The effects of a model-eliciting activity on high school student design performance

Huffman, Tanner J. Ph.D., Purdue University, May 2015. The Effects of a Modeleliciting Activity on High School Student Design Performance. Professor: Dr. Nathan J. Mentzer. Modeling allows students to become more effective designers. High school technology and engineering students engage in engineering design challenges as part of traditional instructional practices. Model-eliciting activities (MEA) present students with opportunities to elicit mathematically thinking that facilitates modeling. Students (n=266) from four schools completed a model-eliciting activity (MEA) and design challenge procedure. The research design utilized a quasi-experimental method, post-test only, with homogenous matching comparison groups based on possible confounding variables. A rubric was used to measure student design performance. Students in the comparison group (n=124) completed a traditional design challenge and were assessed on their design performance. Students in the treatment group (n=142) completed a MEA, a traditional design challenge and were assessed on their design performance. An analysis of covariance (ANCOVA) was used in order to discover if the difference in average design challenge rubric score from comparison group (42.56) to the treatment group (45.18) was statistically significant. A one-way multiple analysis of covariance (MANCOVA) was used to indicate if the differences in student average scores in each rubric category were significant. The ANCOVA did not reveal statistically significant evidence supporting the research question with regard to overall design performance. The Pillai’s Trace