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- All Subjects: Education
- Creators: School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences
Description
This paper considers what factors influence student interest, motivation, and continued engagement. Studies show anticipated extrinsic rewards for activity participation have been shown to reduce intrinsic value for that activity. This might suggest that grade point average (GPA) has a similar effect on academic interests. Further, when incentives such as scholarships, internships, and careers are GPA-oriented, students must adopt performance goals in courses to guarantee success. However, performance goals have not been shown to correlated with continued interest in a topic. Current literature proposes that student involvement in extracurricular activities, focused study groups, and mentored research are crucial to student success. Further, students may express either a fixed or growth mindset, which influences their approach to challenges and opportunities for growth. The purpose of this study was to collect individual cases of students' experiences in college. The interview method was chosen to collect complex information that could not be gathered from standard surveys. To accomplish this, questions were developed based on content areas related to education and motivation theory. The content areas included activities and meaning, motivation, vision, and personal development. The developed interview method relied on broad questions that would be followed by specific "probing" questions. We hypothesize that this would result in participant-led discussions and unique narratives from the participant. Initial findings suggest that some of the questions were effective in eliciting detailed responses, though results were dependent on the interviewer. From the interviews we find that students value their group involvements, leadership opportunities, and relationships with mentors, which parallels results found in other studies.
ContributorsAbrams, Sara (Author) / Hartwell, Lee (Thesis director) / Correa, Kevin (Committee member) / Department of Psychology (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
A thorough understanding of the key concepts of logic is critical for student success. Logic is often not explicitly taught as its own subject in modern curriculums, which results in misconceptions among students as to what comprises logical reasoning. In addition, current standardized testing schemes often promote teaching styles which emphasize students' abilities to memorize set problem-solving methods over their capacities to reason abstractly and creatively. These phenomena, in tandem with halting progress in United States education compared to other developed nations, suggest that implementing logic courses into public schools and universities can better prepare students for professional careers and beyond. In particular, logic is essential for mathematics students as they transition from calculation-based courses to theoretical, proof-based classes. Many students find this adjustment difficult, and existing university-level courses which emphasize the technical aspects of symbolic logic do not fully bridge the gap between these two different approaches to mathematics. As a step towards resolving this problem, this project proposes a logic course which integrates historical, technical, and interdisciplinary investigations to present logic as a robust and meaningful subject warranting independent study. This course is designed with mathematics students in mind, with particular stresses on different formulations of deductively valid proof schemes. Additionally, this class can either be taught before existing logic classes in an effort to gradually expose students to logic over an extended period of time, or it can replace current logic courses as a more holistic introduction to the subject. The first section of the course investigates historical developments in studies of argumentation and logic throughout different civilizations; specifically, the works of ancient China, ancient India, ancient Greece, medieval Europe, and modernity are investigated. Along the way, several important themes are highlighted within appropriate historical contexts; these are often presented in an ad hoc way in courses emphasizing technical features of symbolic logic. After the motivations for modern symbolic logic are established, the key technical features of symbolic logic are presented, including: logical connectives, truth tables, logical equivalence, derivations, predicates, and quantifiers. Potential obstacles in students' understandings of these ideas are anticipated, and resolution methods are proposed. Finally, examples of how ideas of symbolic logic are manifested in many modern disciplines are presented. In particular, key concepts in game theory, computer science, biology, grammar, and mathematics are reformulated in the context of symbolic logic. By combining the three perspectives of historical context, technical aspects, and practical applications of symbolic logic, this course will ideally make logic a more meaningful and accessible subject for students.
ContributorsRyba, Austin (Author) / Vaz, Paul (Thesis director) / Jones, Donald (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
DescriptionThis project examines the television industry today, especially the field of educational programs. It includes the detailed implementation of one such show, a 30-minute demonstration of life skills, split into 3 segments. The pilot episode is also included.
ContributorsKesting, Amanda Jean (Author) / Alvarez, Melanie (Thesis director) / Snyder, Brian (Committee member) / Glaser, Ann (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication (Contributor)
Created2013-05
Description
Previous research discusses students' difficulties in grasping an operational understanding of covariational reasoning. In this study, I interviewed four undergraduate students in calculus and pre-calculus classes to determine their ways of thinking when working on an animated covariation problem. With previous studies in mind and with the use of technology, I devised an interview method, which I structured using multiple phases of pre-planned support. With these interviews, I gathered information about two main aspects about students' thinking: how students think when attempting to reason covariationally and which of the identified ways of thinking are most propitious for the development of an understanding of covariational reasoning. I will discuss how, based on interview data, one of the five identified ways of thinking about covariational reasoning is highly propitious, while the other four are somewhat less propitious.
