The Effect of Mobile Technology as an Active Student Response System on the Acquisition of U.S. History Content of Secondary Students with Specific Learning Disabilities

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) typically learn less history content than their peers without disabilities and show fewer learning gains. Even when they are provided with the same instructional strategies, many students with SLD struggle to grasp complex historical concepts and content area vocabulary. Many strategies involving technology have been used in the past to enhance learning for students with SLD in history classrooms. However, very few studies have explored the effectiveness of emerging mobile technology in K-12 history classrooms. This study investigated the effects of mobile devices (iPads) as an active student response (ASR) system on the acquisition of U.S. history content of middle school students with SLD. An alternating treatments single subject design was used to compare the effects of two interventions. There were two conditions and a series of pretest probesin this study. The conditions were: (a) direct instruction and studying from handwritten notes using the interactive notebook strategy and (b) direct instruction and studying using the Quizlet App on the iPad. There were three dependent variables in this study: (a) percent correct on tests, (b) rate of correct responses per minute, and (c) rate of errors per minute. A comparative analysis suggested that both interventions (studying from interactive notes and studying using Quizlet on the iPad) had varying degrees of effectiveness in increasing the learning gains of students with SLD. In most cases, both interventions were equally effective. During both interventions, all of the participants increased their percentage correct and increased their rate of correct responses. Most of the participants decreased their rate of errors. The results of this study suggest that teachers of students with SLD should consider a post lesson review in the form of mobile devices as an ASR system or studying from handwritten notes paired with existing evidence-based practices to facilitate students’ knowledge in U.S. history. Future research should focus on the use of other interactive applications on various mobile operating platforms, on other social studies subjects, and should explore various testing formats such as oral question-answer and multiple choice.

The effect of mobile technology as an active student response system on the acquisition of U.S. history content of secondary students with specific learning disabilities

Students with specific learning disabilities (SLD) typically learn less history content than their peers without disabilities and show fewer learning gains. Even when they are provided with the same instructional strategies, many students with SLD struggle to grasp complex historical concepts and content area vocabulary. Many strategies involving technology have been used in the past to enhance learning for students with SLD in history classrooms. However, very few studies have explored the effectiveness of emerging mobile technology in K-12 history classrooms. ^ This study investigated the effects of mobile devices (iPads) as an active student response (ASR) system on the acquisition of U.S. history content of middle school students with SLD. An alternating treatments single subject design was used to compare the effects of two interventions. There were two conditions and a series of pretest probesin this study. The conditions were: (a) direct instruction and studying from handwritten notes using the interactive notebook strategy and (b) direct instruction and studying using the Quizlet App on the iPad. There were three dependent variables in this study: (a) percent correct on tests, (b) rate of correct responses per minute, and (c) rate of errors per minute. ^ A comparative analysis suggested that both interventions (studying from interactive notes and studying using Quizlet on the iPad) had varying degrees of effectiveness in increasing the learning gains of students with SLD. In most cases, both interventions were equally effective. During both interventions, all of the participants increased their percentage correct and increased their rate of correct responses. Most of the participants decreased their rate of errors. ^ The results of this study suggest that teachers of students with SLD should consider a post lesson review in the form of mobile devices as an ASR system or studying from handwritten notes paired with existing evidence-based practices to facilitate students’ knowledge in U.S. history. Future research should focus on the use of other interactive applications on various mobile operating platforms, on other social studies subjects, and should explore various testing formats such as oral question-answer and multiple choice. ^

A study of the effects of a service-learning experience on student success at an urban community college

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a service-learning experience on student success as measured by class attendance, course completion, final course grades, and end-of-term evaluation data.^ Though many outcomes of service-learning experiences have been studied, including ethical values, self-esteem, student personal development, and career preparation, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of such experiences on academic achievement, and the studies that have been done have primarily studied students at traditional, four-year, residential universities.^ The study consisted of 286 students enrolled in six paired courses taught by five instructors at a community college in the Fall term 1996. One section of each pair (the control group) was taught using traditional subject matter and course materials and the other section of each pair (the treatment group) participated in a 20-hour required service-learning activity in addition to the regular course curriculum. The courses in the study included American History, Sociology, College Preparatory English, and Introduction to English Composition.^ The results of this study indicate that, overall, students who participated in a class in which service-learning was a requirement, achieved higher final course grades and reported greater satisfaction with the course, the instructor, the reading assignments, and the grading system, and the treatment section of one course pair had fewer absences. In addition, the faculty members reported that, in the treatment sections, class discussions were more stimulating, the sections seemed more vital in terms of student involvement, the students seemed more challenged academically, more motivated to learn, and seemed to exert more effort in the course. ^

