Browsing by Subject "Education, Secondary -- Research"
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Item College Readiness among Students who Attended an Enrichment Program(2014-08) Cupid, Sherella; Masters of EducationMany studies have found that enrichment programs help students to improve academically, socially and personally in terms of college success and matriculation (Bernhardt, 2013; Contreras, 2011; Gullatt & Jan, 2011; Venezia, & Jaeger, 2013). The purpose of this study was to describe the perceptions of academic, social and personal preparedness and adjustment in college of students who did and did not participate in an enrichment program(s) intended to help them succeed in college. A descriptive survey was completed voluntarily online by the enrichment group, and respondents were asked to select a peer in their program of study whom s/he believed did not attend a college preparatory enrichment program to complete the survey also. However, only participants who received enrichment completed the survey and took part in the follow-up interview. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the findings and the original comparisons intended were not able to be made. All participants rated items using a six point scale to indicate how academically, socially, and personally prepared they felt they were for college, and using a four point scale to indicate how satisfied they were with their college. Participants also had opportunities to state what aspects of their enrichment experience were helpful in college and from those participants a subsample who was interviewed stated that they wanted to remain an active part of the program, suggesting such programs are helpful.Item The Effects of Instructional Techniques Promoting an Increased Level of Foreign Language Vocabulary Retention for High School Students(2014-07) McColley, Sarah; Masters of EducationThe purpose of this study was to determine the impact of the implementation of instructional techniques using visuals on a selected class of high school Spanish level three students. The null hypothesis is that there will be no statistically significant difference between the vocabulary retention score of the Spanish III students who follow the traditional teaching vocabulary model (i.e. the control group) and students who follow new instructional techniques using visuals to help increase knowledge of vocabulary (i.e. the treatment group). The two groups were comprised of twenty-eight students, nine boys and nineteen girls, in high school Spanish III classes. The measurement tool utilized throughout the study was the Baltimore County Spanish Test, the speaking and writing rubrics for Spanish III. This study involved the use of a pretest/posttest design to compare data from March of 2014 to data from May of 2014. There were no significant gains in the retention of vocabulary scores, thus the null hypothesis failed to be rejected. Teachers must anticipate the reality that they cannot stop adolescent bodily changes nor the cognitive developmental stages that are happening simultaneously to the adolescence, but teachers can be proactive with mental stimulation and purposeful movement activities to keep students stimulated and engaged. In order to achieve a significant change in the retention of vocabulary for high school students there should be further research on this topic.Item The Effects of Mentor Gender on Mentee Attitudes towards Mathematics(2015-05) Nusbaum, KarryThe purpose of this study was to compare the attitudes of Algebra I students who were being mentored to see if there was a difference between the attitude of students with a gender concordant (n = 18) or discordant (n = 18) mentor pairing. This is important because if a way can be found to improve student attitudes toward mathematics through the structuring of mentoring programs, then students will be better prepared for success in mathematics. The students’ scores on the questionnaire were used to evaluate each student’s attitude towards math and their personal math capabilities. There was also a total math attitude score. The mean Attitude Toward Math score of the Gender Concordant group (Mean = 27.28, SD = 2.95) did not differ significantly from that of the Gender Discordant group (Mean = 28.94, SD = 4.80) [t (34) = 1.23, p = .22]. The mean Attitude Toward Personal Math Capabilities score of the Gender Concordant group (Mean = 27.06, SD = 3.26) did not differ significantly from that of the Gender Discordant group (Mean = 26.67, SD = 5.67) [t(34) = .25, p = .80]. The mean Total Math Attitude score of the Gender Concordant group (Mean = 54.33, SD = 5.14) did not differ significantly from that of the Gender Discordant group (Mean = 55.61, SD = 9.70) [t(34) = .49, p = .63]. Results did not indicate that adjusting mentor and mentee pairings based on gender will impact math attitudes. Implications of the findings and ideas for future research are discussed.Item Learner Motivation and Engagement in High School Social Studies Classrooms(2015-07) Plante, ChelseaThe purpose of this study was to determine if the use of hands-on and cooperative learning strategies would increase the engagement of students enrolled in United States History. The measurement tools were created by the researcher and were based on the National Survey of Student Engagement. The study used a counterbalanced design with a pretest/posttest to compare each student’s level of engagement before and after the intervention. There was no statistically significant increase in student engagement, although there was a significant correlation between student understanding of a lesson and student engagement in lessons using traditional strategies and those using engagement-targeted strategies. Research of engagement in secondary schools, especially in social studies, is limited and should therefore be continued in order to determine the best strategies for increasing learner engagement.