Capstone Project Idea

Kelleth Chinn

Project Title:
OUSD 2nd Grade Math

Purpose:
Help 2nd grade students of the Oakland Unified School District meet objectives of the
2nd grade math curriculum. Help teachers quickly identify learning gaps.

Background:
At the moment, the landscape of education technology is a lot like a digital Wild West.
There are so many platforms, apps and devices competing to gain a foothold, and a lot of
it is mediocre, to put it kindly. Its easy to get the impression that of lot of education
technology programs were designed more by software developers than by teachers. And
many programs lack user friendliness, a essential characteristic for the teacher who has
no time to struggle with a computer program.

As teachers, what we really need is a set of digital learning tools that effectively serves
multiple functions:

It reinforces what we are already teaching.

It is truly aligned to the standards we are teaching.
It provides opportunities for students to independently practice the skills we have
taught.
It offers tools to differentiate instruction so that students can learn at their own
level and pace.
It tracks and monitors student progress in a simple, easy to use format, with
options to drill down and get more details when needed.
It provides gamification elements to help motivate and inspire students.
It allows for teacher customization, but is easy to use.

While piloting various learning programs and apps, Ive seen these elements scattered
here and there. But I havent yet seen them consistently applied to a broad-reaching,
standards-aligned learning platform a platform that really works for teachers.

My ultimate goal is help design such a platform, and I think that I can use my capstone
project to start this work. Im hoping to learn to plan, design, develop and implement
instructional programs for my school and district.

I would like to begin by designing a program that covers all or part of the 2nd grade math
curriculum. I am a 2nd grade math teacher, and I know the curriculum well. I also have
extensive experience teaching and assessing 2nd grade math learners. A well-designed
program to teach and assess 2nd grade math could be incredibly useful to 2nd grade
teachers in my district and beyond.

Target Audience:
2nd grade OUSD students (and their teachers)

Outcomes:
Help students and practice and learn 2nd grade math curriculum
Reliably assess learning, and quickly identify learning gaps

Project Timeframe:
Summer-Fall 2018

Specialized Skills:
Experience teaching and assessing 2nd grade math learners

Resources Available:
Documented 2nd Grade Math Curriculum, OUSD
Desktop Computer
Classroom Computers for Students
2nd Grade Teacher Team at Chabot Elementary