The effect of multimedia instruction on achievement of college history students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of multimedia instruction on achievement of college students in AMR 2010 from exploration and discovery to 1865. A non-equivalent control group design was used. The dependent variable was achievement. The independent variables were learning styles, method of instruction, and visual clarifiers (notes). The study was conducted using two history sections from Palm Beach Community College, in Boca Raton, Florida, between August and December, 1998. Data were obtained by means of placement scores, posttests, the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS), and a researcher-developed student survey. Statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS statistical software. Demographic variables were compared using Chi square. T tests were run on the posttests to determine the equality of variances. The posttest scores of the groups were compared using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at the .05 level of significance. The first hypothesis there is a significant difference in students' learning of U.S. History when students receive multimedia instruction was supported, F (1, 52) = 16.88, p < .0005, and F = (1, 53) = 8.52, p < .005 for Tests 2 and 3, respectively. The second hypothesis there is a significant difference on the effectiveness of multimedia instruction based on students' various learning preferences was not supported. The last hypotheses there is a significant difference on students' learning of U.S. History when students whose first language is other than English and students who need remediation receive visual clarifiers were not supported. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated no difference between the groups on Test 1, Test 2, or Test 3: F (1, 45) = .01, p < .940, F (1, 52) = .77, p < .385, and F (1, 53) =.17, p < .678, respectively, for language. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated no significant difference on Test 1, Test 2, or Test 3, between the groups on the variable remediation: F (1, 45) = .31, p < .580, F (1, 52) = 1.44, p < .236, and F (1, 53) = .21, p < .645, respectively. ^

A study of learners' perceived value and satisfaction for implied effectiveness of online learning systems

Online learning systems (OLS) have become center stage for corporations and educational institutions as a competitive tool in the knowledge economy. The satisfaction construct has received extensive coverage in information systems literature as an indicator of effectiveness but has been criticized for lack of validity; yet, the value construct has been largely ignored, although it has a long history in psychology, sociology, and behavioral science. The purpose of this dissertation is to investigate the value and satisfaction constructs in the context of OLS, and their perceived by learners relationship for implied effectiveness of OLS. ^ First, a qualitative phase is employed to gather OLS values from learners' focus groups, followed by a pilot phase to refine a proposed instrument, and a main phase to validate the survey. Responses were received from 75 students in four focus groups, 141 in the pilot, and 207 the main survey. Extensive data cleaning and exploratory factor analysis were done to identify factors of learners' perceived value and satisfaction of OLS. Then, Value-Satisfaction grids and the Learners' Value Index of Satisfaction (LeVIS) were developed as benchmarking tools of OLS. Moreover, Multicriteria Decision Analysis (MCDA) techniques were employed to impute value from satisfaction scores in order to reduce survey response time. ^ The results provided four satisfaction and four value factors with high reliability (Cronbach's α). Moreover, value and satisfaction were found to have low linear and nonlinear correlations, indicating that they are two distinct uncorrelated constructs. This is consistent with the literature. Value-Satisfaction grids and the LeVIS index indicated relatively high effectiveness for technology and support characteristics, relatively low effectiveness for professor's characteristics, while course and learner characteristics indicated average effectiveness. ^ The main contributions of this study include identifying, defining, and articulating the relationship between value and satisfaction constructs as assessment of users' implied IS effectiveness, as well as assessing the accuracy of MCDA procedures to predict value scores, thus reducing by half the survey questionnaire size. ^

Effects of service-learning on student attitudes toward academic engagement and civic responsibility

