Maryland Teacher Technology Standards
I. Technology Information Access, Evaluation, Processing and Application
A. Access, evaluate, and process information efficiently and effectively
A. Use technology effectively and appropriately to interact electronically.
B. Use technology to communicate information in a variety of formats.
III. Legal, Social and Ethical Issues
A. Demonstrate an understanding of the legal, social, and ethical issues related to technology use.
IV. Assessment for Administration and Instruction
A. Use technology to analyze problems and develop data-driven solutions for instructional and school improvement.
V. Integrating Technology into the Curriculum and Instruction
A. Design, implement and assess learning experiences that incorporate use of technology in the curriculum-related instructional activity to support understanding, inquiry, problem-solving, communication or collaboration.
A. Understand human, equity, and developmental issues surrounding the use of assistive technology to enhance student learning performance and apply that understanding to practice.
A. Develop professional practices that support continual learning and professional growth in technology
Abstract
My paper analyzes the positive and negative effects of using ability grouping in the classroom, specifically gifted education. Research shows that ability grouping, while not necessary in the classroom, has positive effects on student academic achievement and efficiency in the classroom. Negative effects of ability grouping include high levels of anxiety and low levels of self- esteem for students participating in the method, as well as racial inequalities created by ability grouping. Because of both positive and negative opinions of the method, it is up to the teacher or the person who created the curriculum to determine if ability grouping would increase the quality of education for the students participating. A teacher’s experience using ability grouping in the classroom can influence them to solely disregard the negatives due to positive experiences with the teaching style, or it can have the opposite effect.