The Power of Quia

1. The Power of Quia Cassandra Roschen Fairmont Junior and Senior High School 3/12/2010

2. Instructional GoalsPurpose • The purpose is to examine the effectiveness of using the website Quia in classroom instruction. • The ultimate question to be answered is, it is worth spending $49 for a Quia subscription? • The question will be answered will be determined by comparing the test scores of students in an American Government class who used the Quia website and those who did not. If the scores of the class who used the website are higher there will be obvious validity of paying for the sites services.

3. Instructional GoalsPurpose • I intend to have both groups meet the following state standard through instruction and using the Quia site: • VII-B- The student will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles upon with the US government are based.

4. Instructional GoalsPrediction • I believe that students who use the Quia website will have higher test scores than the students who do not. • I believe this to be true because when students are completing activities outside of class to reinforce content they are apt to internalize it.

5. Background for StudyWhat is Quia? • Quia is an interactive website that let’s you: • Create classes and track practice time and quiz results. • Create class Web pages for communicating with students. • Maintain an online schedule and calendar. • Upload images, audio clips, documents, and slideshows. • Copy and modify any of Quia's more than three million activities to suit your own needs. • Create a profile, and search for other instructors.

6. Background for Study Review of Literature • Upon attending a Technology conference in Buffalo, Minnesota I learned about the supposed value of Quia. Practicing teachers gave testimonies about the success of using Quia in the classroom. • Education World gives this site an A+ review because of it is easy to use, well organized, and provides many interactive games for students.

7. Background for StudyLiterature Review • Xomreviews gives Quia a 6/10. This educational review site believes the fee is not worth what you get because the activities on the site can be created in other fashions free of charge.

8. Learning ContextClass Profile-Control Group

9. Learning ContextClass Profile-Variable Group

10. Learning ContextClassroom Environment • The classroom contains 29 desks for students and two teacher desks. The teacher desks are in the back of the room with the student desks in groups of four throughout the room. • Space can be somewhat limiting but the arrangement of desks facilitates partner and group work. Thus, not much movement is needed during class. • There are two whiteboards, one at the front and one on the left hand side of the room. • There is a mounted projector that can display anything from the classroom computer or movies.

11. Learning ContextThe School-Fairmont High School • The Fairmont High School population for grades 9-12 totals about 600 students. The high school offers a broad and strong curriculum for college-bound students. An integral part of the curriculum is the International Baccalaureate (IB) program which is a world class curriculum for the academically talented and highly motivated student. Students involved in an IB class may test for college credit, but more importantly, enhance their educational experience. • The vocational department offers diverse programs of excellence to meet the needs of students attending Vocational/business School or work after graduation. • Graduating classes have ranged from 155 to 180 over the past few years. Class sizes for academic classes range from 15 to 30.  A staff of over 60 professional educators serve the needs of the students.

12. Learning ContextThe School-Fairmont High School • Virtually all of the 4 year college-bound students take the ACT college admission test each year.  Listed below are the Fairmont students ACT scores for the 1999-2000 school year for college-bound students who took the following curriculum: •    English--4 years or more •    Mathematics--3 years or more •    Social Studies--3 years or more •    Natural Sciences--3 years or more • 2002 Graduates  Mean Scores              • English   20.7 • Math    23.7 • Reading    22.1 • Science Reasoning  22.9  • Composite 22.5

13. Learning ContextThe District • The district consists of three different schools: • William Budd: K-2 • Five Lakes Elementary: 3-6 • Fairmont Junior and Senior High School • Junior High: 7-8 • Senior High: 9-12

14. Learning ContextThe District • The central mission of Fairmont Area Schools is student learning: Inspired Learning for Life!  • In order to better define this mission the district systematically works to provide clear answers to the following fundamental questions: • What is it that we want all students to learn – by grade level, by course and by unit of instruction? • How will we know when each student has acquired the intended knowledge and skills? • How will we respond when students experience initial difficulty so that we can improve upon current levels of learning? • How will we respond when students have acquired knowledge and skills beyond the typical scope of the curriculum?

