Singleton, Michele Ann Lowers
(2007)
A Study of the Impact of Cross-age Tutoring on an Elementary Spanish Distance Education Program.
Doctoral Dissertation, University of Pittsburgh.
(Unpublished)
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to explore the impact of and potential factors associated with utilizing high-school-aged students as on-site tutors to assist elementary students in a Spanish distance education program. The study focused on the qualitative and quantitative exploration of the participants' affective attitudes toward learning Spanish, mode of instruction, high school tutors, and Spanish culture. To document the achievement, attitudes, and motivation of the elementary and high school students, a combination of quantitative and qualitative data was collected through five methods: student questionnaires, self-assessment, prochievement interview, journal entries, and final exam.The distance education foreign language program randomly divided fifth-grade classrooms into two equal groups. One-half was exposed to the high school tutors and the other half was not. Thirty-six fifth-grade elementary students participated in this study; nineteen were tutored students and seventeen were nontutored students. Three high school seniors served as tutors. The findings indicated that the presence of cross-age tutors in a distance education setting does not seem to make a difference in either attitude or achievement. Although the tutors provided useful assistance and benefits in terms of motivation and increased interest in learning a foreign language, the most important finding in this study is that learning occurred in both the tutored and nontutored Spanish distance education classroom.
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Details
| Item Type: |
University of Pittsburgh ETD
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| Status: |
Unpublished |
| Creators/Authors: |
|
| ETD Committee: |
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| Date: |
27 June 2007 |
| Date Type: |
Completion |
| Defense Date: |
24 January 2007 |
| Approval Date: |
27 June 2007 |
| Submission Date: |
18 April 2007 |
| Access Restriction: |
No restriction; Release the ETD for access worldwide immediately. |
| Institution: |
University of Pittsburgh |
| Schools and Programs: |
School of Education > Instruction and Learning |
| Degree: |
PhD - Doctor of Philosophy |
| Thesis Type: |
Doctoral Dissertation |
| Refereed: |
Yes |
| Uncontrolled Keywords: |
cross-age; distance education; distance teaching; Donato; elementary education; foreign language; secondary education; Singleton; Spanish; technology; tutoring; tutors; University of Pittsburgh; video conferencing |
| Other ID: |
http://etd.library.pitt.edu/ETD/available/etd-04182007-171434/, etd-04182007-171434 |
| Date Deposited: |
10 Nov 2011 19:38 |
| Last Modified: |
15 Nov 2016 13:40 |
| URI: |
http://d-scholarship.pitt.edu/id/eprint/7290 |
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