Master of Education Research Theses
Date of Successful Defense
5-2004
Date Degree Awarded
5-2004
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Master of Education (M.Ed.)
School/Department
Education
Advisor
Stephen S. Gruber, Ed.D.
Keywords
technology, first grade classrooms
Abstract
How are first grade classrooms using technology? How are children using technology at home? Does the use of technology really improve academic achievement? An experiment was conducted to determine the effectiveness of using technology to teach a unit in Social Studies to first grade students. The study occurred in a Christian school in Lancaster, Ohio using thirty-seven first grade students. One class comprised the control group with Social Studies instruction taught in a traditional manner. The other class was the experimental group, which used technology such as the Internet, PowerPoint Presentations, and video and audio recordings to provide the instruction. One Social Studies unit was used in the six-week study with an assessment taken each week. Independent-Samples T-Tests were done on the six assessments. Only one of the assessments showed a significant difference in scores in favor of the experimental group. The other five assessments did not show a significant difference. Due to the experimental group having one of the assessments showing a statistically significant difference, and to the fact that the means were higher on four of the other tests, although not significantly, the researcher is encouraged that technology does provide a difference in student achievement. When combined with the increase in interest and enjoyment of the students using technology, technology appears to be a positive motivation for student achievement.
DOI
10.15385/tmed.2004.3
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 License.
Recommended Citation
Phalen, Loretta J., "A Teacher's Approach: Integrating Technology Appropriately Into a First Grade Classroom" (2004). Master of Education Research Theses. 5.
https://digitalcommons.cedarville.edu/education_theses/5
