260 likes | 376 Views
World History Hybrid Course – PILOT- Units 1 and 2 Students and Teachers Pre-and-Post Surveys and Online Comments. Kavita Mittapalli kmittapalli@gmail.com MN Associates, Inc. February 1, 2011. Overview of Data Collection Activities.
E N D
World History Hybrid Course – PILOT- Units 1 and 2 Students and Teachers Pre-and-Post Surveys and Online Comments Kavita Mittapalli kmittapalli@gmail.com MN Associates, Inc. February 1, 2011
Overview of Data Collection Activities • Google documents - 56 responses (majority students; 1-2 teachers); 4 counties completed • Pre and Post Surveys- Teachers - total responses - 10 and 6, respectively; 7 counties completed • Pre and Post Surveys- Students- total responses- 135 and 77, respectively (as of Jan 5th); 5 counties completed • SurveyMonkey site was kept open for up to 3 weeks • 3 reminder emails were sent to non-respondents • Winter holidays and late start of pilot in some LEAs caused delays in completion.
Data analyses • Descriptives and frequencies- demographic questions and questions related technology usage and knowledge and its applications in learning WH (pre) and Level of Satisfaction with Units , Role of technology in teaching WH, and Student engagement (post). • Paired t-tests- significant mean differences in the pre-and –post student surveys regarding technology usage and integration, knowledge of WH before and after browsing the units, and comfort levels of technology implementation at work and classrooms. Caveat • Low and uneven response rate for the pre-and-post surveys. • No pre and post test done for teachers surveys (small and uneven sample) • Students worked at their own pace. Classroom environment and teachers’ level of instruction/facilitation greatly varied across the responding LEAs. • Pilots conducted in a “non-controlled” environment and context per LEA/classroom not taken into account • The results should be considered exploratory and may not be conclusive or generalizable across the LEAs.
Teachers Pre- and –Post Surveys
Findings Demographics and General questions Pre-survey • Avg. about 15 years of teaching experience • Majority have a Masters degree • 7 out of 10 had not taken an online course before. • Those who had taken a course have attended lectures, discussion forum, reflections, and have completed assignments • 7 out of 10 had not taught an online OR a hybrid course • 80% are in the high intermediate range of technology proficiency and frequently use technology mainly for professional productivity (research, class materials, etc)
Challenges using technology to teach WH (pre-survey contd) • Having technology that works • Limited access: Current funding tends to allow 1 computer for every 4 or 5 students. Many students do not have computers & internet access at home. • Compared to other content areas, there seems to be a lack of materials that are dedicated to world history curricula. • The level of technological proficiency that students have is lacking. They can perform basic Google searches and use basic functions of Word and Powerpoint, but their skills with productive software seem very limited. • Limited ability for linking creativity and the content. • Having students who have a wide range of technological abilities. • Reliability of wireless network at school
Post- Units 1 and 2 (n=6)- Quality of Content in the Units Contd…
Students Pre- and –Post Surveys
Demographics • Majority females (more than 50%) • Majority in Grade 11 (63%) • Majority have not taken an online course (92%) (those who have- financial literacy, Ap Psychology, History, Government and English, HAS, Microsoft Professional) • Readings, Discussion forum, and Assignments • Majority Intermediate Ability in using technology (59%); High/Advanced (35%) • Majority use technology “frequently” 45%, Very frequently 29%
Qualities in a Social Studies teacher you liked/learned a lot • Made learning fun • Many activities • Group work • Passionate and knowledgeable about the subject • Class projects to explain a topic area • Told stories • Little homework • Creative • Used worksheets to teach yourself • Positive attitude
Biggest Challenge with the Content of World History • Keeping the events in order; hard to remember • Finding a usage of WH in real life • Tests and Quizzes • Hard to pay attention in class to WH • Not challenging enough • Too much memorization • Vocabulary
Expectations from this online learning experience • That it would be exciting and interesting • None • Help me understand better • To learn about different cultures • Grab my attention to learn WH • Maybe more updated from the lessons • Visual approach may help me learn more and retain better • To learn and advance my knowledge of WH • Learn at my own pace
Post- Units 1 and 2 (n=77)- Level of Satisfaction with Units
Post- Units 1 and 2 (n=77)- Level of Satisfaction with Units Contd…
Post- Units 1 and 2 (n=77)- Online format has changed/enhanced my knowledge in WH
Paired- t-test • There were significant differences (p<0.05) in pre and post surveys for components – a) I feel comfortable using technology along with classroom instruction (p=0.006)and b) I feel comfortable learning using technology with classroom instruction (p=0.027) Almost - Using technology in WH instruction in a classroom may increase students’ motivation and enthusiasm about learning WH (p=0.07).
Narratives- Google Documents (Teachers) • Utility of the Historical Thinking Skills Graphic Organizer- include sources that have markedly different accounts of the same event, which would require students to think critically about the multiple perspective, bias, and credibility aspects of historical thinking. • All things considered, I think that this is a great lesson. • A way to view the PowerPoint in full screen mode.
Narratives- Teachers Positive aspects of the course- • Comments were related to the overall format, layout and content, resources and organization of the material, and usefulness of the course in classroom instruction. • A majority of the respondents appreciated the fact that students could work on the modules at their own pace and were able to collaborate with team members on some of the assignments.
Specifically… In what ways do you think you could use, if at all, the content/s of the units to teach in your classroom? and Overall satisfaction with the Units • Could use pieces from the Units. • Varying student technology proficiency levels affected technology usage in WH course • Material too basic for the grade- had to infuse the online curriculum with a number of extra activities to ensure student learning. • Material overall pretty good, May need to modify at her school since WH is taught at junior level • Falls short in practice; needs organization • Liked the course navigator- took some time getting used to • Need more interactive activities; more differentiated instruction within the units • Liked that it was self-paced; content was in-depth; definitions handy • Overall presentation was good
Briefly describe any changes you would make to this unit (e.g., layout, content, style, format, presentation). • Students had trouble with the map always coming up. It did not show on some of the computers. • Add extension materials for honors-level courses or for students who work quickly. • Some interactives are short and therefore create a bit of a "jump" between activities that some students may struggle to follow. • Adding activities that are not paper and pencil, as well as more quick check for understanding interactive assessments. • Scavenger hunt type of interactive activity . • I would like to see more of the "color" of history. i.e. the anecdotal stories, the human element, personal stories, the stuff that is not in the textbook. • A wider variety of types of activities needs to be made available. • The content needs to be deeper and more historically enriched. • Pacing needs to be addressed. Certain topics were given too much attention while other topics were not addressed sufficiently.
Students Strengths and Other general comments: • Own pace • Great visuals and photos to teach WH concepts • Keeps my attention- liked it • Interaction keeps our interest • Liked the reflection piece- helps us to relate • Great details • Lot of information in a short period of time. Learned a lot • Boring • Don’t like WH • No difference between online and classroom instruction
Next Steps • Content edits as suggested by teachers and students • Make units and lessons more interactive and engaging • Differentiated instruction • Ways to improve response rates (reminders to supervisors) • Tighter deadlines for completion • Pilot next Units in 3-4 LEAs - More rigorous selection of schools and classrooms - Comparison across LEAs, Schools, and Classrooms
Questions/Comments Suggestions