CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem This study will explore the problem of insufficient student engagement in secondary schools. Specifically, the ideas presented in Choice Theory William Glasser’s (1988) will be applied as an attempt to motivate students in a freshman in the Classroom biology classroom. While the intent is to to specific measure all students’ response classroom methods, particular focus will be placed upon student groups for which state test data indicate a trend of not exceeding standards or not meeting standards. The Georgia End of Course Test data for 2009-2010 left me wondering what could be done to push more students beyond their current levels of performance. Across the board, it seemed that many of the students were capable of scoring higher than they did. Data also indicated a significant achievement gap between males and females as well as between Caucasians and African Americans. Aware of the fact that I cannot control out-of-school factors, I began to wonder, students bringing “Are some preconceived negative ideas about learning science into the classroom, and if so, can something be done in class to counteract the factors that brought them to these notions?” Glasser (1988) estimates that American public high schools typically have about fifty percent of their students successfully engaged in learning, while the other half either disengage or drop out of school altogether (p. 3). He adds that this truth persists even in affluent areas. Erwin (2005), a former teacher and current staff development specialist and do in education that turns exuberant little educational consultant asks, “What do we learning sponges into haters of all things educational?...Why is this happening? What can we do about (p. 16). it?”
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION Statement of the problem This study will explore the problem of insufficient student engagement in secondary schools. Specifically, the ideas presented in William Glasser’s Choice Theory in the Classroom (1988) will be applied as an attempt to motivate students in a freshman biology classroom. While the intent is to measure all students’ response to specific classroom methods, particular focus will be placed upon student groups for which state test data indicate a trend of not exceeding standards or not meeting standards. The Georgia End of Course Test data for 2009-2010 left me wondering what could be done to push more students beyond their current levels of performance. Across the board, it seemed that many of the students were capable of scoring higher than they did. Data also indicated a significant achievement gap between males and females as well as between Caucasians and African Americans. Aware of the fact that I cannot control out-of-school factors, I began to wonder, “Are some students bringing preconceived negative ideas about learning science into the classroom, and if so, can something be done in class to counteract the factors that brought them to these notions?” Glasser (1988) estimates that American public high schools typically have about fifty percent of their students successfully engaged in learning, while the other half either disengage or drop out of school altogether (p. 3). He adds that this truth persists even in affluent areas. Erwin (2005), a former teacher and current staff development specialist and educational consultant asks, “What do we do in education that turns exuberant little learning sponges into haters of all things educational?...Why is this happening? What can we do about it?” (p. 16).
Hardigree%20Proposal%20REV%20DRL%20121210.docx