Date of Award

Spring 5-1-2015

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Chair

Kyna Shelley

Committee Chair Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 2

Lilian Hill

Committee Member 2 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 3

Thomas Lipscomb

Committee Member 3 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Committee Member 4

Richard Mohn

Committee Member 4 Department

Educational Studies and Research

Abstract

Research has continued to support the need for investigating the role of pedagogical models in relation to students’ statistical anxiety, statistical self-efficacy, and academic performance within statistics education. Although models in the literature such as the Cognitive Apprenticeships Model of Instruction (CA-MOI) have emerged and have shown positive educational outcomes for teaching disciplines that involve the use of complex tasks (Kuo, Hwang, Chen, & Chen, 2012; Poitras & Poitras, 2011; Wegner, 2011), only one study has actually measured the degree to which this model was implemented, using the Maastrict Clinical Teaching Questionnaire (MCTQ) (Stalmeijer et al., 2008). Consequently the problem lies in the notion that researchers are claiming to use this model of instruction and are making generalizations about the effectiveness of the model, yet are failing to measure if and to what degree this method of instruction is actually being implemented within their classroom(s) and/or fields.

Although the scores on the MCTQ have been validated in the literature as an evaluation instrument based on the CA-MOI, the MCTQ is specifically geared toward measuring supervisory skills in clinical education and consequently may not be an appropriate instrument for determining the degree to which a CA-MOI is being implemented within statistics education. In aiming to resolve the current measurement issue, the purpose of this study was to first develop an instrument that reflects the instructional methods of the CA-MOI in statistics education called the MCASE (Measuring Cognitive Apprenticeship in Statistics Education), secondly to receive expert review on the items, third to test and validate the instrument on a select group of college students, and lastly to determine what relationships, if any are found among students who report being taught using a CA-MOI, and their self-reported statistical anxiety, statistical self-efficacy, and academic performance.

A total of 628 college students from across the nation participated in the current study. When collectively comparing scores on the SAM, the CSSE, and student’s self-reported academic performance with scores on the MCASE, results illustrated that utilizing a CA-MOI helped a student’s statistical anxiety, statistical self-efficacy, and his or her academic performance. Furthermore, results of this dissertation suggest that a cognitive apprenticeship model of instruction can be measured in statistics education and be represented by a seven-dimension solution: modeling, coaching, articulation, comparative reflection, true reflection, instructor-guided exploration, and true exploration.

Moreover, the MCASE provides to date the most useful and theoretical measure of a cognitive apprenticeship model of instruction within statistics education, which can be rephrased to fit other fields of study that claim to use a CA-MOI. Additional findings and implications from this study for educational settings in which a CA-MOI may be utilized are provided, as well as limitations and recommendations for future research.

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