SBIR Phase I: Metiri Assessment Portal for 21st Century Learning (AP21)

This Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I project will study the innovative combination of today?s social/interactive media, online communities of practice (CoPs), and media-based case studies to engage middle school mathematics teachers in online professional experiences that develop their capacity to use rubrics to assess their students? critical thinking and problem solving (CT & PS) skills. Reports indicate that 15-year-olds in the U.S. scored 24th out of the 28 OECD nations on the 2006 PISA mathematics tests, and 29th on the 2003 problem solving assessments, clearly indicates there is a strong need for U. S. middle school mathematics teachers to approach CT & PS in mathematics in new ways. The research objective is to leverage this online venue into an interactive, professional community of practice and learning system where middle school teachers learn to translate the CT & PS in the Grades 6-7 statistics and probability section of the Common Core Mathematics Standards into rubrics to guide their everyday lesson design and assessment of student work. The anticipated technical results are: increased expertise among middle school mathematics teachers as to how to integrate and assess critical thinking and problem solving using performance assessments based on rubrics aligned to the Common Core. In addition, teachers will acquire experience and expertise in effectively participating in CoPs for professional learning. The broad impact/commercial potential of this project lies in its capacity to scale up ? to reach thousands of teachers through a new venue for professional learning ? AND its innovative, yet practical approach to a topic of significance to U.S. economic competitiveness ? critical thinking and problem solving (CT & PS) in mathematics. (To be expanded to other grade levels, and content areas in subsequent phases.) AP21 provides three critical elements for high impact professional learning: 1) Research-based professional development on rubrics and CT & PS in mathematics, 2) Practical, collegial, interactive learning based on case studies in real classrooms, and 3) An open online environment where teachers collaboratively build their own rubrics, design/critique their own lessons, and collaboratively assess their own students? work. Thousands of schools are interested in CT & PS, but few are sure how to implement and assess these skills. What they do know is that a one-day workshop won?t be sufficient. Potential AP21 customers include: individual teachers, cohorts of teachers, whole schools/districts moving toward systemic change, and colleges of education. The project would contribute to the knowledge base in leveraging online, social networking environments for large scale professional learning that results in shifts in classroom practices.