Koshon Mitchell EDET 780 May 28, 2013 Introduction This is my 3rd year teaching at Josey High School

which is a recipient of the School Improvement Grant (SIG). As part of the initiative to increase student engagement and academic performance our school chose to increase the use of technology through the purchase of various technological resources and increase professional development on technology usage for all teachers. All of the teachers were given an I-Pad and the district allowed the SIG schools to split the cost ($80,000) of a technology liaison that conducted weekly professional development and assisted faculty and staff members on an as need basis. The AP Calculus and Statistics students are going to receive Google Chrome books to be used as e-readers, and as an AP teacher I wanted to assess the effectiveness of this influx of technology. Dissertation #1 RELATIONSHIP OF TECHNOLOGY SKILL COMPETENCIES AND READING AND MATH STANDARDIZED TEST SCORES by Stacie L. Jordan. A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree Doctor of Philosophy Capella University June 2012 from Dissertations and Theses. Full Text Summary The study examined students technology skill competencies with their reading and math scores on standardized tests. Three research questions were developed regarding: 1) the relationship between students scores on a technology skills assessment and their scores on standardized reading and math tests, 2) if there was a difference in technology skills between students with both school and home computer access and students with only school computer access, and 3) the relationship between students technology skills and the number of technology courses taken in middle school. The population consisted of all 8th grade students. Review This was very unique to me because most researchers assess the impact of technology usage on math scores or academic improvement in various areas, while this study analyzed the impact of higher reading and math skills on a students technology score. Dissertation #2 A QUANTITATIVE STUDY ON THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS TECHNOLOGY PERCEPTIONS AND MATH PROFICIENCY by Vernon William Wooldridge A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP UNIVERSITY OF PHOENIX November 2009 from Dissertations and Theses. Full Text Summary The focus of the research study was the relationship between teachers perceptions of instructional technology and student math proficiency levels. The only common variable associated with students identified in the study was sixth- through eighth-grade math proficiency scores using the results from Arizonas Instrument to Measure Standards and Terra Nova standardized assessments. Once controls were set for spurious variables, the results of the study did not provide evidence of a relationship between teachers perceptions of instructional technology benefits and math proficiency levels. Review

The research found no relationship between teacher technology perception and math proficiency. Based on the limitations of the research I would not use this data to generalized the effects of teacher technology perception. This research was conducted at one school and on a middle school setting so the results could vary in a different k-12 setting or in a different socioeconomic region. Dissertation #3 Mathematical learning instruction and teacher motivation factors affecting science technology engineering and math (STEM) major choices in 4-year colleges and universities: Multilevel structural equation modeling Lee, Ahlam. The University of Wisconsin - Madison, 2011 A Dissertation Presented in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF Philosophy (Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis) Full Text Summary The study examined the effects of the selected mathematical learning and teacher motivation factors on graduates' science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM) related major choices in 4-year colleges and universities, as mediated by math performance and math self-efficacy. Using multilevel structural equation modeling, the researcher analyzed: (1) the association between mathematical learning instruction factors (i.e., computer, individual, and lecture-based learning activities in mathematics) and students' STEM major choices in 4-year colleges and universities as mediated by math performance and math self-efficacy and (2) the association between school factor, teacher motivation and students' STEM major choices in 4-year colleges and universities via mediators of math performance and math self-efficacy. The results revealed that among the selected learning experience factors, computer-based learning activities in math classrooms yielded the most positive effects on math self-efficacy, which significantly predicted the increase in the proportion of students' STEM major choice as mediated by math self-efficacy. Further, when controlling for base-year math Item Response Theory (IRT) scores, a positive relationship between individual-based learning activities in math classrooms and the first followup math IRT scores emerged. The results also indicated that individual and lecture-based learning activities in math yielded positive effects on math self-efficacy, which related to STEM major choice. Concerning between-school levels, teacher motivation yielded positive effects on the first follow up math IRT score, when controlling for base year IRT score. The results from this study inform educators, parents, and policy makers on how mathematics instruction can improve student math performance and encourage more students to prepare for STEM careers. Students should receive all possible opportunities to use computers to enhance their math selfefficacy, be encouraged to review math materials, and concentrate on listening to math teachers' lectures. While all selected math-learning activities should be embraced in math instruction, computer and individual-based learning activities, which reflect student-driven learning, should be emphasized in the high school instruction. Likewise, students should be encouraged to frequently engage in individual-based learning activities to improve their math performance. Review I really enjoyed this dissertation and the topic researched, these reviews have given me some direction and insight to writing my own dissertation. Based on the information found in the dissertation one would assume that the amount of self-regulation required to be successful in a self-paced computer assisted learning environment would carry over to a students performance in college. The importance and impact of a good Math or Science teacher on a students decision

to choose a STEM field is important, but considering how influential some kids are this may be the same across various disciplines.