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Supporting Black Students In Sixth-Grade Science Through A Social Constructivist Approach: A Mixed-Methods Action Research Study, Kirk Anthony Heath

Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this mixed-method action research study was to improve Black students’ performance in my sixth-grade science class by improving their ability to use the claim, evidence, and reasoning (CER) framework. Using criterion-based convenient sampling, I enlisted 17 Black participants, all of whom were underperforming in my science class at a suburban, middle-class, predominantly White public middle school serving Grades 6–8. As a teacher researcher, I implemented and assessed an intervention designed to improve their ability to use the CER framework. Using a mixed-method action research design, I simultaneously collected and triangulated quantitative and qualitative data.

This study may …