ContributorsWhitmire, Benjamin James (Author) / Thompson, Patrick (Thesis director) / Musgrave, Stacy (Committee member) / Moore, Kevin C. (Committee member) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics (Contributor)
Created2014-05
Description
Engineers have a strong influence on everyday lives, ranging from electronics and trains to chemicals and organs [1]. However, in the United States, there is a large knowledge gap in the roles of engineers, especially in K-12 students [2] [3]. The National Academy of Engineering (NAE) recognizes the current problems in engineering, such as the dominance of white males in the field and the amount of education needed to become a successful engineer [4]. Therefore, the NAE encourages that the current engineering community begin to expose the younger generations to the real foundation of engineering: problem-solving [4]. The objective of this thesis is to minimize the knowledge gap by assessing the current perception of engineering amongst middle school and high school students and improving it through engaging and interactive presentations and activities that build upon the students’ problem-solving abilities.
The project was aimed towards middle school and high school students, as this is the estimated level where they learn biology and chemistry—key subject material in biomedical engineering. The high school students were given presentations and activities related to biomedical engineering. Additionally, within classrooms, posters were presented to middle school students. The content of the posters were students of the biomedical engineering program at ASU, coming from different ethnic backgrounds to try and evoke within the middle school students a sense of their own identity as a biomedical engineer. To evaluate the impact these materials had on the students, a survey was distributed before the students’ exposure to the materials and after that assesses the students’ understanding of engineering at two different time points. A statistical analysis was conducted with Microsoft Excel to assess the influence of the activity and/or presentation on the students’ understanding of engineering.
The project was aimed towards middle school and high school students, as this is the estimated level where they learn biology and chemistry—key subject material in biomedical engineering. The high school students were given presentations and activities related to biomedical engineering. Additionally, within classrooms, posters were presented to middle school students. The content of the posters were students of the biomedical engineering program at ASU, coming from different ethnic backgrounds to try and evoke within the middle school students a sense of their own identity as a biomedical engineer. To evaluate the impact these materials had on the students, a survey was distributed before the students’ exposure to the materials and after that assesses the students’ understanding of engineering at two different time points. A statistical analysis was conducted with Microsoft Excel to assess the influence of the activity and/or presentation on the students’ understanding of engineering.
ContributorsLlave, Alison Rose (Author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Parker, Hope (Committee member) / Harrington Bioengineering Program (Contributor, Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
The objective of this research study is to assess the effectiveness of a poster-based messaging campaign and engineering-based activities for middle school and high school students to encourage students to explore and to pursue chemical engineering. Additionally, presentations are incorporated into both methods to provide context and improve understanding of the presented poster material or activity. Pre-assessments and post-assessments are the quantitative method of measuring effectiveness. For the poster campaign, ASU juniors and seniors participated in the poster campaign by producing socially relevant messages about their research or aspirations to address relevant chemical engineering problems. For the engineering-based activity, high school students participated in an Ira A. Fulton Schools of Engineering program "Young Engineers Shape the World" in which the students participated in six-hour event learning about four engineering disciplines, and the chemical engineering presentation and activity was conducted in one of the sessions. Pre-assessments were given at the beginning of the event, and the post-assessments were provided towards the end of the event. This honors thesis project will analyze the collected data.
ContributorsBueno, Daniel Tolentino (Author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Parker, Hope (Committee member) / Chemical Engineering Program (Contributor) / School of Historical, Philosophical and Religious Studies (Contributor) / W. P. Carey School of Business (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2017-05
Description
In modern society, computer science (CS) professionals are necessary in the workforce. A growing number of fields and disciplines require the analytical and programming skills that come from a CS education. Despite the growing demand for programmers, the dropout rate within undergraduate CS programs remains high. In an effort to improve retention and make CS more accessible, I prototyped a mobile application that will help students through the principal deterrents that students face in their undergraduate years. Utilizing survey responses from 51 peers I determined the core courses and concepts within the CS curriculum that provoked the most concern to select the topics covered in the mobile application. The results show that the major barrier courses are CSE 310: Data Structures and Algorithms, CSE 340: Principles of Programming Languages, and CSE 355: Introduction to Theoretical Computer Science. Also using interviews and market research, I went through an iterative design process until I arrived at my final prototype that provides users a visual timeline of their program, examples for each individual topic, the ability to interact with other users, and create quizzes covering content they learned. This prototype is intended to lead to a fully developed application that will prepare and encourage students to further their professional careers in CS.
