Third Grade Classrooms and Foldables Essay Example for Free

Third Grade Classrooms and Foldables Essay Good educators, especially in the lower levels of education, are always looking for effective ways to improve students’ learning and interest in subjects that may not be as appealing. Any activity that promotes reading and encourages critical thinking is especially valued by teachers (Angus, 1993). One of the key developments promoted by Zike is the use of Foldables in the classroom (2007). These are three-dimensional hands-on manipulative/graphic organizers. Foldables can quickly organize, display and arrange data making it easier for students to grasp concepts, theories, processes, facts, and ideas, or to sequence events as outlined in the content standards. They can result in student-made study guides that are compiled as students listen for main ideas, read for main ideas, or conduct research (Zike, 2007). This study examined the use of Foldables to promote the reading and retention of social studies information with third grade students and to enhance their attitude toward social studies (Zike, 2007). It was hypothesized that Foldables do have a positive influence on learning in the classroom, more so than using the standard lecture/worksheet technique. Specifically, comparisons on cognitive and affective assessment measures were made between those taught using Foldables and those taught using lecture with worksheets. The Experiments This study took place in an elementary school in a rural community in East Tennessee. Manufacturing and retail are the major area employers and residents are in the low to middle income level. One out of 11 elementary schools in the county was selected for this study, based on convenience (Casteel, 2006). The K-5 school where the study took place had 625 students enrolled, with over 95% being white students. Of those 625 students, 63% receiving free or reduced lunch, which gives an idea about the income status of the family (Casteel, 2006). Out of five third grade classrooms, three were randomly selected to participate in the study. The first classroom was referred to Classroom A, while the second one was referred to as Classroom B. According to Casteel’s findings, students from the third classroom were randomly divided in half with half the students joining Classroom A and half joining Classroom B for this study (2006). The resulting gender distribution for Classroom A was 15 male and 14 female, while for Classroom B it was 16 male and 11 female. A control group experimental design was used in this study. In the first two week period of instruction on history timelines, Classroom A (n=29) served as the control group while Classroom B (n=27) served as the treatment group (independent variable). In the second two week period of instruction on maps, Classroom B became the control group while Classroom A served as the treatment group. The treatment groups were taught the subject through the use of Foldables, while the control groups were taught the subject using lecture with worksheets (Casteel, 2006). At the beginning of the unit, a pretest (dependent variable) toward social studies was administered to each student, along with a cognitive measure of knowledge on history timelines. At the end of the unit, the measure toward social studies was again given, along with the knowledge on history timelines (Casteel, 2006). These were the posttest measures. The treatment and control groups were then switched and another measure of knowledge on maps was given as a pretest to each group. The posttest measure from the first instructional time period served as the pretest for the second instructional time period. At the end of the second instructional unit on maps, the measure of social studies was again administered along with the measure of knowledge on maps (Casteel, 2006). Results and Conclusions Initially the pretest scores of the two groups were compared to ensure that they had equivalent attitudes toward social studies, which they were. The changes in scores from pretest to posttest for each group (Lecture/Worksheet and Foldables) were then compared using a paired samples t-test. Casteel researched that the Lecture/Worksheet group had a . 69 point mean gain from pretest to posttest, which was not statistically significant, while the Foldables group had a 2. 67 point mean gain from pretest to posttest, which was statistically significant (2006). This study was designed to compare the effectiveness of two teaching methods (Lecture/Worksheet and Foldables). The Lecture/Worksheet and Foldables groups had equivalent pretest scores, meaning they were equivalent in attitudes toward social studies at the beginning of the units. Only those taught with Foldables had a significant increase from pretest to posttest on affective scores (Casteel, 2006). The experimental data indicated that Foldables are a promising alternative to the traditional method of Lecture/Worksheet. Using Foldables significantly improved students attitudes toward the material (Zike, 2007). Additionally, teachers who participated in the study commented about the improvement in attitudes when using the Foldables. Furthermore, several teachers indicated that students were applying the Foldables across the curriculum, for example, using them to learn fractions as a part of a math unit. One teacher commented that when using Foldables there were fewer discipline problems since the students remained more engaged with the material (Zike, 2007). This preliminary research indicated that an improvement in attitude is possible through the use of the Foldable technique.