Gifted children possess incredible abilities and talents. In spite of this, some gifted learners academically underachieve and are at-risk for not completing high school. In the area of gifted student underachievement, research has not provided education stakeholders with concrete answers as to why these students underachieve or provided the best intervention strategies to help these students succeed. These shortcomings have not prevented researchers from further exploring gifted student underachievement, and the focus of current research is based on the lack of student motivation due to boredom in academic tasks which are not challenging or engaging. A reciprocal relationship could possibly exist between motivation and academic engagement. This relationship could ultimately influence academic achievement. A shift in pedagogical strategy from a teacher-centered environment to a student-centered environment may have to occur to facilitate student motivation and engagement. This shift can be made by integrating technology into the gifted student curriculum. The integration of technology has demonstrated to be a viable student centered teaching strategy, supporting gifted students' cognitive abilities. This research study investigated the effects of a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE), River City, on the motivation and academic achievement of underachieving gifted seventh-grade science students. Research results revealed the students using the MUVE had significantly higher overall intrinsic motivation and science intrinsic motivation than the control group. Results also revealed the experimental group did not have significantly higher academic achievement than the control group. These findings impact the field of gifted education by providing an intervention strategy for the target population; contribute to the field's knowledge base by demonstrating that River City can be used to increase the science intrinsic motivation of the target population, and to conduct further studies. These results also contribute to professional practice by providing educators with a pedagogical strategy that increases science intrinsic motivation in underachieving gifted seventh graders. Implications for future research involve replicating the study for more than 10 weeks and investigating the use of subject specific MUVEs. Recommendations comprise transitioning toward a student-centered environment, using alternative forms of assessment, and the school district providing more professional development in the use of MUVEs.

<p> The purpose of this study is to explore the factors that influence student engagement in science. Increases in student engagement positively correlate to improved student achievement. This study targeted the lack of clarity regarding the relationships between the complexity of instructional objectives, teacher self-efficacy, past achievement, student grade level, and student engagement. This correlational design method uses a quantitative approach that includes observations of student engagement levels and a student self-report survey of engagement, as indicators of student engagement levels. A multiple regression analysis of each measure of student engagement instruments determine the influence of each variable to student engagement. Influencing student engagement would be a valuable tool for educators in designing student intervention and improving student achievement.</p>

Thesis advisor: Michael K. Russell / Over the past few decades, and especially in the past ten years, computer use in schools has increased dramatically; however there has been little research examining the effects of technology use on student achievement, specifically defined by standardized test scores. There is also concern as to how technology use differs by gender and if that distinction may lead to differences in student achievement by gender. This study attempts to untangle the relationship between technology use, gender, and test scores. Specifically the study examines differences in computer use between boys and girls, which computer uses are predictors of English language arts and mathematics standardized test scores, and how gender interacts with these predictors. The sample for this study comes from the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative evaluation, which examined the use of technology at three one-to-one laptop schools and two comparison schools in western Massachusetts. This evaluation used online surveys to collect information about technology use and MCAS scores to measure student achievement. A series of regression analyses were employed to determine the relationship between these uses and MCAS scores. Findings from this study suggest that there are no significant differences in technology use between girls and boys. Additionally, there are only small relationships between technology use and achievement, but these relationships are stronger for boys than for girls. Finally, this study discovered that socioeconomic status did not significantly predict English language arts test scores for students at the laptop schools, but did significantly predict scores for students at the comparison schools. / Thesis (PhD) — Boston College, 2010. / Submitted to: Boston College. Lynch School of Education. / Discipline: Educational Research, Measurement, and Evaluation.

<p> The purpose of this study was to contribute to the understanding of teacher retention by researching factors that influence veteran teachers to remain in Missouri&rsquo;s K-8 school districts. School districts all across the nation face the daunting task of improving student achievement in the face of teacher shortages, especially in rural areas and in hard-to-staff content fields such as math and science (Carver-Thomas &amp; Darling-Hammond, 2017; Harrington, 2017). Utilizing a mixed-methods approach, the researcher sought to articulate the core perceptions of superintendents and veteran teachers that lead to longevity and retention in the K-8 school environment and to identify the factors that influence retention of teachers in Missouri K-8 districts. Research participants included Missouri K-8 superintendents and veteran teachers. Through interviews and surveys, perceptions regarding factors that influence teacher retention in K-8 districts were identified and analyzed for statistical differences. Interviews were conducted, responses summarized and categorized using open and axial coding, and similarities and commonalities identified. Survey data were analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics to provide summaries to test the null hypothesis and report comparative data. The survey data analysis included use of the Mann-Whitney U test to determine whether two uncorrelated groups differed significantly. Survey data findings indicated no significant differences between K-8 superintendent and veteran teacher perceptions regarding retention factors. Interview and survey data conclusions revealed common retention factors such as culture/climate; administrative and community support and recognition; salary; working conditions (small class sizes/autonomy); and making a difference, or the work itself. </p><p>

