Effects of one special school on gifted and high ability students' project quality, academic engagement, and investment in academic learning

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dc.contributorEllis, Edwin
dc.contributorGiesen, Judy L.
dc.contributorSiders, James A.
dc.contributorWright, Vivian H.
dc.contributor.advisorNewman, Jane L.
dc.contributor.authorColeman, April Newman
dc.contributor.otherUniversity of Alabama Tuscaloosa
dc.date.accessioned2017-03-01T16:34:08Z
dc.date.available2017-03-01T16:34:08Z
dc.date.issued2012
dc.descriptionElectronic Thesis or Dissertationen_US
dc.description.abstractThe purpose of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of Renaissance Academy (RA), one recently developed full-time special program for students (Grades 6-8) interested in the arts, sciences, and technology, as compared to a traditional gifted/advanced program. Subjects included 226 students and 10 teachers in both programs. A mixed methods design was employed to answer three research questions regarding student outcomes in project quality, academic engagement, and investment in academic learning. Student products were assessed by external raters using the Student Product Assessment Form (Reis, 1981). To evaluate academic engagement, class observations were conducted using the William and Mary Classroom Observation Scales-Revised (VanTassel-Baska, Bracken, & Drummond, 2003). Students completed the My Class Activities survey (Gentry & Gable, 2001) to report perceptions toward academic interest, challenge, choice, and enjoyment. Qualitative measures included observations and interviews with students and teachers. Findings indicated that experimental group students had significantly higher project quality scores than comparison group students as measured by independent t tests, and influential factors included choice, depth and complexity, and audience authenticity. Descriptive statistics revealed that experimental group students displayed engagement behaviors more frequently and at a higher level than comparison group students, with notable differences in general behaviors, problem solving, and research strategies. Multivariate analyses revealed that overall, experimental group students scored significantly higher than comparison group students on the subscales of interest and enjoyment, and grade level comparisons yielded differing results. Qualitative analyses supported and provided insight into quantitative results. Findings from this study supported previous research on full-time programming for advanced learners and delineated specific factors that may influence program effectiveness in engaging and challenging gifted adolescents.en_US
dc.format.extent231 p.
dc.format.mediumelectronic
dc.format.mimetypeapplication/pdf
dc.identifier.otheru0015_0000001_0000985
dc.identifier.otherColeman_alatus_0004D_11170
dc.identifier.urihttps://ir.ua.edu/handle/123456789/1472
dc.languageEnglish
dc.language.isoen_US
dc.publisherUniversity of Alabama Libraries
dc.relation.hasversionborn digital
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Electronic Theses and Dissertations
dc.relation.ispartofThe University of Alabama Libraries Digital Collections
dc.rightsAll rights reserved by the author unless otherwise indicated.en_US
dc.subjectGifted education
dc.titleEffects of one special school on gifted and high ability students' project quality, academic engagement, and investment in academic learningen_US
dc.typethesis
dc.typetext
etdms.degree.departmentUniversity of Alabama. Department of Special Education and Multiple Abilities
etdms.degree.disciplineSpecial Education
etdms.degree.grantorThe University of Alabama
etdms.degree.leveldoctoral
etdms.degree.namePh.D.
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