Date of Award

2018

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

Sub-Department

College of Education

First Advisor

Toby Jenkins-Henry

Abstract

One of the biggest determining factors of effective education is the implementation of standardized testing as a way to access students and hold schools accountable. Some educators argue that this system of accountability has done more harm than good. Many teachers have adopted a teach to the test approach to learning as they succumb to the pressures of high stakes testing linked to performance evaluation. Many educational scholars agree that instructional practices must cater to the needs and interests of the learner in order to yield positive results. The so-called, Net Generation, learns differently from their predecessors and these students are currently in middle-level schools requiring a more technologically integrated curriculum and instructional experience. The present action research study involves the implementation of a technology-integrated, blendedlearning rotational model in an eighth-grade social studies classroom in South Carolina. The research question associated with the identified problem of practice follows: What are the perceived effects of a technology- integrated, blended-learning rotational model on student achievement in an eighth-grade, social studies classroom? A six-week study was conducted using a one-group pretest/posttest method to determine the impact a blended approach has on the students. Participants included seventy-one eighth grade students in a northwestern South Carolina middle school. The second stage of the study involved the collecting and analyzing of data. The developing stage involved the creation of an action plan based on the data results. Lastly, an overall reflection of the study was done to address implications for future research.

Rights

© 2018, Amanda Mings

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