Ed Tech 505 Final Project

8/9/2019 Ed Tech 505 Final Project

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Evaluation of the Usefulness and Effectiveness of Study

Guides for Online Algebra 2 Courses

Kim Hefty

EdTech !

"#E#T# $rogram

%ecember &&' 2!&(


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Table of Contents

Summary.................................................................................................................... 3

Program Overview...................................................................................................... 3

Program Description................................................................................................ 3

Program Objectives.................................................................................................4

Program Components..............................................................................................4

Evaluation Meto!...................................................................................................... "

Program Participants............................................................................................... "

Program Proce!ures................................................................................................ "

Data Sources........................................................................................................... #

$esults........................................................................................................................#

Pre%&est ' Post%&est $esults......................................................................................#

Survey $esults.........................................................................................................#

(nterview $esults..................................................................................................... )

Discussion.................................................................................................................. *

Project E+penses...................................................................................................... ,-

A))endices.................................................................................................................. ,,

A))endi* A+ Study Guide for Online Algebra 2 Students.......................................................,,

A))endi* ,+ Algebra 2 $re-Test . $ost-Test.....................................................................,#A))endi* C+ Student Survey.........................................................................................,)

A))endi* %+ $arent Survey /........................................................................................2-

A))endi* E+ Student /ntervie0 1uestions.........................................................................2,

A))endi* + $arent /ntervie0 1uestions..........................................................................22

A))endi* G+ $ost Student Survey...................................................................................23

A))endi* H+ $arent $ost Survey....................................................................................2"

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Summary

This re)ort is an evaluation of the usage in study guides for students )artici)ating in an online

mathematics course in the Sammamish School District# 3note+ this district name is fictitious4 Theschool district is in its third year of allo0ing students to com)lete state high school graduation

re5uirements online# The district is e*)loring 0ays to im)rove student )erformance and

retention of material learned in a non-traditional 0ay#

Traditionally' in a classroom' students 0ill listen to a lecture 0hile simultaneously ta6ing notes'

then revie0 through a te*tboo6 before attem)ting an assignment# 7hile com)leting an

assignment' the students have the ability to use their lecture notes and to 8fli)9 bac6 to thee*am)les in the boo6 for reference# Ho0ever' in an online course' the material is solely )resented

on the com)uter screen# Some of the information may be interactive but there is not a traditional

teacher 0atching the students ma6ing them ta6e notes or even insuring they are vie0ing theinformation on the com)uter screen# Students often s6i) )ast the 8lesson9 and go straight to the

online assignments# Ho0 can online )rograms hel) students read through the com)uter slidesinteractively and im)rove academic )erformance: Study guides;

This evaluation utili


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The study guide is )ages long and consists of 6ey to)ics and conce)ts covered in the unit# Theguide is o)en-ended )rom)ting the students to create notes for the unit# Currently' there are no

re5uirements for online students to ta6e or ma6e notes# Students' in theory' could com)letely

s6i) through any )rovided lessons and go directly to the re5uired assignments' activities' 5ui


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After all of the )re and )ost-tests' surveys' and intervie0s 0ere com)leted' the data 0as analyectives had been met#

Data Sources

The data used for this evaluation included the )re and )ost-tests as 0ell as surveys and

intervie0s# The )re and )ost-tests evaluated s6ills s)ecific to the unit of study# The )re-survey

focused on the student=s attitudes and behaviors in their online math course# The )ost-survey andintervie0 focused on the student=s attitudes and o)inions about the study guide# The )re-survey

for the )arents focused on the observed behavior of the students in their online course# The

)arent=s )ost-survey and intervie0 focused on the observed and )erceived behavior of thestudents after using the study guide#

The intervie0 5uestions as6ed about 0hether or not the guides 0ere hel)ful and if there 0ere any

noticeable im)rovements 0ith understanding or academic )erformance# All 5uestions as6ed the

res)ondents to elaborate# /n addition' everyone 0as as6ed 0hether or not they 0ould recommendthe usage of study guides#

Results

Pre-Test & Post-Test Results

1uestion & 1uestion 2 1uestion ( 1uestion 1uestion

$re 2 & (

$ost && &2 &2 && &&

The data above sho0s the number of students out of t0elve correctly ans0ering each 5uestion#

This data illustrates that the students 6ne0 very little of the to)ics in unit 2 )rior to starting theunit# After com)leting the unit the students sho0ed remar6able im)rovement#

