Masters Theses

Date of Award

12-2001

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Major

Human Resource Development

Major Professor

Randal Pierce

Committee Members

Vickie Stout, Mike Winstead

Abstract

The modular classroom has become a widespread tool that is being used in many middle schools as well as high schools nationwide. Two of the classes affected by the modular setting in the Tennessee Public School System is Foundations of Technology and Diversified Technology. In a modular classroom setting students are required to work in groups of at least two, and together they must complete specific tasks in order to obtain a passing grade. The students must be able to interact with each other in order to complete their assignments before they are allowed to move to the next module. The purpose of this study was to determine values for pairing students with an emphasis on Foundations of Technology and Diversified Technology in the Knox County School System. Foundations of Technology is considered a special area course in middle school and Diversified Technology is an elective course in high school. This study focused on whether teachers in middle school would pair students differently than teachers in high school, teachers with 0-10 years of teaching experience paired students differently than teachers with 11 or more years teaching experience, and if all teachers would rate certain pairing methods higher. Does the students age, gender, ethnicity, or some other factor affect the teacher's decision about which two students should be paired together? The dependent variable of this study was the test instrument that was in the form of a questionnaire. The independent variable of the study consisted of the population chosen. The general description of the participants in the study was Foundations of Technology and Diversified Technology teachers in the Knox County School System in the 2000, 2001 school year. The results yielded some significant differences between the way middle school teachers and high school teachers paired students. There were also some significant differences between the way teachers with 0-10 years experience and teachers with 11 or more years experience paired students. A significant difference in the value of some pairing methods compared to other pairing methods was also found.

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