Built on Research-Supported Instruction
The K–5 Technology Curriculum is designed using well-established research on digital literacy development, cognitive science, and effective instructional design.
The curriculum aligns with national technology education standards and incorporates instructional strategies that research consistently shows support student learning, including:
✔ Explicit instruction of digital skills
✔ Scaffolded learning across grade levels
✔ Hands-on practice with authentic technology tasks
✔ Teacher-guided instruction and feedback
These elements reflect evidence-based practices widely supported in education research.
Evidence-Based Instructional Design
The curriculum follows instructional principles grounded in research on how students learn complex skills.
Explicit Instruction
Research shows that students learn complex skills most effectively when teachers clearly demonstrate skills and provide guided practice before independent application.
The curriculum uses a structured instructional model:
- Whole-group instruction
- Guided student practice
- Independent application of skills
This approach supports deeper learning than unstructured technology exploration alone.
Scaffolded Skill Development
Technology skills are introduced gradually and reinforced over time through a structured scope and sequence.
Students build foundational competencies before progressing to more advanced skills, allowing them to develop confidence and mastery.
This design reflects research on scaffolded learning and progressive skill development.
Active Learning Through Authentic Tasks
Students develop digital literacy most effectively when they actively use technology to complete meaningful tasks.
The curriculum emphasizes hands-on activities such as:
• file and folder organization
• digital research and source evaluation
• productivity tools (documents, slides, spreadsheets)
• responsible technology use
• computational thinking activities
These experiences help students apply technology skills in real-world learning contexts.
Research Foundations
The curriculum draws on established research and frameworks from leading educational organizations and fields of study.
Digital Literacy Education
Research on digital competence emphasizes that technology skills must be taught explicitly and practiced regularly.
Relevant frameworks and research include work from the:
International Society for Technology in Education
Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development
These organizations emphasize the importance of developing students’ digital citizenship, information literacy, and computational thinking skills.
Cognitive Science and Learning Research
The curriculum incorporates principles from research on how students learn and retain knowledge.
Key concepts include:
• Cognitive Load Theory
• scaffolded learning and progressive skill development
• active learning through problem-solving
These principles support effective skill acquisition and long-term retention.
Standards Alignment
The curriculum is aligned with the student standards developed by the International Society for Technology in Education.
These standards represent one of the most widely recognized frameworks for digital literacy and technology education.
Students develop competencies across several ISTE areas, including:
• Empowered Learner
• Digital Citizen
• Knowledge Constructor
• Innovative Designer
• Computational Thinker
Alignment with these standards ensures students develop the digital competencies needed for modern academic and career environments.
Classroom Implementation Evidence
The curriculum has been implemented in real elementary technology classrooms and designed specifically for common instructional models used in schools.
Implementation environments include:
• once-per-week technology lab schedules
• whole-group computer lab instruction
• classroom technology integration
Teachers using the curriculum report improvements in:
• student independence with digital tools
• digital literacy skill development
• student confidence using productivity software
• efficiency of technology instruction
ESSA Evidence Classification
Under the federal Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), educational programs are categorized according to the level of research evidence supporting their effectiveness.
The K–5 Technology Curriculum currently aligns with:
Tier 4 – Demonstrates a Rationale
This classification means the curriculum is built on established research and educational theory suggesting the program is likely to improve student outcomes.
Future program evaluation may include formal research studies examining student learning outcomes associated with the curriculum’s implementation.
References
Research informing the curriculum design includes work in the fields of digital literacy education, cognitive science, and instructional design.
Examples include:
Sweller, J. – Cognitive Load Theory
Mayer, R. – Multimedia Learning
International Society for Technology in Education – ISTE Standards
OECD – Digital Competence Research
Educational research on scaffolded learning and explicit instruction