Date
2011
Department
School of Education
Degree
Doctor of Education (EdD)
Chair
Tracey B Pritchard
Primary Subject Area
Education, Technology; Education, Tests and Measurements; Education, Secondary
Keywords
Attitudes, Currciulum, Ethnicity, Gender, Grade, NXT Robotics
Recommended Citation
Jewell, Sandra Lyn, "The Effects of the NXT Robotics Curriculum on High School Students' Attitudes in Science Based on Grade, Gender, and Ethnicity" (2011). Doctoral Dissertations and Projects. 438.
https://digitalcommons.liberty.edu/doctoral/438
Abstract
This study examined the effects of the NXT Robotics curriculum on high school students' attitudes about science. A quasi-experimental research design was employed in the evaluation of the NXT Robotics class. The program was evaluated by comparing the attitudes and interests of 57 students who participated in the elective NXT Robotics class and not a science class, and 57 students who participated in a science class and not the elective NXT Robotics class. While a treatment group and a control group were compared, the groups were intact groups chosen out of convenience rather than through random assignment into the treatment and control groups.
The Test of Science-Related Attitude (TOSRA) was given to students through a pretest and posttest spaced 8 weeks apart. The students were surveyed to determine their attitudes concerning, science inquiry, enjoyment of science lessons, leisure interest in science, and career interest in science, based on grade level, gender, and ethnicity. Analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) served as the method of data analysis for the study.
The data used in this research study determined that for attitude of science inquiry there was little difference by grade level, gender, and ethnicity. The analysis of the data for enjoyment of science lessons showed a significant difference between 12th and 9th grade students and 12th and 10th grade students by grade level. There was very little difference between the males and females. By ethnicity there was a significant difference between the White, non-Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic students. The data for leisure interest in science showed very little difference by grade level and gender, but a significant difference by ethnicity between the White, non-Hispanic and Black, non-Hispanic students. The data analyzed for career interest in science showed a significant difference by grade level between 9th and 11th graders and between 9th and 12th graders. There was very little difference between the genders, but for ethnicity there was a significant difference between the Black, non-Hispanic and the White, non-Hispanic students. There was also a significant difference between the Black, non-Hispanic and Hispanic students for career interest in science.
