Date of Conferral

2016

Degree

Ph.D.

School

Education

Advisor

Leslie VanGelder

Abstract

Low college readiness among high school graduates is a national problem. A significant percentage of graduates are referred to courses designed to remediate deficiencies in the basic skills of reading, writing, and mathematics. Initiatives designed to improve the student experience in remedial and developmental programs have focused on the use of technology. Although technology has been used in the teaching of writing, research has not shown that this method is an improvement when compared to the lecture-based approach to teaching writing. The purpose of this nonexperimental quantitative study was to examine the impact of a technology-based writing program on student academic achievement, retention, and success in the advanced English class when compared to the lecture-based program. A framework for the study was Piaget's theory of cognitive development, which emphasizes learning through active exploration. A sample size of 88 degree-seeking freshmen, under the age of 20, with ACT scores that placed them in developmental writing or learning support writing courses, was used in the research. Quantitative, secondary data were analyzed using Chi-square and Cramer's V tests. The results of the Chi-square analysis were significant (Ï?2(1) = 22.72, p < .001), indicating that the percentage of students who succeeded in their advanced English course was different between the technology-based and the lecture-based classes. This study has implications for positive social change in the form of empirical-based data, which may inform decisions relative to the design of writing programs across the country. This information would potentially impact the college completion initiatives employed at community colleges nationwide.

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