Since the last SIG meeting, a great deal has happened relating to technology in the classroom.  Most notably, the availability and promotion of e-textbooks at the K-12 grade levels have begun to dominate the e-learning landscape. An increased use of a variety of other digital tools designed to enhance learning such as educational games, banks of virtual simulations, and digital assessment features are being developed by major publishers and groups like Apple. A brief overview of the current state of educational technology will be presented.

The Common Core State Standards (CCSS) for Mathematics and the forthcoming Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS) have taken shape during a period of rapidly changing student demographics and continuing science achievement gaps which emphasize issues related to English language learners. In addition to the focus on disciplinary core ideas, the new standards emphasize “practices”— mathematical practices and scientific and engineering practices—which are language intensive.

CADRE is developing a concise paper, "From Dissemination to Knowledge Use," and invites your feedback in this session. The draft paper, to be distributed to participants, identifies alternatives to conventional dissemination for DR K-12 projects. It briefly describes the relevant research on knowledge use and suggests options for applying this research in ongoing or planned projects. Your feedback in the session will help improve the paper before CADRE revises and distributes it.

This collaborative session begins with a dilemma—the realization that professional development often falls short of expectations for improving teacher practice and classroom learning. The presenters realize that teaching is a culturally bound endeavor, and changing classroom culture is extremely complex. Their NSF projects are founded on theories of action grounded in research, that is, theories of what is required for professional development programs to change teacher awareness, motivation, understanding, and actual classroom action in STEM.