I spent some time with on the georgetown website, excel, and a math teacher here trying to find the statistical significance of the research. I could not figure out how to obtain the statistical information. By casual observing, I could tell there was a change from the pre-test to the post-test but was unable to see this numerically. Not only do I want to know the statistical change, if any, but I want to know how to do it myself in the future (preferably in a spreadsheet). Please advise in this area.
At a point during this assignment I had an idea that would be interesting to pursue in the spirit of this project. When I was determining how I would present the material to each class I had to decide whether to: lecture and present information; put together good quality resources; or a combination. From this came the question of whether students learn "better" by being presented material, that the instructor has acquired from a given source and deems important, or by being given access to the same source and having the freedom of acquiring information independently. It is assumed that the source of information has more information than the instructor can convey to the students but that it is all relevant to what the instructor is trying to teach. Sometimes I get the idea that students are not interested or can not stay focused on all the information I may presenting. It may also be the way or manner in which I am presenting the information that keeps them from acquiring and retaining the information. It seems that if I could summarize, give directions, and guidelines and then give access to the same resources, the students would be able to move through the material and find what piques their attention. Thus, producing better educated and enthusiastic students.