EDTC 670 Integrative Capstone Project by Isabel M. Barnes

              Summary of Data & Interpretation:

                                              Survey Data:

 The following is the Survey Data results were completed by the students on October 5, 2012. The expected participants was 111 students covering three class periods.  However, there was only 44 surveys collected. The graph below reflects the average responses given to each question asked in the survey.  The purpose of the survey was to get a gauge as to  motivated the students are in this class and determine their interest in using technology as a tool to improve their ability to acquire the vocabulary, and mastery of the concepts introduced in the course.  In addition, the survey was also to serve as a tool for the classroom teacher in order to determine why students lack motivation in the classroom (the real problem indicated in phase 1 of this project) as expressed by the teacher and to take this feedback into  consideration in future lesson plans.

Series 1 represents students in the 2nd period.

Series 2 represents students in the 7th period

Series 3 represents students in the 4th period.

The values plotted represent the average value from each class period  for each question asked on the survey. There were 14 questions asked on the survey (x-axis) and the opinion for each question ranged from 1(worst) to 10 (best) on the (y-axis).

                                        Survey  Findings:

Q1: How do you rate you understanding of the vocabulary in your biology course? The average response among the three sections was a modest 5-6.4 in range.  It appears that the majority of the students do not feel extremely confident in their mastery of the vocabulary in the course.

Q2: How do you rate your understanding of the biology concepts you have covered so far? This range was slightly higher at a range of 5 to 6.5. The students appear to not feel as confident in their understanding of the concepts covered thus far.

Q3: How do you rate your preparedness for the quizzes and/or test?  This was comfortably 6.2 to 6.5 for class periods  (4) and (7). However, class period 2 appeared to be extremely confident in their feeling prepared for assesments within the course.

Q4: How do you rate you understanding of what your teacher expects of you? The average response among all three sections appear to be a favorable range of 8 to 8.5.  Students express that  they have a clear understanding of what is expected of them.

Q5: How motivated are you to come to biology class? The average response among class periods (2) and (4) range between 5.8 to 7.    On the other hand, the response of class period (7) is quite high at 10+.   

Q6: How motivated are you to complete class assignments? The appears  to be little difference between class periods (2) and (4) at      a range of 6.2 to 7. Class period 7 appears to be more motivated at response average of 8.9.

Q7: How motivated are you to complete homework assignments? There is a similar average response as noted for question 6.

Q8: How motivated are you to attend study sessions after school to prepare for exams?  Class period 2 was at the lowest at a 4 response, followed by class period 4 at a response of 5. Class period 7 appears to be more  motivated at a response of 8.2.

Q10: How do you rate you current usage of technology to assist in your class activities?  Class period 2 was at a response of 6, whereas class period 7 was at a response of 8. There was, however, a significant positive response by class period 4 in this area at response of 10. Apparently, class period 7 uses technology quite frequently. This information would need further qualifications to determine exactly what technology they are using and in what capacity they are using this technology.

Q11: How do you rate you interest in the use of technology in the classroom? Surprisingly, students in all three class periods appear to not be as interested in the use of technology in the classroom. Their responses ranged from 5 to 6.2.  Further investigation into why students have a  moderate interest in the use  thetechnology in the classroom.

                               Survey Result Interpretation:

Based on the survey results, students appear to be moderately confident about their abilities to comprehend the vocacbulary and concepts covered in this course since their are a diverse population of students within the classroom.  To identify the exact rationale for this lack of confidence we will need to conduct further investigations.

Student's motivation to come to the biology class complete class assignments, and homework assignments may be a result of their lack of confidence in their ability to comprehend the vocabulary and concepts covered in this course.  The current teacher includeds lab activities throughout the school year and study sessions prior to each exam that all students are invited to attend. However, not many students take advantage of the study sessions to date.  Many students have expressed their interest in more lab activities and other "hands on" activities.

