The Effect of Intentional, Persistent Small-Group Learning on College Student Achievement and Retention in the Pre-Calculus Classroom

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Autor/in	Peterson, Christy
Titel	The Effect of Intentional, Persistent Small-Group Learning on College Student Achievement and Retention in the Pre-Calculus Classroom
Quelle	(2019), (350 Seiten) PDF als Volltext Verfügbarkeit Ph.D. Dissertation, Illinois Institute of Technology
Sprache	englisch
Dokumenttyp	gedruckt; online; Monographie
ISBN	978-1-0855-9023-5
Schlagwörter	Hochschulschrift; Dissertation; STEM Education; Small Group Instruction; Teaching Methods; College Students; Mathematics Achievement; Calculus; Academic Persistence; Comparative Analysis; Study Habits; Scores; Mathematics Tests; Student Attitudes; Group Membership; Cooperative Learning + Suchen Sie Ihr Suchwort? Thesis; Dissertations; Academic thesis; STEM; Teaching method; Lehrmethode; Unterrichtsmethode; Collegestudent; Mathmatics sikills; Mathmatics achievement; Mathematical ability; Mathematische Kompetenz; Analysis; Differenzialrechnung; Infinitesimalrechnung; Integralrechnung; Study behavior; Study behaviour; Studienverhalten; Schülerverhalten; Gruppenzugehörigkeit; Kooperatives Lernen
Abstract	Various research studies have established that nearly half of all students who decide to pursuit a math, science, or engineering field change their mind and seek a different major. The National Center for Education Statistics shows a decrease in the number of degrees in engineering and related fields from 36,900 degrees in the 2003-2004 academic year to 31,800 degrees in 2013-2014, a 13.8% decline. Not surprising, a report by the President's Council of Advisors on Science and Technology in 2012 predicted that the United States workforce would see a deficit of one million college graduates in science, technology, engineering and math over the next decade. This study was designed to help answer the question, Is there a difference in achievement or retention for students participating in intentional, persistent small-group learning compared with randomly assigned small-groups in a college level pre-calculus course? This study compared the pre-calculus achievement scores, course pass rates and retention rates between two types of small-group membership, persistent and random. The study also compared students' study habits throughout the semester and students' experiences working in a small-group learning environment. Initial examination of the data showed that students participating in intentional, persistent small-groups had better course pass rates and consistently scored higher on unit exams and the final exam than students who participated in randomly assigned small-groups. The course pass rates for both types of small-group membership were similar to the pass rates for students in all other sections of pre-calculus offered at the college. The retention rate for the two courses was similar. However, when compared to the retention rate for all sections of pre-calculus offered at the college, retention was statistically higher in the two sections utilizing small-groups in this study. Given that retention is one of the challenges for pre-calculus, utilizing small-group learning might be a way to improve student retention in college pre-calculus. There were no significant findings for differences in students' study skills or students' experiences working in small-group learning environments. However, it was interesting to see that students in randomly assigned small-groups had stronger agreement on items related to working with multiple peers while students in the intentional, persistent small-groups had stronger agreement on items related to developing relationships. The results indicate there might be value to student achievement in utilizing persistent group membership over randomly assigned group membership or even whole-class lecture. Furthermore, the results of this study indicate that utilizing small-group learning in pre-calculus benefits the student retention rate. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.] (As Provided).
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Update	2024/1/01