Faculty of Education Projects (Master's)

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Browsing Faculty of Education Projects (Master's) by Subject "Academic achievement"

Now showing 1 - 3 of 3
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    Engagement in adult first nations learners : the power of academic self-concept
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, c2010, 2010) Twigg, Valerie; Fowler, Leah
    Academic self-concept has been shown to significantly affect student engagement and achievement (Hudley, Daoud, Polanco, Wright-Castro, & Hershberg, 2003; Akey, 2006). This action research project explores specific strategies that are effective in increasing 24 adult First Nations learners’ academic self-concept, engagement, and achievement in Science classes over a period of five weeks. Student participants came from three college courses: General Science, Biology and Chemistry. In addition to numerous existing strategies to increase student perception of academic performance currently in use in my classroom, this study explores action research implementation of the following new practices to further augment students’ academic self-concept including: students’ daily journal of new learning, direct teaching of students to attribute success to ability and effort (and failure to lack of effort), visual display of lesson objectives, linking new work to prior experience explicitly, and increasing expectations of assignment completion. There are recommendations for teachers and students to increase positive academic self-concept and more effective teaching strategies to enhance student success and completion, as well as meaningful experiences in education.
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    Improving the self-efficacy of math learners using a direct and focused approach to vocabulary clarification
    (Lethbridge, Alta. : University of Lethbridge, Faculty of Education, 2017) Prince, Brooke; University of Lethbridge. Faculty of Education; Marynowski, Richelle
    Mathematics could be considered a language in itself, with numerous content-specific vocabulary and symbols. The language of mathematics must be explicitly taught through direct and focused instruction to promote the vocabulary development of students. The level of student self-efficacy in mathematics has been demonstrated to relate in a cyclical way to academic achievement; if one was to improve, so would the other. The purpose of this project was to explore connections between self-efficacy, vocabulary development, and student academic achievement. A self-efficacy questionnaire, Math and Me, was created that teachers could implement multiple times throughout a learning period. The results could be used to determine the growth of student self-efficacy after focused and direct instruction of vocabulary clarification. Use of the Collaborative Four-Square Frayer Model presented in this paper, in conjunction with the Vocabulary Instruction Implications for Teacher Practice guide, should increase student self-efficacy in math classes by providing resources to teachers that would aid in the instruction of mathematical vocabulary. To deepen student vocabulary knowledge, it would be essential for students to have experienced multiple and repeated opportunities for meaningful engagement with new mathematical vocabulary. Increases in student achievement have been linked separately to both increased vocabulary acquisition and increased levels of self-efficacy; the foundation of this project was built on the notion that a relationship must therefore exist between vocabulary knowledge and mathematical self-efficacy.
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    Response to Intervention: A Guide to Implementation for School Administrators
    (2017) Clifton, Jason; Piquette-Tomei, Noëlla A.; Slomp, David H.
    When implemented with fidelity, RTI can be an effective way of identifying students in need of support, reducing wait time to receive necessary interventions and help ensure that student underachievement is not a result of incompatible instruction (Whittaker, 2013). Although RTI appears to be a viable solution to the disabilities model of learning support, the implementation process is often stifled in Alberta schools. This project synthesized information from several sources, regarding both leadership and RTI, creating a manual that is informed by an extensive literature review. The final product consists of two distinct sections in order to serve two specific purposes – to explaining what RTI is and also how to successfully implement it. The ultimate goal of the project is to help school leadership teams develop systems to ensure that students who need extra help are quickly identified and receive needed intervention in a systematic and timely manner.