Survey Results

Student Pre-Survey

1uestion Al0ays Sometimes arely ever

/ read?revie0 the material regularly & 2

/ ta6e notes for my online class & ( 2

/ revie0 my notes and online materials)rior to beginning graded 0or6

& 2

/ revie0 the material before / ta6e an e*am & 2

/ 6ee) u) to date so / don=t have to cram & & F 2

1uestion %aily SeveralTimes )er

7ee6

Cou)leTimes

)er 7ee6

Almostever

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Ho0 often do you vie0 your online course & &

1uestion !- hrs -I hrs &!-& hrs &J hrs

Ho0 much time )er 0ee6 do you s)end on

your online math course

2

The )ur)ose of the )re-survey to determine the study habits and attitudes of students )rior to

being given the study guides# /t is evident that the over0helming ma>ority students are not

revie0ing or studying the material# /n a traditional math course' students 0ould s)end

a))ro*imately # hours )er 0ee6 in 8seat9 time and about -F hours on home0or6# /t is evidentthat the students are not s)ending an a))ro)riate amount of time on their math course#

Parent Pre-Survey

The )ur)ose of this survey 0as to determine the )arental )erce)tion of their student=s study

habits# There 0as a clear difference bet0een the student=s stated of time s)ent on the course vs#

)arental )erce)tion of that time#

1uestion Al0ays Sometimes arely %on=t

Kno0

"y student regularly vie0s online material 2 !

"y student ta6es notes for their online

class

2 !

"y student revie0s their notes regularly ( 2 2

"y student s)ends an ade5uate amount of

time 0or6ing on their online math course

2 F 2 !

Student Post-Survey

The )ur)ose of the )ost-survey to determine the study habits and attitudes of students after being

given the study guides# There 0as a mar6ed increase in the amount of time s)ent studying')re)aring and generally 0or6ing on the student=s online math course 0hile using the study

guides#

1uestion StronglyAgree

Agree %isagree Strongly%isagree

/ used the study guide for this unit & !

The study guide hel)ed me ma6e notes for

my online class

& !

/ revie0ed the study guide before / too6 the

e*ams or 5ui


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Times )er

7ee6

Times

)er 7ee6

ever

7hile using the study guide ho0 often didyou vie0 your online course

2 I & !

1uestion !- hrs -I hrs &!-& hrs &J hrsHo0 much time )er 0ee6 do you s)end on

your online math course

& !

Parent Post-Survey

The )ur)ose of this survey 0as to determine the )arental )erce)tion of their student=s study

habits after using the study guides# There 0as still some disconnect bet0een the )arent=s)erce)tions vs# the actual results re)orted by the students' but the ga) 0as closer# The )arents

did notice an increased amount of time s)ent by the students on the course#

1uestion Al0ays Sometimes arely %on=tKno0

"y student read?revie0 material regularly 2 !

"y student ta6e notes for my online class 2 !

"y student revie0 notes and onlinematerials )rior to beginning graded 0or6

( 2 2

"y student s)ends an ade5uate amount oftime 0or6ing on their online math course

2 F 2 !

Interview Results

All t0elve students 0ere intervie0ed in )ersonD for each 5uestion they 0ere as6ed to elaborate#Students 0ere as6ed if they used the study guide# All of the students indicated that they had used

the study guide# A))ro*imately three fourths of the students said they 0ere able to com)lete theentire guide 0ithout any outside hel)# The remaining students stated they needed some

assistance in com)leting the guide# The students 0ere as6ed if the guide 0as hel)ful# All of the

students claimed the guide 0as very hel)ful# The students stated that it hel)ed them to 6no00hat to focus on 0hile loo6ing through the materials# Several students said that )reviously they

felt there 0as too much information in the online course and couldn=t distinguish bet0een

relevant and non-relevant material# One student commented that they had never understood 0hat

teachers meant by 8ta6e notes9 and the study guide 0as li6e someone telling him 0hat to ta6enotes on# Students 0ere as6ed if they noticed any im)rovement in their understanding of the

material# All but one student indicated that the guide im)roved their 6no0ledge of unit 2# Thecommon comment 0as that they 0ere able to narro0 their focus to material that they 0eres)ecifically tested on# Several students commented that it felt li6e they 0ere being told 0hat 0as

going to be on the test# One student stated it did not im)rove their 6no0ledge' but could not

elaborate# The students 0ere also as6ed if they sa0 any im)rovement in their grades# Ten of thet0elve students said they noticed a dramatic im)rovementD their grades 0ent from lo0 ,=s to

high ,=s or A=s# They said that it 0as because they used the guide as notes and this hel)ed them

