Masters Thesis

The impact of interactive science notebooks on middle school students

The use of interactive notebooks has become a trend in numerous classrooms particularly in the teaching of science in the K-12 grades. With minimal research available on the impact of these notebooks on the academic success of students the purpose of this thesis is to gain a comprehensive understanding of how impactful the use of science notebooks are among middle school students and resolve the questions: Do the 5 E’s and scientific notebooks contribute to the academic writing of science in middle school classrooms? Do the 5 E’s and scientific notebooks impact how middle school students learn and process scientific reading concepts within the classroom? Based on the successes and failures of two separate qualitative notebook studies, conducted with forty-six middle school students, recommendations as to their effectiveness can be determined. In order to gain the in depth knowledge required a pilot study and formal study methodology will be utilized with anecdotal information, rubric evaluation, and categorical coding guiding the evaluation process. It was determined that science notebooks did increase student learning in the areas of reading and writing.

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