One of the biggest obstacles that a high school teacher faces in the classroom is motivating students to complete work. Traditional ideology focuses on intrinsic rewards as way to encourage students to participate and try in the classroom. Things like valuing education, planning for college, and taking pride in a good report card are used in attempts to motivate. Yet, in the adult world, people expect a concrete extrinsic reward (i.e. a paycheck) for the work that they do. This study takes the idea of extrinsic rewards and brings them into the classroom. This study was conducted over two academic years at two different schools. Students were split into two groups. Experimental groups were offered a reward of a pizza party if they scored an 80% or above on a unit exam. Control groups were not offered a reward. The students were taught the same material on the same day and given identical assessments. The data collected from the study showed that offering a reward increased students test scores during the 2010-2011 school year in East Feliciana Parish. No effect was seen during the 2011-2012 school year at Madison Prep Academy. Males in the experimental group showed no difference when compared to males in the control group. Females in the experimental group in East Feliciana outperformed females in the control group but the results were inconclusive for females at Madison Prep. Differences were seen between genders in experimental groups but there does not seem to be a pattern to which group (males or females) performed higher. Factors such as small sample sizes and school culture may have had an effect on the results.

ABSTRACT This study examines the effect that pretesting has on unit test scores in a high school Biology I classroom. The experimental classes were given a pretest before four units of curriculum and then taught the concepts of these units with a traditional lecture based methodology. Their unit test scores were compared to a control class that did not take pretests before the units. In addition, the End of Course (EOC) test scores of the control and experimental classes were compared to determine if pretesting improved transfer of knowledge to a different type of test. Pretesting did not cause a statistical difference between the unit test scores of the control and regular experimental classes. However, the honors experimental class did have higher unit test scores than the control class as well as the regular experimental classes. It was also found that there was no significant difference between the control classes EOC scores and the regular classes. Again the honors experimental class did have higher EOC scores than the control class and the regular experimental classes. Pretesting is not an effective tool to increase unit test scores for regular education students. It does not seem to affect learning gains or transfer of knowledge for these either for these students. Honors students performed better overall in this study maybe as a result of pretesting.

This study explores the benefits of student use of web logs (blogs) in a high school Biology classroom. Students were assigned to blog by answering questions on topics from the Miller and Levine (2010) Biology textbook, which correlated to the Louisiana Grade-Level Expectations (GLEs), benchmarks that should be familiar to students at the end of a course. Raw gains (from pretest to posttest) were compared for the study group of 124 ninth and tenth grade students to determine if blogging increased student learning gains by increasing student accountability. The Louisiana Enhanced Assessment of Grade-Level Expectations (EAGLE) test bank was used to create multiple choice pretests and posttests based on Louisiana GLEs. Analyses were done to compare class level (Honors and Regular), gender, and LEAP English Language Arts (ELA) levels. No statistically significant correlations due to blogging were found in these comparisons, though student accountability, effort, and engagement were increased based on teacher observations.

This thesis outlines a dual-intensity approach using a web-based program, MyMathLab, for procedural fluency and, in parallel, extended written tasks for helping students improve their reasoning skills, to learn to use multiple representations, and securing mathematical knowledge. The new Common Core State Standards have increased expectations and achievement goals at all grade levels, the required changes being most significant at earlier grade levels (in elementary and middle schools). It is my assertion that a combined approach, one that encompasses both procedure-oriented practice for fluency and extended written tasks designed to stretch thinking and reasoning is needed to meet these goals.

The newly released Common Core State Standards (CCSS) were adopted with the goal in mind that in the future our students will leave high school ready and better prepared for college and careers. In particular, the CCSS insists that a faithful implementation of the eight Standard of Mathematical Practices will lead to a generation of mathematical thinkers who have learned how to read, write, model, reason, and solve problems in mathematical terms. Unfortunately, at present, my students and others do not know how to write and reason mathematically. By way of this thesis, I searched for ways to help forty-five students in my Geometry classes improve their mathematical writing and reading skills by adding structured journal writing. In this thesis, the work of three of the forty-five students was analyzed on the basis of three journal entries. Students A, B, and Cs work showed that there was obvious change and growth in writing abilities, how they explained their reasoning, and how correct it was. All forty-five students completed a survey about their experiences with the journals and Geometry as a whole. The students, as seen in the survey responses, understood what the journals were designed to do and many of them saw the benefit of having a writing template. Within the same year I implemented the journals, our schools score on the Geometry End-of-Course test increased by fourteen percent from the previous year. Overall, though it cannot be said this is strong enough to stand alone and defend the template, it does show that three students, who represent a class of forty-five, with varying levels of understanding have all improved their mathematical writing and reasoning abilities. I do believe that this template should be tested to further solidify its effectiveness and that the success I had with my class on the End-of-Course test, due to the structured emphasis on writing and reasoning, can be replicated with ease.