15. Learning ContextThe Community • Fairmont is a community of approximately 12,000 people, located in South Central Minnesota along Interstate Highway 90. There is one elementary school, one intermediate school, one junior high, and one high school in the school district with over 100 teachers on the staff serving the needs of over 1,800 students. • Fairmont is surrounded by rich farmland and is a service center to many farmers. Located in Fairmont are several nationally known industries. Fairmont serves as a retail center and a medical service area for many area communities.

16. Learning ContextThe Community • The community is continually becoming more culturally diverse, especially with an increasing Hispanic population. • The community offers various assistance and education program for its citizens. Two such program are the Salvation Army which provides food and clothing for the needy and Community Education and Recreation which provides classes of special interest at a minimal cost.

17. Teaching Methodology • The unit was taught to each class in the same manner. • The difference-the control group did not have access to the Quia activity site but the variable group was required to complete the activities prior to taking the test. Completing the activities was given a grade of 8 points for completion.

18. Learning Context • Unit 1 Principles of Government • Length-1.5-2 weeks • Essential Questions • What is government? • What is an economy? • What types of governments and economic systems are used in the world today? • Standards • VII-B: The student will demonstrate knowledge and understanding of the principles upon which the U.S. government is based. • Benchmark: Students will compare the philosophy, structure, and operations of governments of other countries with the U.S. government. • Skills • Group work • Creative thinking • Creative writing • Note taking • Inference • Critical thinking • Writing • Hand-eye coordination • Formative Assessments • Purposes of Government Book • Forms of Government Worksheet • Create a Government Worksheet • Foldable • Summative Assessments • Unit Test

19. Learning Context Continued • Materials • Projector and screen, handouts, study guide, vocabulary foldable, markers/crayons, computers, scissors, and newspaper articles. • Strategies • Reading: Students will read handouts and the textbook as a class and individually. • Class discussion: Students will participate in class discussion to ensure learning comprehension of the content. • Micro Lectures: Short mini lectures will be given to introduce concepts. PowerPoints will accompany these lectures to provide a visual component for students who learn through visuals. • Group Work: Students will work in pairs or groups to help develop group cooperation skills and also enable the success of learning from each other or teaching one another. • Concept Sketches: Students will create concept maps using words and sketches to demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of the content. • Case Studies: Students will use Haiti as a case study to see the importance of the purposes of government. They will analyze Haiti’s government and apply their knowledge of the purposes by creating solutions to the problems in Haiti.

20. Learning Content Continued • Content Progression will be as follows • Students will learn what a government is and what it is supposed to do. • Students will learn the various forms of government found in the world today. • Students will learn the various types of economies used in the world today.

21. Teaching Methodology • Students in the variable group will be required to go onto the website, www.quia.com, to complete interactive games and quizzes about the content of the unit. • These activities must be completed outside of class. • The teacher will write media center passes for any students that need or want to complete the activities during the school day during a study hall.

22. Teaching MethodologyHow to use Quia… • Students were given the following instructions on how to access and use this the Quia site: • Go to www.quia.com • Click on Quia Web • Click on Student • Type in your username and password (was given to the students by the teacher) • Click on the activity that you would like to do first: Quiz, Forms of Government, Vocabulary Games, or Purpose of Government Matchup. • Complete all the activities. • Have fun!

23. Teaching MethodologyHow to use Quia… • After students complete an activity the number of attempts, scores, and amount of time taken on each activity is stored under that students profile. The teacher can then look at the data in a chart or graph to see the students progress. • Below is an example of the results of a quiz from one student.

24. Assessment Measures • Students completed a pre-quiz before the unit. • This is the same quiz that appeared on the Quia website that the students had to take before taking the test. • The quiz can be found on the following slide.

25. Assessment MeasuresPre-Quiz (Correct Answers in Red) • What type of economy does the US have? • Communist • Socialist • Capitalist • None • All of the following are functions of a government EXCEPT: • Providing services • Giving away money • Solving problems • Maintaining order • In a republic where does power come from? • King • Prime Minister • Courts • The people • What determines price in a capitalist country? • Supply and demand • The king • The media • The government • In a communist system who owns businesses? • The government • The army • The wealthy • The people • Government should do all of the following BUT: • Maintain order • Establish justice • Control the press • Provide services • Define laws: • Another word for “republic” • Provide rules for a society • Define democracy: • Another word for “republic” • The people control the economy

26. Assessment MeasuresQuia Quiz • Each question on the Quia quiz and paper based quiz was worth one point. There were eight questions thus equaling eight points. • The following slides show the results of the quiz of both the control group and the variable group divided by boys and girls and students with exceptionalities and mainstream students.

