Evaluation Plan For:

New State Standards for Mathematics and Problem-based Learning

A Grant Funded Project

Brittany Epps, Chelsea George, Gabriella Jacob, & Melinda Murdaugh

FRIT 7237

Implementation Evaluation
 The goal of this project is to prepare Braxton County teachers for the upcoming

implementation of the New State Standards for Mathematics (NSSM). In partnership with Great

Southern University’s College of Education, College of Science and Technology and Braxton

County Schools, teachers will receive professional development (PD) through a five-day

workshop, an electronic consultation with Great Southern University faculty and other teacher

participants, ending with two post-workshop meetings. Participants will work in small groups

with various levels of leaders including mathematics experts, instructional design and technology

experts, and a leader from the New State Standards for Mathematics. Tentatively the project is

scheduled to begin June 2015 and will end no later than January 2016.

The professional development proposed in this project is designed for teachers in Braxton

County, Georgia located in southeastern Georgia. The project will focus on the understanding

and implementation of New State Standards for Mathematics (NSSM) and the use of problem-

based learning (PBL) in mathematics. Braxton County, based on data from the First District

RESA, has 15,800 FTE students of various ethnicities (e.g. 35.2% Black, 8.9% Hispanic, 50.5%

White) with 54.4% eligible for free or reduced lunch. The need for this project derived from a

discussion with Braxton County Schools’ Superintendent, Assistant Superintendent for Student

Achievement, the Director of Early Academics, a survey of Braxton County Mathematics

teachers, and an analysis of recent CRCT data. The need for this project was reinforced by a

follow-up discussion with the Director of Professional Learning, Ms. Carla Lawton who

requested that the project target math teachers in grades 6,7, and 8 with a possibility of including

other teachers as space allowed. The NSSM and classroom implementation in Georgia will be

during the 2015-2016 school year, the teacher survey requesting their level of experience with
the NSSM and their interest in participating in a PD experience for PBL in mathematics and

NSSM will be given in October 2011.

Summative Evaluation

The summative evaluation aims to answer to what extent teachers were able to develop

PBL models that are culturally relevant to their students, how these models are aligned with

NSSM, and how technology was integrated into these experiences. Project leaders also wanted to

answer to what extent were teachers able to implement and evaluate those modules. To ensure

that the objectives of the evaluation were being met, the project leaders asked teachers to create

modules based on local businesses and industries. This data was collected from scored results

using module development rubrics. Teachers were to keep alignment with new NSSM standards;

NSSM components were also scored using a module development rubric. Lastly, teachers were

to effectively use technological programs during instruction; this was ensured by having project

leaders conduct observations and analyze mid-meeting self-evaluation results. Teachers shared

their experiences of module creation by sharing records of implementation and self-evaluation

through post-surveys, observations, and final meeting debriefs where evaluation results were

disseminated.

Data Collection Schedule and Summary