0hile com)leting assignments and activities# /t also became a great reference tool for them to

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use 0hile )re)aring for the e*am# T0o of the students indicated their grades 0ere already good#The final 5uestion 0as 0hether or not they 0ould recommend using study guides in the future#

Eleven of the t0elve students said they 0ould; One student thought it 0as too much 0or6 to do

if it=s not graded#

The )arents 0ere given the intervie0 5uestions in )a)er form and as6ed to return them# ine outof t0elve )arents did so# All of the res)ondents indicated they had noticed their students using

the guides and all stated they noticed grade im)rovement# "any of the )arents stated they 0ere

not sure if their student understood the material better or not' but assumed so since the grades

0ere better# All but one )arent noticed a significant increase in the amount of time s)ent0or6ing on online math# Every )arent said they 0ould highly recommend using study guides in

the future# Several )arents felt that it forced the students to be interactive 0ith the material#

Some )arents also felt the guides should be graded as an e*tra incentive to ma6e the students doa good >ob on them# Overall' the )arent res)onses 0ere highly favorable#

Discussion

The )ur)ose of this study 0as to evaluate 0hether im)lementing or re5uiring the usage of study

guides in an online algebra 2 course 0as effective# The over0helming evidence gathered from

students and )arents suggests that all of the ob>ectives 0ere met# ,ased on the data students

s)ent more time on the material and sho0ed academic im)rovement#

Ob>ective one 0as to obligate the students to reflect on and com)rehend the conce)ts in their

unit# ,ased on the )re and )ost-test results there 0as a dramatic im)rovement in the overallscores on this unit# /t should be noted that there may have been other factors that could have

influenced these scores#

Ob>ective t0o 0as to encourage the students to actively vie0 the online materials# The students

and )arent=s survey results sho0 that the students s)ent significantly more time online in order to

com)lete the guides# Therefore' the )rimary ob>ective 0as met based on the survey results#

Ob>ective three 0as to im)rove academic )erformance# The ma>ority of students and )arents

both indicated vastly im)roved academic )erformance 0hile using the guides# This 0as

confirmed on both the )ost-survey and the intervie0s#

Ob>ective four 0as to create a )ermanent reference for students# %uring the student intervie0s

the students indicated that the ma>ority of them had used the guides to hel) them )re)are for theire*ams and 5ui


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themselves to reflect on and absorb the material# The study guide can hel) reinforce 0hat theyhave learned in their subconscious through brief )eriodic revie0 sessions# The study guide can

serve as a tremendous reference for )roblem solving and reinforcing conce)ts that can be used

over and over again#

Project Expenses

The )ro>ect e*)enses for this evaluation 0ere based on an initial (! minute meeting 0ith theSammamish School %istrict online coordinator' ancy %re0# ,ased on the meeting 0ith "s#

%re0 it 0as determined that in order to )ro)erly evaluate study guides a )re and )ost-tests as

0ell as surveys and intervie0s 0ere necessary# our hours 0ere necessary to both conduct andscore the intervie0s' surveys' and tests# An additional four hours 0ere needed to analy


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Appendices

Appendix A:Study Guide or !nline Alge"ra # Students

Functions and RelationsStudy Guide

Using this study guide 0ill hel) you )re)are for your e*am and ensure that you learn the most

im)ortant content# Kee) it in your noteboo6 or com)uter and ta6e notes as you )rogress through

the unit#

Define Key Terms:

elation

2# unction

(# Lertical @ine Test

# /ncreasing unction

# %ecreasing unction

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# Constant unction

# Continuous unction

F# %iscontinuous unction

I# Even unction

&!# Odd unction

& /nverse of a elation

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&2# 7hat are some other letters used for function notation:

&(# Hori


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# 7hat must be true for a function to be considered an 8even9 function:

5. 7hat must be true for a function to be considered an 8odd9 function:

# 7hat is meant by the term 8continuous function9:

# 7hat is the )rocess to determine if a gra)h is symmetric 0ith res)ect to the origin:

F# 7hat are the ste)s for finding the inverse of an e5uation:

