​Can technology transform learning to engage and increase student performance? 

Technology is everywhere and rapidly changing the world and lives of our students. We are training them for jobs that do not even exist yet. Isn't it time our classrooms reflect the outside world to prepare them for a brighter future?

Mrs. Rose Girguis, Middle School Math

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Did you ever wonder how visual effects are created? Math is so beautiful but not everyone sees it's beauty. How can we use technology to help students see how magnificent math can be visually. Visual Design and graphics are based on principals of proportion and symmetry in higher level mathematics and computer science.  By flipping my classroom, my students have more time to discover and create. 

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North Rose Window Notre Dame Cathedral

The Flower of Life

Artist Picture of the Beauty of Pi

Flipped for Inquiry and Project-based learning. 

Using technology in the classroom to Spark Innovation. - 

I found research on the flip model, IQL/ PBL, blended learning (which is the direction I was headed), and educational technology, Each had much support.

With my twenty years in education, I learned there is no one way that is best. I believe in variety. I decided to combine the flip model with the inquiry/PBL model.  It is a fairly new concept, and it will require more research.
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Based on my findings and research. This is a real look into the future and way to  transform learning to higher levels of achievement for all students in mathematics (for any subject, but my focus is in mathematics instruction and improving student performance and achievement in mathematics).   ​

Research Topic

Below is a 90 second overview of my Driving Question: Can technology transform learning to engage and increase student performance?
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In my classroom, my students have technology resources available to them both at home and at school.  And, they seem unmotivated in math.  I decided to leverage those technology resources to help fill student knowledge gaps and to make learning fun so they will be more excited to learn and be engaged in MATH!

Statement of the Problem

Research is required as new digital epistemologies and new teaching pedagogies arise, so that we can improve mathematics education and student performance.

This paper goes beyond simply flipping the classroom, but examines a variety of learning activities to provide supporting evidence that mathematical performance and engagement will increase in three middle school mathematics classrooms in northern California. 

America’s students are being outperformed by their international counterparts in mathematics. It is time to evaluate our traditional teaching pedagogy and engage our students through active-learning activities. We need research on current trends of the flipped classroom model and best uses of class time.

​ It is due to technology that we can transform our classrooms for 21st century skills. John Seely Brown says we are embarking on a new culture of learning and training our students for jobs that have not been created,and a future we cannot imagine. The overall goal is to improve mathematics education to meet the demands of the future. 

What are the 21st Century Skills?