2671 research outputs found
Sort by
Predictors of Student Success in a Virtual High School Math Program
Get PDFBefore the Covid-19 pandemic of 2020, much of the research being done on virtual education was focused on the postsecondary level of instruction. With the Covid-19 pandemic forcing most school districts to offer some form of virtual instruction, the need for research at the secondary level and below had become more apparent, and much research has been done to fill in the gaps of what we know. This research project initially sought to explore the effects of synchronous versus asynchronous instruction, and how that instruction related to student success in a virtual high school mathematics program. As this author gained access to pre-existing data sets from Wyoming Virtual Academy (WYVA), the research evolved beyond just looking at instructional methods and focused more generally on what the predictors for student success are. Data was compiled together from multiple sources about the high school students at WYVA over the five-year span from 2018 to 2022. Data was collected on end of course mathematics grade, end of year state assessment scores for math, prior year’s math assessment score, enrolled course, percent of live lesson attendance, as well as whether the student was enrolled in a course predominately taught synchronously or asynchronously. Lastly, data was collected on whether or not a student was enrolled in special education services, had a 504 plan, and whether or not they qualified for the free/reduced lunch program. Given the lack of uniformity in grading styles, amount of extra credit given, etc…, end of course grade was dichotomously coded as either ‘successful’ (grade of 70% and above) or ‘not successful’ (69% and below). Logistic regression techniques were then utilized to predict student success based upon end of course grade as a function of the multiple predictors outlined above. Finally, multiple iv regression techniques were employed to create a model to predict student success on state assessment tests as a function of the same predictors. When looking at student success based on course grades, this study concluded that the statistically significant predictors were the previous year’s math scaled score on the state assessment test, and what percentage of the time students attended live lessons. In this dataset, students were much more likely to have a C and above for their final course grade when enrolled in an asynchronous course than they were in synchronous courses. Finally enrolled course, special services, and free/reduced lunch eligibility were not significant in this study. When measuring student success as defined by end of year state assessment scores, this research found that previous year’s assessment scores and math course enrolled in were the only significant predictors. For the students at WYVA, synchronous vs. asynchronous, special services, and free/reduced lunch eligibility were not statistically significant at predicting future success. Based upon these results, this author would encourage students to attend live lessons when they’re offered, and would encourage virtual schools to consider offering both synchronous and asynchronous versions of their courses to best fit the needs of the students they service. For future researchers, this author would advocate for the use of a survey in conjunction with the pure data that would document why a student chose to be enrolled in a virtual program to begin with, level of self-motivation, and perceived level of math anxiety
April 21, 2023 Executive Committee Meeting
Get PDFMinutes of the April 21, 2023 Executive Committee meeting, Board of Trustees
Parental Involvement in Education
No full textParental Involvement in Education
The purpose of this research project is to identify the discrepancy of parental involvement in the success of children\u27s education. Those who have more parental involvement in their education thrive in all aspects compared to those who do not. Students\u27 completion of homework with parental signatures were recorded. Parents\u27 attendance in person or by phone for parent teacher conferences were recorded. My analysis has shown a strong correlation between high academic performance and high parental involvement along with a strong correlation between low parental involvement and low academic performance. I concluded that higher parental involvement in education increases children\u27s academic success.
Keywords: Socioeconomic status (SES
Impact of Occupation-Based Interventions for At-Risk Youth: A Pilot Study
No full textAt-risk youth demonstrate decreased occupational performance, and limited research addresses use of occupation-based interventions for this population. This pilot study examined the impact of an occupation-based intervention for six students enrolled in an alternative school. A quasi-experimental pre/post design examined changes in occupational performance, measured by the Canadian Occupational Performance Measure, for a ten-session intervention. Descriptive data from the Youth Quality of Life and session fieldnotes was also analyzed. Average increases on COPM performance (1.86) and satisfaction (0.69) scores were noted. Combined with descriptive data, results broadly indicate a positive impact for these six participants. Further research is needed to understand mechanisms of change of the intervention
An Exploratory Case Study of Social Connection in Older Women
No full textUnderstanding social connections among older women residing in diverse living environments is important to understand in order to better address the needs of the growing older adult population. This exploratory case study used semi-structured interviews with three women aged 75 or older to explore social connections. Each participant lived alone in one of three environments. Thematic analysis revealed four main themes contributing to social connection experiences: physical abilities, relationships, activities, and life contentedness. Implications for occupational therapy practice include the need to include a focus on the occupations of health maintenance, social participation, leisure, and instrumental activities of daily living
The Use of Literacy Leaps as a Reading Intervention
No full textLiteracy is a broad range of skills essential for future school and life success that most students struggle to completely comprehend if not given the correct tools to support them. This research study evaluated the effectiveness of Literacy Leaps tutoring on three students’ literacy skills and performance. Students were identified as in urgent need of intervention at the beginning of the schoolyear and placed into this program for extra supports. Tutoring interventions occurred three times a week for thirty minutes each session with the three students.
Preliminary results indicate that Literacy Leaps has been significantly beneficial for improving students’ literacy skills, performance, and scores. I conclude that school districts should continue using this program to help better support students’ literacy learning
Engaging Students with Local History Projects in the Social Studies Classroom
No full textThis study tests local history implementation as a means to promote student engagement within the social studies classroom. Engagement can be a very challenging thing to cultivate within any subject area of education, especially after the COVID-19 pandemic. One possible way to engage students involves creating a connection between them and their communities through the use of activities based in local history, of which are not currently held to be valid options within our high school curriculum. In this study, students were given two different activities where they were to create a product. These products were then qualitatively analyzed along with a final survey in which students expressed their opinions on the experiences. While our analysis does show an increase in student engagement resulting from these activities, it does not provide conclusive evidence to support their effectiveness within the classroom
Sight Word Bracelets and Memorization
No full textThis study determined the effect of practicing high frequency words everyday to help students memorize them. The strategy I used to do this is using sight word bracelets to write down the word the student is struggling with. Sight words are very important for first graders because this is the year they are learning to read and write on their own and they need to know these words to do so. The participants in the interview were 5 first grade students. The goal for the 5 students involved in this study was to get past all of their kindergaten and first grade sight words. This goal was accomplished and more goals were set. The only limitation to achieve the goals were attendance. Overall, the process has been very effective in the first grade classroom I am in and I will continue to use this strategy in the future
Color in Context: A Mixed Methods Study of Multicolored Writing Strategies
No full textThe paper “Color in Context: A Mixed Methods Study of Multicolored Writing Strategies” explores the impact of multicolored writing strategies and nonstandard ink colors in secondary English Language Arts student experiences and performance in writing. This study utilizes quantitative and qualitative data collected from a high school English classroom as its primary source in conjunction with an extensive background from existing research in color based theories and strategies. The findings reveal a positive student reception of color based writing strategies, as well as emerging trends of the role of color in writing mechanics and organization, writer accomplishment, and student perseverance. Conclusively, the results of this research suggest a need for further research in the area of using color in composition to benefit future writing experiences in the classroom