Author(s)

Karen DavisFollow

Date

5-2012

Department

School of Education

Degree

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Chair

Judy Shoemaker

Primary Subject Area

Education, General; Education, Technology; Education, Curriculum and Instruction; Education, Elementary; Education, Teacher Training; Education, Tests and Measurements

Keywords

academic achievement, instruction, technology

Disciplines

Curriculum and Instruction | Education | Educational Assessment, Evaluation, and Research | Instructional Media Design | Science and Mathematics Education | Teacher Education and Professional Development

Abstract

A digital native is an individual born between 1981 and 2001, and children born after 2001 are called millennials. Educators are expected to meet the needs of today's technologically savvy students. Some researchers assert that an academic `moral panic' is taking place that lacks the empirical and theoretical knowledge to support the claims that education needs to change to meet the needs of digital natives and millennials. The problem is that considering that the majority of students today are digital natives are educators meeting the learning needs of their students. This research study focused on the use of instructional technology and how it effects student achievement for fifth grade science and math instruction. Using the 2010 and 2011 math and science CRCT test scores, the SPSS statistical software was employed to run an independent sample t test to measure the mean difference between the experimental and control groups. The results found that the use of technological instruction in this instance did not increase student academic achievement.

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