The Effectiveness of The Gateway To Technology (STEM) Program
Name:
Megan Zirbel
Major: Education Administration
Hometown: Wheatland, WI
Faculty Sponsor:
Other Sponsors: Not Applicable
Type of research: Master's thesis
Funding: Not Applicable
Abstract
This study appraises the effectiveness of Gateway
to Technology (GTT) middle school STEM curriculum in an attempt to answer the
question “Does the GTT program improve a student’s academic growth in
comparison to traditional science curricula?” Data from a small, rural middle school was used to determine
the academic growth of sixth, seventh, and eighth grade students. Growth from the 2010-2011 school year
was compared to growth during the 2011-2012 school year in an attempt to answer
the study’s first research question:
What are the effects of implementation of GTT on academic growth of students. Second, the effect on the number of
years of program participation was analyzed. A third research question dealt with a comparison of the growth of
male students versus female students. The final research question explored the growth of special
education versus non-special education students. Data was analyzed using paired
t-tests and t-tests for each year of program implementation. The results of the study were mixed,
showing that upon the first year of implementation sixth grade students experienced
significant academic growth, while seventh and eighth graders did not. However, upon the second year of
implementation, participants experienced greater academic growth than in the
first year. Correspondingly,
females experienced a greater academic growth than males in the first year of
implementation. However, special
education students performed at levels similar to those of their non-special education
classmates. Ultimately, these
results insinuate further need for study.
Poster file