27. Assessment MeasuresControl Group Results

28. Assessment MeasuresQuiz Results-Variable Group

29. Assessment MeasuresPre-Quiz Control Group

30. Assessment MeasuresPre-Quiz Variable Group

31. Learning Results • When comparing the two classes, it is clear that students who used the Quia website scored higher on the final assessment; the unit test. • The following slides provide the numerical values and graphs to show the control and variable groups’ scores of the pre-test, test, and comparison of the two groups.

32. Learning ResultsControl Group • Control Group • Pre-Quiz • Boys: 3.5 • Girls: 4.1 • Post-Quiz • Boys: 7.4 • Girls: 8.3 • Pre-Quiz • Students with Exceptionalities: 1.7 • Mainstream Students: 4.5 • Post-Quiz • Students with Exceptionalities: 5.8 • Mainstream Students:9.2

33. Learning ResultsVariable Group • Control Group • Pre-Quiz • Boys: 3.7 • Girls: 3.9 • Post-Quiz • Boys: 9.1 • Girls:9.6 • Pre-Quiz • Students with Exceptionalities: 1.3 • Mainstream Students: 4.1 • Post-Quiz • Students with Exceptionalities: 7.5 • Mainstream Students:9.5

34. Learning Results- Control Group

35. Learning Results-Variable Group

36. Learning Results-Control Group

37. Learning Results-Variable Group

38. Analysis and Interpretation • When comparing the control and variable classes it is clear that the class which used the Quia website. • Both classes made significant improvements from the pre-quiz to the post-quiz. However, those who used the Quia site made more significant growth. • This growth is especially seen within the students with exceptionalities. These students demonstrated a considerable increase of knowledge. The site allowed them to play games to reinforce the content and repeatedly test their comprehension through quizzes.

39. Analysis and InterpretationAligning with district standards • The use of Quia aims at answering the following district questions: • What is it that we want all students to learn – by grade level, by course and by unit of instruction? • How will we know when each student has acquired the intended knowledge and skills? • These questions are addressed through the use of the Quia site. The site asks students questions on all the essential content which addresses the state standard covered by the unit. We know the student has acquired the knowledge because the Quia website shows us how many questions each student answers correctly.

40. Reflections and Recommendations • After this study I would have no hesitation recommending this program to any teacher. The amount of money it costs for the site may seem like a lot of money but, according to my results, it is worth it. • However, it would be naive to say that the activities provided by Quia cannot be done by other websites free of charge. However, the organization and presentation of the activities and their results is unmatched by other sites. • The site is an excellent supplement to classroom instruction and should not be used in lue of a lesson or classroom instruction. • Students gave feedback about their thoughts on the site and said that they found it fun to use. • The control group scored lower on the post test than the variable group. This is to be accounted for by the use of the Quia activities as this was the only difference in instruction between the two classes.

41. Reflections and Recommendations • Instructional Strength-I feel that the strategies and methods I used to teach both classes were active and engaging. Students participated throughout the unit and the progress of the students demonstrates this. • Instructional Weakness-I think I could have done a better job with communicating my expectations and instructions for activities. I was pleased with all of the work completed by the students but I believe that I could have been clearer. This would have made more class time for learning.

42. Reflections and Recommendations • If I were to do this again I would include more quizzes on the Quia site for the students to complete. There were only two different quizzes and I believe that students would have benefited more if they had several different quizzes about the same content.

43. References and Acknowledgments A special thank you to Joe Strukel and the supportive Social Studies Department and Fairmont Junior and Senior High School. Bearson, Walter. Looking at Quia. 2005. <http://www.xomreviews.com/quia.com>. Education World. Quia Site Review. September, 1998. <http://www.educationworld.com/awards/past/r0998-14.shtml>. Fairmont School District. <www.fairmont.k12.mn.us>. Quia Corporation. “Quia”. 1998. <www.quia.com>.