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Full-Text Articles in Physical Sciences and Mathematics
Basic Math Skills: Can High School Students Do The Math?, Samantha Sebastian
Basic Math Skills: Can High School Students Do The Math?, Samantha Sebastian
Leah A. Nillas
This article examined high school students’ basic mathematics skills. 126 Students participated in a study that lasted ten weeks in which a pretest and post-test were taken. In between the tests, students took weekly quizzes to refresh and relearn the following basic mathematics skills: adding, subtracting, multiplying, and dividing whole numbers, decimals, and fractions; proportions; conversion between percents, decimals, and fractions; and order of operations. The scores of the pretest and post-test were analyzed to see if improvements were made. Scores were compared by gender and grade level. The study showed an overall improvement on students’ ability to do basic …
Breaking Language Barriers: Connections Between Foreign Language And English Language Arts, Lauren Booth, '09
Breaking Language Barriers: Connections Between Foreign Language And English Language Arts, Lauren Booth, '09
Leah A. Nillas
The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between foreign language and English language arts. In previous literature, foreign language has been shown to positively affect students' performance in other subject areas as well as developing their cognitive abilities. When I thought about my own teaching experiences, I made direct connections between foreign language and English language arts in terms of vocabulary acquisition and grammar. Through interviews I found that other teachers are also aware of those connections and deliberately use them to enhance their instruction and defend the study of a foreign language. Upon investigating foreign language …
The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On High School Students’ Academic Success, Nicholas Cooprider
The Impact Of Extracurricular Activities On High School Students’ Academic Success, Nicholas Cooprider
Leah A. Nillas
“Although we cannot conclude from the data that extracurricular activities alone caused these improvements, we can say with virtual certainty that when we help a student move from no participation in extracurricular activities to engagement in three or four such activities, it does not harm academic performance” (Reeves, 2008, p.2). Previous research concluded that participation in extracurricular activities does correlate to academic achievement in the classroom. This research examined how students perceived their involvement in extracurricular activities affected their academic performance. Surveys were distributed to a local, rural high school and students were asked to document the amount of time …
Modern Novels: How To Make Them More Relevant To High School Students, David Wendler, '09
Modern Novels: How To Make Them More Relevant To High School Students, David Wendler, '09
Leah A. Nillas
There have been numerous studies conducted researching ways to reinvent how we teach outdated texts that are increasingly losing relevance to the current generation of students because of gaps in interest and culture. Because of this irrelevancy, students do not understand these books as well and are not thinking critically about the issues that they present. My research follows along the same lines, but deals specifically with the increasing irrelevancy of modern novels. I distributed a questionnaire to the class I observe at a local high school. My findings have been that modern novels, while lacking relevance with many students, …
Motivation In Secondary Mathematics: How Lesson Structure Impacts Student Engagement, Vicki Beata
Motivation In Secondary Mathematics: How Lesson Structure Impacts Student Engagement, Vicki Beata
Leah A. Nillas
The purpose of this research is to see how students are engaged emotionally, behaviorally, and cognitively in different types of math lessons. Shernoff, Csikszentmihalyi, Schneider, and Shernoff (2003) found that students had a higher quality of experience (mood, esteem, intensity, and motivation) when they were involved in individual or group work. This study analyzed transcriptions, observations and student work from three pre-calculus lessons, a survey about students’ engagement in different types of lessons and an open-ended survey about the researcher’s teaching style. The results of the study were that students enjoy and are more engaged in lessons that require the …
Reading Rainbow: Assessing Effectiveness In Literacy Technology, Liz Russ, Erin Meehan
Reading Rainbow: Assessing Effectiveness In Literacy Technology, Liz Russ, Erin Meehan
Leah A. Nillas
“Children’s Television Workshop and the University of Nebraska created a program, ‘Reading Rainbow’ to promote recreational reading in early readers” (Tarnauskas, 1995). Since its creation, this literacy technology has thrilled and delighted first and second grade audiences, but little to no research has been done on the effectiveness of this program. What is the outcome of the Reading Rainbow program on students’ literacy? This research study investigated the effect of the Reading Rainbow program on literacy of 21 diverse first grade students. Data was obtained through qualitative methods including observations and focus group interviews with students, as well as interviews …
Keys To Successful Learning, Michael J. White, '09, Leah A. Nillas
Keys To Successful Learning, Michael J. White, '09, Leah A. Nillas
Leah A. Nillas
A nationwide push for the use of technology has influenced classroom teaching in the United States. This study examined the use of technology in elementary classrooms. Specific aspects of technology such as PowerPoint and word processing were examined in relation to developing skills in writing. Data from 46 fifth and third grade students as well as self-evaluation interviews with teachers were used to understand the overall comprehensive value of technology in teaching how to write. I expect my results to support previous research findings which assert that using computer technology in writing motivates students to do better work and is …