Effects of one special school on gifted and high ability students' project quality, academic ...

231 Pages·2012·3.51 MB·English

by  April Coleman

EFFECTS OF ONE SPECIAL SCHOOL ON GIFTED AND HIGH ABILITY STUDENTS‟

PROJECT QUALITY, ACADEMIC ENGAGEMENT, AND INVESTMENT
IN ACADEMIC LEARNING

by

APRIL NEWMAN COLEMAN
JANE NEWMAN, COMMITTEE CHAIR
ED ELLIS
JUDY GIESEN
JAMES SIDERS
VIVIAN WRIGHT

A DISSERTATION

Submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements
for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy
in the Department of Special Education
and Multiple Abilities
in the Graduate School of
The University of Alabama

TUSCALOOSA, ALABAMA

2012
Copyright April Newman Coleman 2012
ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
ABSTRACT
The 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.
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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.

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DEDICATION

This dissertation is dedicated to Jeff and Kate.
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ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

“If I have seen a little further, it is by standing on the shoulders of giants” (Newton,
1976). The completion of this journey never would have been possible without the unending
support and encouragement from my dear family, friends, teachers, and students who have
blessed my life with their presence.
First, I would like to extend my sincere appreciation to my dissertation committee
members, whose instruction and affirmation guided me throughout each step of this process. To
my chair, Dr. Jane Newman, working for and with you has been a true joy. Thank you for
sharing your wisdom about teaching and research, for sharpening my writing abilities, and for
your continual encouragement to work toward my professional goals while keeping family first.
I am grateful for your friendship and collegiality. To Dr. Jim Siders, I appreciate your continual
affirmation and openness to sharing ideas; I will miss our brainstorming sessions! To Dr. Judy
Giesen, thank you for instilling in me the skills and confidence of an effective researcher, and,
most of all, enjoyment of the process. Your kindness and dedication of time will not be
forgotten. To Dr. Vivian Wright, I appreciate your guidance and optimism; I have utmost
admiration for you, personally and professionally. To Dr. Ed Ellis, I am grateful for the wealth
of knowledge about research design delivered through your course, as well as your keen insight
and suggestions that strengthened my study.
To my former colleagues and graduate school friends, I cannot thank you enough for
your assistance, support, and friendship throughout my doctoral program. I extend special
appreciation to the ladies who helped with my data collection: Lori White, Michele Pettis,
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Kristin Frangoulis, Jodi Williams, and Susan Dunham. I also have utmost gratitude for my
personal friends and prayer warriors who always seemed to provide a word of encouragement, a
helping hand, or laughter when needed most, especially Ginny White, Sarah Hughes, Rachel
Eubanks, Amanda Odom, Rebekah Stevens, Chandria Shaw, and Rachael Franklin.
In addition, I am grateful for my former teachers who instilled in me a love for learning
and set forth a model for what education should be, especially Carol Faulkner. Her classroom
and character epitomized effective teaching and active learning, and I am so thankful for her
enthusiasm, thoughtfulness, and nurturance of my creativity.
Last, but certainly not least, I owe my deepest appreciation to my family. As I have said
many times over the past three years, attainment of this degree has been a family effort! To my
parents, George and Joy Newman, and my grandparents, Bob and Janice Newman and the late
Bernice and Margaret Dean Butler, you have always believed in me and provided 100% support
in everything I have ever attempted, both with your words and presence. Without you, I would
not be where I am today. Thank you for teaching me the value of education and hard work and
for encouraging me to go for my dreams. To my parents and parents-in-law, Tommy and Peggy
Coleman, thank you for your cheerful assistance with babysitting. Completing a graduate
program with a young child would have been impossible without your help. To my brother,
Blake, thank you for sharing your laughter and computer assistance. Finally, I owe utmost
gratitude to my husband, Jeff, who has been an endless source of support and patience and my
biggest encourager throughout this process. Thank you, Jeff, for believing in me when I didn‟t
believe in myself, for your prayers, and for all the sacrifices you have made for our family. I
couldn‟t have done this without you, and I look forward to a new, less busy season for our
family. To Kate, you are my sunshine! You will probably not remember the time when Mommy
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was in school, but thank you for always being a reminder of the things that are most important in
life.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to
accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think” (Ephesians 3:20).
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CONTENTS

ABSTRACT .................................................................................................................................... ii

DEDICATION ............................................................................................................................... iv

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ...............................................................................................................v

LIST OF TABLES ........................................................................................................................ xii

LIST OF FIGURES ..................................................................................................................... xiii

1 INTRODUCTION .....................................................................................................................1

Statement of the Problem .....................................................................................................5

Purpose of the Study ............................................................................................................7

Research Questions ..............................................................................................................7

Significance of the Study .....................................................................................................9

Definition of Terms..............................................................................................................9

Assumptions .......................................................................................................................11

Limitations .........................................................................................................................12

2 REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE ...............................................................................14

Introduction ........................................................................................................................14

Evolution of 21st Century Skills ........................................................................................15

Theoretical Foundations...............................................................................................16

Experiential Learning Environments ...........................................................................21

Historical Background on Gifted Education Services and Programs .............................33

Progression of Definition and Identification of Gifted Students ..............................34
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Influences on American Gifted Education ................................................................39

Recommendations for Modern Gifted Programming ...............................................48

Creative Productivity ......................................................................................................50

Instructional Model for Facilitating Creative Productivity .......................................51

Research on Student Development of Creative Products .........................................56

Special Schools and Programs for Advanced Learners ..................................................58

Characteristics and Needs of Gifted Students ...........................................................58

Ability Grouping as a Service Option for Gifted Adolescents .................................61

An Overview of Special Schools and Programs .......................................................67

Overview of The Renaissance Academy ..................................................................72

Summary .........................................................................................................................81

3 RESEARCH METHODS ........................................................................................................82

Research Design..............................................................................................................82

Participants ......................................................................................................................84

Student Participants ..................................................................................................85

Teacher Participants ..................................................................................................86

Measures .........................................................................................................................86

Student Product Assessment Form............................................................................87

Classroom Observation Scales-Revised (COS-R) ....................................................88

My Class Activities (MCA) Survey ............................................................................90

Interviews ..................................................................................................................92

Procedures .......................................................................................................................93

Organization of Site Visits ........................................................................................93

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