Background

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In 2010, North Carolina adopted the Common Core standards in Mathematics and English Language Arts. (See www.commoncore.org )The Common Core standards focus on development of critical thinking, developing reasoned arguments, using evidence to support positions, and using various other 21st Century skills in authentic contexts. North Carolina has also adopted the NC Professional Teaching Standards that mandate what teachers need to know and be able to do in 21st Century schools. These standards dictate new roles for teachers in their classrooms and schools, including but not limited to the ideas that teachers facilitate instruction and encourage all students to discover knowledge and communicate ideas. Technology has changed access to information. Previously it was limited or scarce, only found in resources that teachers owned or borrowed, and now it is abundant through the use of information and communications technologies. Access to more information allows students to learn at a higher level which leads to personal productivity, a 21st Century skill stated in the Common Core standards. The standards also contain an increased focus on integration of core subjects and problem solving using real world application. These standards change the way education has traditionally been experienced.