Date of Conferral

2021

Degree

Doctor of Education (Ed.D.)

School

Education

Advisor

Michael M. Brophy

Abstract

Technology-based learning tools provide new opportunities to engage students in learning academic content. This study focuses on one such tool, Play Lu Interactive Technology (PLIT), and analyzes how students’ math achievement on standardized test scores differs between students who have used PLIT and students who have not. PLIT is designed to improve students’ communication and teamwork skills in addition to math skills. The data were collected from seventh-grade students at a public school in the state of New York that used PLIT to support students’ academic achievement in math. Due to scheduling limitations, only half of the seventh-grade students used PLIT in addition to the regular math curriculum, which was taught to both the experimental group (i.e., the PLIT users, n = 33) and the control group (n = 33) by the same teacher. Using test scores from the previous year’s math scores (2017-2018) as a baseline, this causal-comparative study compared the experimental and control groups’ scores after the PLIT intervention. Data were analyzed using ANCOVA with a between-group design in SPSS 26. Results showed a significant difference in students’ scores on the New York Math Test in the 2018–2019 school year while controlling the previous year’s math scores. PLIT group showed a higher mean score in their New York State Math Exam than the non-PLIT group. The findings can inform education professionals and schools on the possible impacts of PLIT technology in math classes. Implementing the instructional strategies learned from this study could improve students’ communication, collaboration, and teamwork skills and enhance teaching and student knowledge in math classrooms, resulting in improved student achievement as a positive social change.

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