5,777 research outputs found
Cooperative Learning in the Mathematics Classroom: Work Together, Learn Together
In this action research project of Academy students in Algebra 1 Track 3, I incorporated group work after some lessons and not after others which compared whether the use of group work post the lectures has an effect on their understanding. Through the research, I analyzed the effects of this increased student discourse in regards to the cooperative learning in the classroom. After the research, from clear analysis, it was evident that cooperative learning is effective in the classroom and raises the grades of students. The grades on tests and quizzes are much higher when the students work together in comparison to individual work. Therefore, through this project, I demonstrated the positive effect of group work on the studentsâ grades, which I previously questioned. Throughout my student teaching, I noticed that students work together at the end of class very often. Hence, I wanted to see if the time that they were using to work was beneficial. Thus, I decided to incorporate structured group work into my lessons, and take some action in researching itâs effectiveness in the classroom. In this action research project, the benefits of cooperative learning are discussed, analyzed, and illustrated along with the potential disadvantages
Student-Centered Learning: Life Academy of Health and Bioscience
This case study is one of four written by SCOPE about student-centered practices in schools. The case studies address the following questions:1. What are the effects of student-centered learning approaches on student engagement, achievement of knowledge and skills, and attainment (high school graduation, college admission, and college continuation and success), in particular for underserved students?2. What specific practices, approaches, and contextual factors result in these outcomes?The cases focus on the structures, practices, and conditions in the four schools that enable students to experience positive outcomes and consider the ways in which these factors are interrelated and work to reinforce each other
Sorting Through and Sorting Out: The State of Content Sharing in the E-Learning
On 22-24 September 2002, a group of 22 education and information technology specialists gathered on the campus of the University of California at Irvine (UCI), for a symposium on the state of educational "content sharing." (See participant list.) The meeting was sponsored by the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation Education Program and the UCI Distance Learning Center. This paper summarizes the themes that emerged from that gathering. Most papers can be characterized as collaborative, but this one is particularly deserving of that adjective. The presentation here is an attempt to synthesize the ideas of all the participants, expressed in numerous conversational and written exchanges pre-, during and post-meeting. While every effort has been made to present the range of views, surely not all participants would agree with the emphases and interpretations herein.This report includes a hyper-linked bibliography and footnotes for additional web-based material on e-learning topics. Links are provided for the reader's convenience only, and represent neither an endorsement nor a guarantee of the accuracy of the content of the associated sites. Comments and questions about this document are welcomed, however, and should be directed to the author or the meeting sponsors
Reinventing College Physics for Biologists: Explicating an epistemological curriculum
The University of Maryland Physics Education Research Group (UMd-PERG)
carried out a five-year research project to rethink, observe, and reform
introductory algebra-based (college) physics. This class is one of the Maryland
Physics Department's large service courses, serving primarily life-science
majors. After consultation with biologists, we re-focused the class on helping
the students learn to think scientifically -- to build coherence, think in
terms of mechanism, and to follow the implications of assumptions. We designed
the course to tap into students' productive conceptual and epistemological
resources, based on a theoretical framework from research on learning. The
reformed class retains its traditional structure in terms of time and
instructional personnel, but we modified existing best-practices curricular
materials, including Peer Instruction, Interactive Lecture Demonstrations, and
Tutorials. We provided class-controlled spaces for student collaboration, which
allowed us to observe and record students learning directly. We also scanned
all written homework and examinations, and we administered pre-post conceptual
and epistemological surveys. The reformed class enhanced the strong gains on
pre-post conceptual tests produced by the best-practices materials while
obtaining unprecedented pre-post gains on epistemological surveys instead of
the traditional losses.Comment: 35 pages including a 15 page appendix of supplementary material
Literacy Across Disciplines: An Investigation of Text Used in Content-Specific Classrooms
This pilot study focused on literacy in secondary settings, where classes are content-specific and organized into varying levels. Teacher views on literacy instruction as well as the types of texts used across the disciplines and course levels were explored. The following research questions guided the study: 1) Do early high school teachers view their classâ reading tasks as more discipline- or content-focused? 2) Does the complexity of the texts assigned in early high school vary across the various course levels? 3) Does the complexity of the texts assigned in early high school vary across the disciplines? 4) Does the authenticity of the texts assigned in early high school vary across the various course levels? Interviews from a total of 21 ninth and tenth grade teachers were analyzed, as well as sample texts from their classes. Teacher interviews were examined in order to determine their viewsâeither more content-area based or disciplinary basedâ on literacy instruction within their content-area classrooms. The sample textsâ Lexile levels were analyzed across discipline (Language Arts, Math, Science, Spanish, and Social Studies) and course level (A, B, DI) in order to find any relationships that existed between text complexity and discipline or level. Finally, the authenticity of the sample textsâin relation to the course level they were being used inâwas explored. Results indicated that most content-specific teachers view their literacy instruction as having a more content-area focused purpose rather than a disciplinary focus. Although no relationship was found between the complexity levels of texts across the course levels, a relationship was found between the complexities of texts in certain disciplines. Lastly, results did not show any significant relationship between the authenticity of a text and its course level
Flipped Teaching in a College Algebra Classroom: An Action Research Project
A project to evaluate a method of flipped teaching was set up within two separate College Algebra classes. From the curricula of each, the topic of radicals was chosen as the subject to have the flipped teaching approach; this happened over two consecutive class sessions. The rest of the class content was taught in the traditional lecture style. In the week before the class sessions, the students were provided with YouTube videos specially prepared for the students to review before the classes met and with links to the related Khan Academy videos and practice sessions. In class, the students worked in teams on related problems while the instructor circulated, providing individual instruction. Each of the teams presented their solution methods to the class. The students were surveyed regarding their experiences with the digital media, the instructional links, and the applied work done in the class, as well as about their impressions of the flipped style relative to the more traditional style of instruction
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