Mathematical modeling is the procedure whereby students apply mathematical concepts learned in class to new and unfamiliar situations. A modeling task is a mathematically-rich problem that engages students in mathematical thinking, drawing upon their previously learned knowledge and supporting their understanding of the mathematical concepts currently being covered. Modeling requires students to assign meaning to the mathematical concepts and to extend the concepts beyond rote learning. In order for students to be successful in a classroom that is centered around the idea of mathematical modeling, the students must be taught how to collaborate with other students, persevere through challenging problems, and become aware of their own thinking. In this thesis, I focus on a professional development workshop designed to train high school teachers on how to successfully use mathematical modeling in their classroom by providing them with guidelines on how to use modeling tasks effectively, sample tasks that can be used, and instruction on how to develop modeling tasks for their classroom. The goal is to affect change in the daily routines of high school mathematics classrooms by providing teachers with compelling reasons why changes are necessary, steps on how to make the necessary changes, and good examples of problems to be used in class.

This study investigates the relationship between a students spatial abilities and their success in high school physics. First, I investigate whether the success of students in high school physics class correlates with their spatial abilities before taking the class. Second, I investigate whether taking high school physics has an effect on students spatial abilities. No direct intervention was given to any of the students. Three instruments were administered to determine the students spatial abilities, The Perspective Taking/Spatial Orientation Test (Hegarty & Waller, 2004), The Mental Rotation Test (Peters & Laeng, 1995), and The Paper Folding Test (Ekstrom, French, Harmon, & Derman, 1976). Students were also evaluated on their pre-conceived notions of force and motion using the Force Concept Inventory (Hestenes, Wells, & Swackhamer, 1992). These four instruments as well as the students course test averages were evaluated to determine correlation. Results show that there may have been an improvement in spatial abilities as measured by the Mental Rotation Test in the AP course (n=17,p<0.05). However, I did not find any correlation to pre-existing spatial abilities and performance in the course

Literature clearly supports the use of data to support and drive school policy. Data can be immensely informative; however test scores are not the sole indicator of school effectiveness. To successfully implement a plan for data use, it is imperative to a provide climate of teacher buy-in and collaboration. Multiple sources of data should be considered collectively prior to making any judgment(s) about students, teachers, curriculum, or schools. Data use for effective decision-making is an on-going process that requires strategic planning and a long-term commitment. Over the past year, I have led the math department through a modified version of the steps identified in the Using Data Project, which piloted and field tested the Using Data Process of Collaborative Inquiry. As part of this project, one of the primary data sources we utilized was the ERB standardized test data from 5th through 8th grade tests, which are taken at the end of the school year. I will show how my school successfully implemented a collaborative inquiry process to inform classroom and curriculum decisions in mathematics. The collaborative inquiry process at The Dunham School had the following aspects: 1) high-quality, extensive data; 2) the collaborative team involved most of the math department on a regular basis; 3) standards were used extensively; 4) scheduled times and tasks were necessary; 5) this project fit the environment, served our recognized needs and had administrative involvement (including awareness, input, oversight, and expectations of deliverables).

Natural selection is a topic that is laden with misconceptions. These misconceptions are often not addressed, and students can leave a biology classroom with the same incorrect ideas that they entered with. These misconceptions can be identified and addressed by using the Concept Inventory of Natural Selection (CINS). Furthermore, by teaching using methods that encourage hands-on, inquiry based techniques, students are more apt to reconcile these misconceptions and have a deeper understanding of the natural selection process. The goal of my research was to show a positive correlation between reduction in student misconceptions about natural selection and inquiry based activities. Five classes of students (145 total students) completed the CINS twice; once as a pre-test, and again as a post-test. Three classes had the natural selection unit delivered in a lecture-based format with no hands-on activities. Two classes had the unit delivered with no lectures, but instead with inquiry activities that utilized methods and practices from the Reformed Teacher Observation Protocol (RTOP). Data was collected from both classes and compared. If teaching method plays a significant role in decreasing student misconceptions, there would be a statistically significant difference in gains between the teaching styles, which there was.

The Common Core State Standards for Mathematics were released in June of 2010. The standards were developed by a team of over 75 teachers and specialist in response to improve math education in the United States through more focused, coherent, rigorous standards to help our students be competitive in the 21st century. As of June 2012, 45 states had adopted the new standards which better coordinate what students at individual grade level should know and be able to do to in order to be college and career ready by grade twelve. With new computer based assessments being developed and set to be given to students as early as 2014 to assess understanding of these standards, it is necessary for teachers to begin implementing instructional shifts in the classroom that prepare students for both the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice. The concept of dual intensity emphasizes that both procedural and conceptual skills are of equal importance in the classroom and changes should be made to provide opportunities for students to experience both in an atmosphere that is both rigorous and intense. Providing students opportunities to demonstrate The Standards for Mathematical Practice will involve the most change in the classroom. It will involve a change in the classroom environment involving the roles of both the teacher and the student. This thesis discusses how the use of tasks and technology were used in the Algebra II classroom to implement the Common Core Standards and describes student misconceptions and lesson revisions for future use that include connections to calculus. The process of formative assessment was used to provide information to both the teacher and the student intended to improve teaching and learning in the classroom. Information gained from the formative assessment reinforced the need to provide more opportunities for students to connect the Standards for Mathematical Content and the Standards for Mathematical Practice using tasks and technology.