ContributorsRoldan, Jorge (Author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Trowbridge, Amy (Committee member) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Grade inflation in modern universities across the United States has been documented since the 1960's and shows no signs of disappearing soon. Responses to this trend have ranged from mild worry to excessive panic. However, is the concern justified? How significant are the effects, if any, of grade inflation on students? Specifically, does grade inflation on the aggregate level have any effect on how much an individual will learn from their courses? This is precisely the question my project hoped to address. Grade inflation in U.S. colleges has played a central role in student-teacher relationships and the way university classrooms run. Through teacher interviews, student surveys, and a literature review, this paper investigates the nuanced effects grade inflation is having on student motivation and learning. The hypothesis is that the easier it is for a student to obtain their desired grade, the less they will end up engaging in and learning from a given course. Major findings of the literature include: grade inflation has robbed grades of their signaling power, grade inflation has helped create students are too grade-oriented, student evaluations of teaching have prompted higher grades, higher expectations for high grades induce greater study times, and open dialogue can help reverse grade inflation trends. The student surveys and faculty interviews agreed with much of the literature and found that professors believe grade inflation is real but do not believe its effects are significant, students admit to being primarily motivated by grades, and students find grades critically important to their future. The paper concludes that grade inflation is not as detrimental to student outcomes as ardent critics argue and offers practical ways to address it.
ContributorsGregory, Austin Scott (Author) / Ruediger, Stefan (Thesis director) / Goegan, Brian (Committee member) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Department of Economics (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
As a member of the National Academy of Engineering’s Grand Challenge Scholars Program (GCSP) and the new Next Generation Service Corps (NGSC), I began this project interested in investigating the benefits and outcomes of these programs on my development throughout my undergraduate experience. Since interdisciplinarity is a core component of both programs, my thesis focused on the development and analysis of a survey to measure the interdisciplinary competence of undergraduate students in various programs and majors throughout ASU. In order to develop the survey items, we adapted questions by Lattuca, et al, which only analyzed the interdisciplinary competence of engineering students. Based on our responses, the quantitative data surfaced some interesting discrepancies between students in engineering and non-engineering majors. Broadly, the data also showed that students in GCSP and NGSC have higher interdisciplinary competence, implying there may be some benefits to both. Additionally, a preliminary theme analysis of the qualitative data seems to demonstrate that students appreciate a wide variety of opportunities to be exposed to disciplines outside of their primary major, and programs such as GCSP and NGSC which highlight interdisciplinarity expose students to opportunities they otherwise wouldn’t have known about. In the future, I would recommend evaluating the impact of students’ motivations for joining each program and examining the possible implications on their interdisciplinary competence. There are other outcomes that weren’t examined as part of this study, so it may also be interesting for future researchers to investigate other components of each program like the impacts of service learning or entrepreneurial experiences.
ContributorsChen, Diana Karen (Author) / Ganesh, Tirupalavanam (Thesis director) / Trowbridge, Amy (Committee member) / Watts College of Public Service & Community Solut (Contributor) / Computer Science and Engineering Program (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2019-05
Description
A working knowledge of mathematics is a vital requirement for introductory university physics courses. However, there is mounting evidence which shows that many incoming introductory physics students do not have the necessary mathematical ability to succeed in physics. The investigation reported in this thesis used preinstruction diagnostics and interviews to examine this problem in depth. It was found that in some cases, over 75% of students could not solve the most basic mathematics problems. We asked questions involving right triangles, vector addition, vector direction, systems of equations, and arithmetic, to give a few examples. The correct response rates were typically between 25% and 75%, which is worrying, because these problems are far simpler than the typical problem encountered in an introductory quantitative physics course. This thesis uncovered a few common problem solving strategies that were not particularly effective. When solving trigonometry problems, 13% of students wrote down the mnemonic "SOH CAH TOA," but a chi-squared test revealed that this was not a statistically significant factor in getting the correct answer, and was actually detrimental in certain situations. Also, about 50% of students used a tip-to-tail method to add vectors. But there is evidence to suggest that this method is not as effective as using components. There are also a number of problem solving strategies that successful students use to solve mathematics problems. Using the components of a vector increases student success when adding vectors and examining their direction. Preliminary evidence also suggests that repetitive trigonometry practice may be the best way to improve student performance on trigonometry problems. In addition, teaching students to use a wide variety of algebraic techniques like the distributive property may help them from getting stuck when working through problems. Finally, evidence suggests that checking work could eliminate up to a third of student errors.
ContributorsJones, Matthew Isaiah (Author) / Meltzer, David (Thesis director) / Peng, Xihong (Committee member) / Department of Physics (Contributor) / School of Mathematical and Statistical Sciences (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2016-12