Influence of Motivation, Scaffolded Knowledge Growth, Race and Gender upon the Use of Technology for Middle School Science Learning.

The goal of this study was to unpack the role that variables such as motivation, scaffolding, race and gender played as one hundred 8th grade students, in a school and community environment that puts them educationally at-risk, sought to learn thermodynamics in a nine week unit, aided by a computer-based learning environment. A basic model for science learning was developed from the literature, with core components of prior knowledge, scaffolded knowledge growth, and motivational constructs. Interactions with the model from the race and gender of the students were also examined. The components of this basic model were based on paradigms such as “knowledge as elements” for science learning, goal orientation and Sagor’s CBUPO for motivation, and Scaffolding Design Framework for scaffolding learning with technology. The curriculum design relied upon state standards and principles of Project-Based Science, while the technology environment used was ELabBook, a product of the Computer as Lab Partner project. The study employed a time-series repeated measures design. Multiple measures including tests, surveys, interviews, and assessments of student artifacts were used to triangulate towards the findings. Linear regression was used to identify key variables representing each component of the basic model, and correlations were used to highlight important relationships and suggest probable cause based on chronology. Outcomes of the study include: a) giving credence to the basic model, b) identifying the four different aspects of scaffolded knowledge growth that contributed to learning, c) supporting the idea that African-American students perform better in an environment more aligned to Black Cultural Ethos, d) illustrating that low science self-efficacy in female students is not necessarily enhanced by high achievement, e) suggesting that feelings of belonging and potency were the aspects of motivation found to contribute most to learning, with additional clarification needed about the motivational value of competition, and f) highlighting students’ desire for stellar cognitive and visual interface performance of classroom technologies. Chapter three of the thesis, which describes the curriculum design and classroom dynamics, will hopefully inform STEM initiatives such as ITEST Strategies that seek to blend core science learning with engineering problem-solving in a middle school classroom.PhDEducationUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/97822/1/rarubio_1.pd