- Year 2016
- NSF Noyce Award # 1240064
- First Name Cheryl
- Last Name Adeyemi
- Discipline Mathematics
- Co-PI(s)
Patrice Waller, Virginia State University, pwaller@vsu.edu
Joyce Glaise, Virginia State University, jglaise@vsu.edu
Ken Williams, John Tyler Community College, kwilliams@jtcc.edu - Presenters
Cheryl Adeyemi, Virginia State University, cadeyemi@vsu.edu
Need
Noyce Scholars must pass the PRAXIS 2 Exams, student teach, seek teacher licensure, and secure employment in a high-needs educational secondary school to complete the program. CVUMSP has found that the passing of the PRAXIS 2 Exam has been one of the major roadblocks for scholars in many programs. This project has the potential to provide other Noyce programs with some critical insight into strategies that can be used to improve student success with the Praxis 2 exam.
Goals
The overarching goal of our project is to analyze, and share with other Noyce programs, the impact of our 3-year interventions to improve the success rate with Praxis 2 of our Noyce scholars.
Approach
From the theoretical framework of technological pedagogical content knowledge (TCPK), this study uses a mixed methodology approach to examine the impact of the CVUMSP Praxis 2 preparation activities and program. The participants are interns and Noyce scholars enrolled in the CVUMSP Robert Noyce program. Qualitative and quantitative data is gathered from various sources including: (i) pre and post Praxis tests, (ii) pre and post surveys/inventories, (iii) student interviews, (iv) digital stories, and (v) journals.
CVUMSP has utilized 2-3, end-of-semester Praxis Boot Camps, a host of test taking skills, in-depth practice using graphing calculators – Texas Instrument and the ETS version – flash cards, games, cooperative learning, and more. VSU Mathematics teachers are encouraged to take practice PRAXIS exams and to utilize PRAXIS type questions in their courses during the semesters.
Outcomes
CVUMSP scholars’ immersion in VSU’s rigorous mathematics program and in a host of Praxis 2 prep strategies has resulted in increases ranging from 15 % to 40 % in student’s individual and collective Praxis readiness and success. We have discerned several key variables that impact upon student success rate with the PRAXIS 2. Among the variables are the placement and results of students’ past high school and college mathematics experiences, along with psychological concepts including self-handicapping.
Broader Impacts
CVUMSP was asked, and encouraged, to pursue this research by PIs and CoPIs from other Robert Noyce programs. We have informally shared this information in discussions at various conferences we have attended; however, this project marks our effort to raise the bar in terms of research and dissemination of our results.