<p> The workshop method of teaching in English Language Arts classrooms allowed teachers to be student-centered. Through the method, teachers taught for a specific amount of time and focused on one skill. Students always received independent reading time during the class period. In this mixed-methods study, the researcher investigated the use of the workshop method of teaching and growth in Lexile scores with middle school students. The study began January 2017 and took place in a suburban school district encompassing three middle schools. Thirteen middle school English Language Arts teachers chose to participate and 1,180 student scores were analyzed. The researcher utilized a teacher questionnaire to examine teacher confidence and knowledge of workshop teaching and SRI assessments, to gain the users&rsquo; perspective of the two variables examined in this study. Implementation was checked through the use of a classroom observation checklist, completed on each teacher twice, to ensure proper workshop teaching methods were taking place. Also, teachers answered a survey question determining how often they taught using the workshop method of teaching. Through qualitative data, the researcher found teachers positively regarded the workshop method of teaching; however, most teachers were not using all of the components of the workshop method of teaching in the classroom when observed. The quantitative data showed SRI student growth in every classroom. There was no significant difference between teachers who reported using the workshop method five days a week and those who reported using the method less than five days a week. The researcher recommends adding professional development for each teacher through book studies which will allow a focus on the individual needs of each educator. After the professional development occurs, a new study should take place for a longer duration of time and include more observations with teacher reflections.</p><p>

The purpose of this post-qualitative study was to examine the rhizomatic functioning of youth’s engagements with literacy in a 7th grade English Language Arts classroom. I argued normed expectations of students’ engagement with literacy in schools imposes hegemonic control over students’ literacy learning, thus devaluing students’ in-the-moment, affective engagement. Rhizomatic theory was used to explore the ways students aligned to or veered from expected literacy norms as conceptualized through schooled literacy. The study took place during one academic semester between January-June in a New York City public middle school in Harlem. Data was produced through observations, exchanges (informal and formal interviews; verbal and written conversations), artifacts, and a researcher journal. A rhizomatic analysis was conducted to first identify the ideal expectation for literacy learning in the classroom as established through national, state, and local entities and then to follow deviations, or lines of flight, from these expected norms. Particular attention was paid to networked assemblages of participants (human and non-human) and the affective intensities, or desires that produce changes to an event or interaction, produced through these networks. The analysis was extended to consider these assemblages and affective intensities in light of the normed expectations for literacy learning, thus moving the rhizomatic analysis to what might become possible by examining difference. Findings are presented through the lines of flight and affective intensities that were produced through students’ engagements with literacy learning. These included forms of play, spontaneous peer-to-peer assistance, visceral response, and enacted agency. I discuss these intensities as unsanctioned engagement and explore how sanctioning such engagement provides more equitable opportunities for students to actively interact and achieve success as literacy learners. I argue such engagement is inherent to who youth are and who they are becoming. Because of this, how educators and researchers understand literacy learning and one’s engagement with literacy is extremely important for youth’s experiences and success in schooling. I conclude with implications for practice and research that work to actively transform conceptions of literacy instruction, theory, and research.

<p>Parents play a major role in the choices their children make regarding academics, leisure activities, and college and career preparation. Parent outcome expectations and behaviors are informed by their parenting self-efficacy in a specific subject or task. Parenting self-efficacy is the confidence parents have in their abilities to influence their children’s motivation, environments, and behaviors that could result in positive youth development. Parenting self-efficacy is informed by personal factors and experiences. Parenting self-efficacy can help to describe why or why not a parent engages in certain activities with their child.</p> <p>The purpose of this study was to explore and describe how the motivation of parents of urban middle school students plays a role in their child’s interest in agriculture or STEM-related activities. The convenience sample for this study were parents of urban middle schools in Indianapolis, IN (<i>N </i>= 53) who’s children participated in afterschool programs. Quantitative data were collected using a parenting self-efficacy questionnaire, which included items related to participants’ parenting self-efficacy (PSE) as it pertains to their child’s academics, STEM and agricultural activities; parent outcome expectations (POE) as it pertains to their child’s college and career preparation, and discussing STEM and agriculture activities with their child; and, parents’ perceptions of their child’s post-secondary career and educational options and intended career field. Descriptive statistics including means, standard deviations, frequencies, and percentages were used to analyze the data. Correlations were computed to explore the relationships between the variables.</p> <p>There were four conclusions for this study. First, urban parents were self-efficacious regarding their child’s academic performance and STEM activities, and had positive outcomes expectations regarding their child’s college and career preparation and engaging their child in agriculture and STEM activities. Second, on average urban parents reported participating in four different types of activities with their child, and recreational sports, visiting museums, computer games, and visiting the zoo were most popular. Third, urban parents agreed that their child would most likely pursue an associate or bachelor’s degree in arts, humanities, and social sciences as their post-secondary options. Finally, urban parents’ parenting self-efficacy for academic performance, STEM, and agriculture were positively related to parents’ outcome expectations regarding agricultural activities. Moreover, parenting self-efficacy regarding agricultural activities was positively related to the number of activities parents did with their children. Implications for practice and recommendations for future research were discussed.</p>

