Lukens 1

Mason Lukens

Prof. Calhoun

English 1201

23 March 2020

Literature Review

During the process of finding literature to review, my topic and question for research has

changed multiple times. This research has led my topic of research to morph into education

improvement. This has caused my research to stem into the direction of education in general, as

well as ways that education can be improved through altered reaching methods and technology.

My research question is: “How can the education system in America be improved?”. This

research question is broad enough to allow for research, but not so broad that research becomes

overwhelming. This is a topic that will prove to be very important for our generation and

generations to come. The more efficient and advanced the education system is, the better off our

country and education systems will be for hundreds of years.

Throughout the history of education, the way in which information is taught to students

has changed dramatically. Other things in the classroom have changed as well, like the number

of students educated, the quality of education, and the qualifications of teachers. These changes

have led to a dramatic change in the quality of education. New innovations have led to this by

allowing online learning. In todays world classes have changed to be taught completely online.

This is a great achievement because it allows for a wider range of people to become educated.

The history of education shows dramatic innovation. This is important because of the potential

for future innovation and improvement for education in America.

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In the articles, “Is Technology in the Classroom Helpful or Distracting”, “Technology in

Education: An Overview”, “The NCES Fast Facts Tool Provides Quick Answers to Many

Education Questions”, and “Technology Adoption”, the key points of the articles focus on how

technology effects education. In the NCES website, statistics can be found about how technology

can improve education. In the “Technology in Education: An Overview” article, the text

expresses information about how exposing children to technology allows them to be experienced

with technology for use later in their lives. In the “Technology Adoption” article, evidence is

given to show how families in the U.S have adopted technology. This can be important when

arguing whether technology is available for everyone. Finally, in the “Is Technology in the

Classroom Helpful or Distracting” article, viewpoints are given about how technology can be

both beneficial as well as distracting.

In the article, “Smart teachers, successful students”, the article reviews teacher’s

cognitive ability versus teacher effectiveness. The article states that a teacher's cognitive ability

does not have significant correlation to their effectiveness. It also states that methods of testing

effectiveness are limited and have limitations. This article can be useful in my research question

because it can prove that it is hard to improve the instructors that are providing education.

Teachers effectiveness is not changed by their cognitive ability. Therefore, the easiest way to

improve education is to improve the tools and resources that the educators must educate with.

There are obvious disagreements between the articles presented above. The articles that

pertain to technology have disagreements between the article about teacher effectiveness because

the articles about technology relate student performance to the ways that technology is being

used, where the articles about teachers effectiveness relates student success directly to the

teacher and there abilities. While there are disagreements between the opposing viewpoints, there
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are also disagreements between like viewpoints. In the technology articles, some articles believe

that technology improvement well improve education, while some of the articles believe that

improving the way that technology is implemented will improve education. These disagreements

are important, because they allows my avenue for research to diverse. This allows my research

paper to take many different viewpoints and completely cover the research question at hand.

There are some misconceptions when it comes to improving education. Many people

believe that in order to improve education you must immediately look at teachers, and the way

that the school systems in America are run. This is not the case. People are often too quick to

look to the state government education rules and laws. Instead, people should look to improve

the system that is already in place. The current systems of education have stood for many years

and led the US to become one of the most highly educated countries in the world.

In conclusion, there are many ways that my research question, “How can the education

system in America be improved?” can be answered. Based on the research that I have conducted

and the sources that I have found, the most supported conclusion to my research question is that

technology implementation and innovation, as well as teacher effectiveness are the three main

ways to improve education in America.

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Works Cited

Bardach, Lisa, and Robert Klassen. "Smart Teachers, Successful Students? A

Systematic Review of the Literature on Teachers’ Cognitive Abilities

and Teacher Effectiveness." ScienceDirect.com | Science, Health and

Medical Journals, Full Text Articles and Books,

www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1747938X19302714?via

%3Dihub. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

Herold, Benjamin. "Technology in Education: An Overview." Education Week,

5 Feb. 2016, www.edweek.org/ew/issues/technology-in-

education/index.html. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

National Center for Education Statistics. National Center for Education

Statistics (NCES) Home Page, a Part of the U.S. Department of

Education, 23 Mar. 2020, nces.ed.gov/. Accessed 23 Mar. 2020.

Roser, Max, and Hannah Ritchie. "Technology Adoption." Our World in Data,

2 Oct. 2017, ourworldindata.org/technology-adoption. Accessed

23 Mar. 2020.

Torrens Blog. "Is Technology in the Classroom Helpful or Distracting?"

Torrens Blog, 14 Aug. 2018, www.torrens.edu.au/blog/education/new-

technology-in-the-classroom-progress-or-distraction. Accessed

23 Mar. 2020.