Date of Award
2003
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Fischler Graduate School of Education and Human Services
Advisor
Joan Mignerey
Committee Member
Barbara Packer
Keywords
academic competencies, achievement, after school tutoring, applied dissertation, classroom visitations, cross-age tutoring, data analysis, effective instructional techniques, FCAT, fifth-grade students, Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test, mathematics achievement, mathematics instruction, mathematics program, mathematics test, peer tutoring, problem-solving skills, pause-prompt-praise system, scale score, Silver Burdett Ginn, STAR, Standardized Test for Assessment in Reading, statistical significance, supplementary components, team meetings, textbook test, three-tiered tutoring program, tutoring
Abstract
Fifth-grade students failed to achieve grade-level standards in mathematics. This applied dissertation was designed to increase fifth-grade students’ mathematical achievement on five measures including the Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test (FCAT) scale score, FCAT level score, FCAT NRT score, Silver Burdett Ginn textbook test, and the Standardized Test for Assessment in Reading (STAR) and mathematics test.
A comprehensive mathematics program was created to meet the needs of the fifth-grade students. Teachers implemented a three-tiered mathematics-tutoring program including peer tutoring, one-on-one after-school tutoring, and cross-age tutoring. Three supplementary components to the program included weekly team meetings, mathematics instructional content and practices, and classroom visitations. Researched based, effective mathematics instructional techniques and practices were identified, modeled, and implemented in the classrooms. Students collaborated on a wide range of academic competencies during class wide peer tutoring. The pause-prompt-praise system refined and expanded problem-solving skills for fifth and third grade students during cross-age tutoring sessions. In addition, an after-school-tutoring program utilized strategic tutoring with students who scored in the lowest quartile on the FCAT.
An analysis of the data revealed that four of the five outcomes predicted were met and five of the five measures used showed significant gains. Based on the five measures, an increase in scores from the pretests to the posttests was observed. This increase is considered statistically significant at the < .01 level and shows that it is not likely that this increase has come about by chance. Therefore, it is reasonable to believe that the outcomes of this applied dissertation could be applicable to other fifth-grade classes with similar student populations in the county.