This study examined how three different pre-reading (or relevance) instructions led to different learning outcomes for middle school students reading science texts on the topic of sweetness. The first was a generic instruction to read for understanding. The second prompted students to form a holistic explanation of the topic of sweetness, and the third instruction prompted students to focus on the core scientific principle of the relationship between structure and function. The latter two were specifically designed to align with science disciplinary goals. A comparison of the three treatments found that the generic instruction and the structure-function instruction led to better learning outcomes, measured by recall, short-answer performance questions, and a traditional multiple-choice/short-answer assessment. A qualitative analysis of the data also revealed some small yet notable differences in the recall pattern of students, such as an increased recall of key ideas for the structure-function instruction. This effect was seen predominantly for higher-skilled readers. The results suggest the possibility that relevance instructions targeting core ideas may help to orient students to the key ideas and explanations in scientific text, especially for higher-skilled readers, and indirectly highlights some of the challenges for students with less reading competencies. Overall, this study provides greater insight into how middle-school students read science texts, the effectiveness of instructor-provided relevance instructions in promoting (higher-level) comprehension of science texts, and implications for teachers on how to use texts in science instruction.

<p> This study used the TIMSS 2011 International Database to investigate predictors of 8th-grade mathematics achievement across three countries that represent a wide range of cultures and levels of mathematics achievement: Chinese Taipei, Ghana, and the United States. A review of literature on predictors of mathematics achievement yielded variables in four major contexts of learning&mdash;a student&rsquo;s home, beliefs, school, and classroom. The variables of home that were investigated are home possessions for learning, parent education, and parents&rsquo; expectations and involvement in their children&rsquo;s education. The variables of student beliefs were self-confidence in mathematics and the value of mathematics. The variables of school were school climate, school resources, administrator leadership, and school socioeconomic status. Finally, the variables of the classroom are access and equity, curriculum, tools and technology, assessment, and teacher professionalism.</p><p> A 2-level hierarchical linear model was used to investigate relationships between the predictors for learning mathematics and 8th-grade mathematics achievement. Level 1 represented the relationships among the student-level variables, and Level 2 represented the school-level variables.</p><p> In Chinese Taipei, statistically significant predictors of mathematics achievement in the final model included variables from the domains of home resources, student beliefs, school climate, and school socioeconomic status. In Ghana, both student-beliefs variables had statistically significant relationships with mathematics achievement, and one school climate and one school socioeconomic status variable each was found statistically significant. The U.S. had statistically significant predictors in the domains of home resources, student beliefs, school socioeconomic status, classroom-level access and equity, classroom assessment, and teacher professionalism.</p><p> This study extends previous research in several ways. It includes a review of classic and recent literature regarding predictors of mathematics achievement; 17 scales using the Rasch partial credit model were developed to measure predictors of mathematics achievement; and the results of this study may be used to examine the relationships between the independent variables of this study and middle-grades mathematics achievement in countries similar to the 3 in this study to reinforce and support variables that contribute to student achievement.</p>

<p> For most American High School students, taking algebra in high school has always been a rite of passage. Traditionally, Algebra I has long been a ninth-grade student's first experience with higher-level mathematics. To maintain a competitive edge in a global economy, numerous school districts in the United States have rearranged mathematics curricula to relocate algebra down to the middle school. Placement in eighth grade algebra provides students with an opportunity for rigor and higher levels of attainment in mathematics coursework by the completion of grade twelve. The effectiveness of moving algebra from grade nine to grade eight has become a highly debated topic amongst educators and lawmakers. Policymakers and administrators that favor moving Algebra I into the eighth grade believe doing so will assist in closing the achievement gap currently in existence for gender, race and socioeconomic status. To achieve this, substantial sums of money must be invested in the implementation of algebra programs in middle school. Proponents of grade eight algebra strongly advocate for algebra placement prior to high school as an intervention to reduce the gap between American students and their global counterparts. "The U.S. also needs to do a better job of identifying and nurturing its mathematically talented youth, regardless of their gender, race, or national origin. Doing so is vital to the future of the U.S. Economy" (Hyde, Mertz, &amp; Scheckman, 2009). In contrast, researchers such as Nomi (2012) have argued that early algebra placement is not beneficial for every child. Researchers such as Levy (2012) and Shearing (2016) agree that Black and Hispanic students, particularly of low socioeconomic status are victims of an achievement gap. "Students who are eligible for free and reduced lunch tend to be approximately two years behind that of students of the "average better-off student of the same age" (McKinsey &amp; Company, 2009, p. 6). While there has been agreement among the experts regarding the existence of the gap, their suggested solutions conflict. </p><p> The research conducted by this researcher will contribute to the existing literature on Algebra I placement. The purpose of this study was to examine both the proportionality of student placement in grade eight Algebra I by gender, ethnicity and socioeconomic status, and the impact of grade eight Algebra I participation on academic performance on mathematics in a large, urban, New Jersey Public School District. This impact was measured based on the outcomes of Algebra I and Geometry final grades, Algebra I and Geometry PARCC scores, and tenth-grade mathematics PSAT/NMSQT scores. This study examined the relationships between academic outcomes for eighth-grade Algebra exposure and academic outcomes as described.</p><p>