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I# 7hat line is the gra)h of a function or relation reflected across to find its inverse:

&!# 7hat is function notation: Ho0 is it read:

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Appendix $:Alge"ra #Pre%&est ' Post%&est

Question

7hich of the follo0ing relations is a function:

A! "#-$%-&%#$%'&%#-$%(&% #)%(&*

+! "#,%&%#$%'&%#,%(&% #'%$&*

C! "#$%&%#$%'&%#.%(&% #)%,&*

%# M&' B' F' IB' &!' &&B' &2' &2BN

Question $

%etermine if the function is even'odd' or neither#

xB xJx

A# /ven

,# 0dd

C# 1eit2er

Question

%etermine if the function continuous or discontinuous#

A# Continuous

,# %iscontinuous

Question .

To determine if the follo0ing gra)h is a function' 0hich test should you use:

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. Lertical @ine Test

/. Hori


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Appendix : Student Survey

Student Pre-Survey:

Study strategies for the class

3 revie4 t2e online materials re5ularly!

al0ays ? almost al0ays

sometimes

almost never

never even thought of it

3 ta6e notes for my online class!


sometimes

almost never


3 revie4 my notes and online materials prior to be5innin5 t2e 5raded 4or6!


sometimes

almost never


Math tests

3 revie4 t2e material before 3 ta6e an e7am


sometimes

almost never


3 6eep up-to-date% so 3 don8t 2ave to 9cram9 t2e ni52t before t2e test!


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sometimes

almost never


Time Spent on Online Course

o4 often do you lo5 on% vie4 your online course

daily ? almost daily

several times )er 0ee6

a cou)le of times a 0ee6

almost never

o4 muc2 time do you spend on your online mat2 course!

$lease 0rite in a))ro*imate amount in hours PPPPPPPP

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Appendix D:Parent Survey

Parent Pre-Survey:


;y student re5ularly vie4s online materials!


sometimes

almost never

/ don=t 6no0

;y student ta6es notes for t2eir online class!


sometimes

almost never

/ don=t 6no0

;y student revie4s t2eir notes re5ularly


sometimes

almost never

/ don=t 6no0;y student spends an ade


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Appendix E: Studentntervie* +uestions

%escribe your thoughts and attitudes about the follo0ing 5uestions#

%id you use the study guide: E*)lain

2# 7as the study guide hel)ful: E*)lain#

(# %id you notice any im)rovement in your understanding of the material after using the

study guides: E*)lain#

# %id you notice any im)rovement in your grades on assignments' 5ui


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Appendix ,:Parentntervie* +uestions

%escribe your thoughts and attitudes about the follo0ing 5uestions#

%id your student use the study guides: E*)lain

2# %id you notice any im)rovement in your students understanding of the material after

using the study guides: E*)lain#

(# %id you notice your student s)ending more time 0or6ing on their online math course0hile using the study guides: E*)lain#

%id you notice any im)rovement in your students grades on assignments' 5ui


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Appendix G:Post Student Survey


3 used t2e study 5uide for t2is unit!

strongly agree

agree

disagree

strongly disagree

T2e study 5uide 2elped me ma6e notes for my online class!

strongly agree

agree

disagree

strongly disagree

3 revie4ed t2e study 5uide before 3 too6 t2e e7ams or t 2ave to ?cram@ t2e

material!

strongly agree

agree

disagree

strongly disagree

T2e study 5uide 2elped me 6eep up-to-date% so 3 didn>t 2ave to 9cram9 t2e

ni52t before t2e test!

com)letely agree

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some0hat agree

disagree

totally disagree

Time Spent on Online Course

2ile usin5 t2e study 5uide% 2o4 often did you lo5 on% vie4 your online course

daily ? almost daily

several times )er 0ee6

a cou)le of times a 0ee6

almost never

2ile usin5 t2e study 5uide 2o4 muc2 time do you spend on your online mat2

course!

$lease 0rite in time in hours PPPPPPPPPPPPPPP

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Appendix H:Parent Post Survey

Parent Pre-Survey:


;y student re5ularly vie4s online materials!


sometimes

almost never

/ don=t 6no0

;y student ta6es notes for t2eir online class!


sometimes

almost never

/ don=t 6no0

;y student revie4s t2eir notes re5ularly


sometimes

almost never

/ don=t 6no0

;y student spends an ade

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Ed Tech 505 Final Project