Ordered Effects of Technology Education Units on Higher-Order Critical Thinking Skills of Middle School Students

Abstract

In this quasi-experimental quantitative study, 105 eighth grade students at a suburban middle school in New York State participated in a seven month-long project involving the ordered effects of the technology education units of Lego[R] Mindstorms(TM) NXT Robotics System, Digital Storytelling with Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, and the Marble Maze Challenge on the higher-order critical thinking skills as measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level X. The 105 students were separated into six groups. Each group worked on the three problem-solving technology education units in a strategic order. This study extends the research of Lewis (1999) and Hansen (1995) in technology education curriculum reform and ventures into an unexplored area of ordered technology education curriculum implementation. It was concluded that the ordered effects of the technology education units of Lego[R] Mindstorms(TM) NXT Robotics System, Digital Storytelling with Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, and the Marble Maze Challenge on the higher-order critical thinking skills as measured by the Cornell Critical Thinking Test, Level X did not have a statistically significant effect on students' higher-order critical thinking skills, nor did the effects vary by gender, age, or the learner's academic category (this is the category a student is placed in, based on the level of their mathematics and science courses). Although quantitative findings did not show statistically significant effects of the ordered technology education units of Lego[R] Mindstorms(TM) NXT Robotics System, Digital Storytelling with Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, and the Marble Maze Challenge, the results of this study provide signs that a controlled process of strategic, ordered implementation of Lego[R] Mindstorms(TM) NXT Robotics System, Digital Storytelling with Microsoft Windows Movie Maker, and the Marble Maze Challenge has a positive effect on students' higher-order critical thinking skills. There are also indications that females benefited more from the use of the three technology education units than males. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone [phone]. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]