Common Core Standards and describes student misconceptions and lesson revisions for future use that include connections to calculus. The process of formative assessment was used to provide information to both the teacher and the student intended to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. Information gained from the formative assessment reinforced the need to provide more opportunities for students to connect the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice using tasks and technology.