This empirical study explored the impact of service-learning participation on high school students' attitudes toward academic engagement and civic responsibility. This study focused whether a group of high school students who participated in a service-learning project had more positive attitudes toward academic engagement and civic responsibility than their high school peers who did not participate in a service learning project. ^ Data were collected from 67 volunteer students as participants in grades 9–12. A service-learning treatment group of 34 high school students was examined relative to a comparison group of 33 high school students with similar demographic and academic characteristics. The investigator used questionnaires, an oral history/service-learning project, and interviews with the teacher-coordinators of the project to collect the data. The two surveys, one investigating high school students' attitudes about academic engagement, the other investigating high school students' attitudes toward civic responsibility, were administered in a pre-treatment/post-treatment design. There were 90 days between the pre-treatment and post-treatment administrations. A factor analysis of the civic responsibility instrument and multivariate analysis of gain scores were used to compare the means of the total aggregate scores of the treatment and comparison groups. Factor analysis was performed on the academic engagement instrument but it was determined that only the total scores could be used in subsequent analyses. Results were used to determine the efficacy of service-learning as interpreted in student attitudes toward academic engagement and student attitudes toward civic responsibility. ^ The study found no significant difference between the academic engagement and the civic responsibility attitudes of a high school service-learning project group and a high school comparison group with comparable school and similar demographic characteristics. One of the implications for educational practice and policy from the study results is a need to design and implement more powerful studies, studies implemented at many sites rather than just at two sites that were the basis of this study, and studies that investigate the research questions over longer time periods. Although it was not a focus of the study, the investigator concluded that service learning projects such as this might be more effective if they were better aligned with Dewey's principles. ^

A study of the effects of a service-learning experience on student success at an urban community college

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of a service-learning experience on student success as measured by class attendance, course completion, final course grades, and end-of-term evaluation data. Though many outcomes of service-learning experiences have been studied, including ethical values, self-esteem, student personal development, and career preparation, relatively few studies have been conducted on the effects of such experiences on academic achievement, and the studies that have been done have primarily studied students at traditional, four-year, residential universities. The study consisted of 286 students enrolled in six paired courses taught by five instructors at a community college in the Fall term 1996. One section of each pair (the control group) was taught using traditional subject matter and course materials and the other section of each pair (the treatment group) participated in a 20-hour required service- learning activity in addition to the regular course curriculum. The courses in the study included American History, Sociology, College Preparatory English, and Introduction to English Composition. The results of this study indicate that, overall, students who participated in a class in which service-learning was a requirement, achieved higher final course grades and reported greater satisfaction with the course, the instructor, the reading assignments, and the grading system, and the treatment section of one course pair had fewer absences. In addition, the faculty members reported that, in the treatment sections, class discussions were more stimulating, the sections seemed more vital in terms of student involvement, the students seemed more challenged academically, more motivated to learn, and seemed to exert more effort in the course.

The effect of multimedia instruction on achievement of college history students

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of multimedia instruction on achievement of college students in AMH 2010 from exploration and discovery to1865. A non-equivalent control group design was used. The dependent variable was achievement. The independent variables were learning styles method of instruction, and visual clarifiers (notes). The study was conducted using two history sections from Palm Beach Community College, in Boca Raton, Florida, between August and December, 1998. Data were obtained by means of placement scores, posttests, the Productivity Environmental Preference Survey (PEPS), and a researcher-developed student survey. Statistical analysis of the data was done using SPSS statistical software. Demographic variables were compared using Chi square. T tests were run on the posttests to determine the equality of variances. The posttest scores of the groups were compared using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) at the .05 level of significance. The first hypothesis there is a significant difference in students' learning of U.S. History when students receive multimedia instruction was supported, F = (1, 52)= 688, p < .0005, and F = (1, 53) = 8.52, p < .005for Tests 2 and 3, respectively. The second hypothesis there is a significant difference on the effectiveness of multimedia instruction based on students' various learning preferences was not supported. The last hypotheses there is a significant difference on students' learning of U.S. History when students whose first language is other than English and students who need remediation receive visual clarifiers were not supported. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated no difference between the groups on Test 1, Test 2, or Test 3: F (1, 4 5)= .01, p < .940, F (l, 52) = .77, p < .385, and F (1,53) =.17, p > .678, respectively, for language. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) indicated no significant difference on Test 1, Test 2, or Test 3, between the groups on the variable remediation: F (1, 45) = .31, p < .580, F (1, 52) = 1.44, p < .236, and F (1, 53) = .21, p < .645, respectively.