AbstractsEducation Research & Administration

In this study, the active learning technique think-pair-share was tested in an independent high school non-honors chemistry classroom to see if it was more effective than teaching techniques already being used in the chemistry classes. Two classes of tenth grade chemistry students were combined as a test group and a third class of tenth grade chemistry students acted as the control. Learning gains for pre and post-tests from three different chemistry units were analyzed and no significant difference was found between the results of the control and test groups, indicating that think-pair-share was as effective as teaching methods already in place. Power analysis indicated that results had a low chance of showing a significant difference between the learning gains for the two groups. An attitude survey given after the study was over indicated that students felt more comfortable in the classroom when cooperative learning techniques were employed. Advisors/Committee Members: Wischusen, E. William (committee member), Longstreth, David J. (committee member), Larkin, John (chair).