In this project I have attempted to incorporate colorful graphic organizer components, and links to audiovisual components to the webquest in order to not only engage students, but increase their ability to utilize all their senses in acquiring the content knowledge expected in this course.

The webquest is a technology-based solution that can be easily constructed and can be designed specifically for student needs.  The webquest used along with the supplemental activities might increase the motivation of the students to increase their class participation which may ultimately translate to improved test scores.           

                                            Test Score Data: 

Students were given a chapter 1 test prior to the implementation of the technology-based solution.   The results from this test will serve as our baseline test. 

The 7th class period will serve as the control since these students were not given the WebQuest activity.

Students were given the WebQuest and was allowed to complete this as a culminating activity. The results of these test scores will serve as our test sample.

The overall purpose of the activities outlined in this technology-based solution is to serve as an academic tool to help students improve their participation which may increase their motiviation to participate in the classroom and ultimately result in improved test scores. The test scores reflect their ability to successfully demonstrate that they comprehend the subject matter assessed. Completion of the supplemental activities and WebQuest will provide additional evidence that students are actively participating and comprehending the subject matter being assessed.

Note:

The initial plan was to introduce the supplemental activities along with the WebQuest activity so that students  would be able to record their participation during instruction covered for each chapter covered for each chapter.  The " I think I got" activity and WebQuest for each chapter serves as a culminating activity.

However, due to unforseen events that have prevented the contributing biology teacher who has been  instrumental in completing this project, the supplemental activities ( "Science Daily Running Log"  and the "I think I got it!" activity sheets) were not distributed for the WebQuest activity. 

                                       Baseline Test Used 

(Chapter 1 Test taken in September 2012)

X-axis: The letter grades translation (#1 = A) ; (#2 = B); (#3 = C); (#4 = D);      (#5 = F).

                                       Findings: 

                         Observations & Interpretations:  

Class Period 7 (control group): There was a significant increase in the students receiving  A's  and a significant decrease in the number of students receiving F's from the baseline test to the post tech-solution test. Ther was modest increase in the number of students receiving B's and C's.

Although these students were not assigned the WebQuest, there could be collaboration of webquest information between the    classes or these students have become more motivated  to participate and/or increase their content knowledge based on teacher interventions and/or activities given (eg., lab work,     student support after school, etc...). Further investigation is    needed to determine what factor(s) caused the very positive     result in increased test scores.

Class Period 2 (test group): There was no change in the number of student receiving A's . There was a significant  reduction in the number of students receiving B's & C's by approximately 25% .  However, the D's and F's have doubled.

These students overall reflect an adverse trend that require further investigation.  Perhaps students are having difficulty grouping this particular topic area, Chapter 6 on DNA versus Chapter 1 on Scientific Method.  There may be other external factors such as interruptions that may have contributed to their overall low performance.

Class Period  3 (test group): There was a 400% increase in the number of  A's and a significant decrease in F's by over 50%. There was a modest increase in students scores of B's  by approximately 25% and reduction   in student scoring C's by roughly 50%. 

Overall, there is a positive trend in the student performance in the class as a result of the introduction of this technology-based solution.

Class Period 4 (test group): The students in this class displayed a significant increase of 900% in their A scores and a market reduction in their F scores of 500%.  There was an increase in the number of students scoring B's of 160% and a reduction of students scoring C's and D's.

Overal, however, this class is also displaying a very positive response to the technology-solution implemented.

                             Summary:

The identified problem in this project, based on the response of the contributing teacher, was that there is a lack of student motivation and participation in the classroom.  My research project proposal was to demonstrate that there is a correlation between student motivation and active participation in the classroom with student performance on assessments given.

Based on the data retrieved, there appears to be some correlation between student performance and utilization of the technology-based solution, WebQuest activity.  However, there is  no quantitative evidence support the proposed correlation between student motivation  and active participation in the classroom with student performance on assessment.  There is however qualitative evidence to support this correlation that was identified by the biology teacher that implemented the WebQuest developed.

According to the biology teacher, "Motivation in the classroom     has increased dut to the introduction of the technology piece of   learning using the students netbooks to do webquests.  However, this is only an increase while in the classroom.  Motivation to complete the webquests outside of  class (as homework) still  remains low. Students are not showing any more motivation to     use technology to do homework. There may be several factors      that lead to this such as availability of networks once out of the building.  There are still the common distractions of using technology in the classroom, such as students wanting to play   games instead of work and students who claim to not like using computers. Other factors that have made some parts of webquests hard is students are not able to watch or use videos that have    sound unless supplied with headphones." 

 I have had the opportunity to get some insight on student interest based on reviewing the student survey.  I see the positive response overall in the introduction of webquests based on their test results and the feedback indicated by their teacher. 

In the near future, I hope to conduct this project with local biology teacher because I think that the activities created for this project is worth utilizing in order to help students improve their content knowledge and appreciation for the course. 

                Recommendations Part I: 

The following are recommendations for revisions to the strategies and method used along with the technology-based solution used.

* Survey Segment: Instead of distributing a word document for students to complete and return to the teacher, you can implement "survey monkey" online program can be utilized which will provide quick access to students' responses so that they can be readily available for analysis. In addition, this activity should be a requirement in order to retrieve a true picture of student responses.

* Baseline assessment: The results retrieved from the test being used as the baseline test should clearly display the class section    and the final  grade received for each student.


*Supplemental Activity Sheets: Ensure that the "Science Running Log" and "I think I Got It!" activity sheets are                  distributed at the beginning of each chapter or unit in order to provide an effective reflection of student participation and  retention of concepts covered in the classroom on a daily basis.  Incorporate these sheets as part of a required daily routine.

* Webquest Activity Sheet: The Webquest activity sheet will be used as academic support and can be used in conjunction with the optional  pre-test study session offered after the completion of each chapter.  In addition, this activity should be a required in order to determine whether this activity has provided additional academic support that would ultimately increase student confidence and motivation to participate in the classroom. Perhaps incorporate this sheet in a wiki so that students can continously provide feedback to the teacher and classmates.

                    Recommendation Part II:    

  Recommendations for how other teachers can adopt your innovation.

* Inform students earlier in the school year regarding the importance of participating in this project.  Indicate how the results will help provide a better academic and technology experience for them.

* Have students complete the survey using "Survey Monkey".         Analyze the information and provide students feedback regarding the results within one week. 

* Consider making some adjustments to your lesson plans using the feedback you have received from your students via the survey.

The main purpose of the activity sheets on the "Resource Materials" page is to increase student engagement in the subject area while allowing them the flexibility to access and document their resources as they grasp topics covered in class.

These sheets work well as a measurement of student engagement in the subject area and can ultimately be exhibited in their motivation to respond to questions asked within the classroom setting.

Each activity sheet is intended for one chapter at a time. The culminating activity would be the Webquest which can be  completed in addition to a classroom review session.

*  Utilize the "Science Running Log" provides students a quick reference to topics covered daily. Students would date each entry. Each entry would include what "concept was covered", "teacher's example" given, the "student's example", students can jot down a "help me question?" , and what resources they have used to study that particular concept.  This would be a great closing activity that will give the students an opportunity of reflection while providing     a clear example if students are following the concept covered for that day. The "help me question?" provides the teacher immediate feedback about questions students may have at that point which   can be revisited during the next class session.

* Utilize the " I Think I Got It!" activity sheet in order to help teachers conduct a quick check on what concepts their students have comprehended at the end of chapter and to what degree they have retained/comprehended concepts covered.            It also provides a tool for teachers to recognize how engaged the students are regarding any given topic area.

* Utilize the "Webquest" activity sheet which would be created for each chapter emphasizing key concepts and examples students   need to be able to comprehend and master by the end of that chapter or unit.  The webquest should not be longer than two     pages long. 

These activities can also serve as a great organizer and stimulator for higher order thinking.