"Beyond the walls" [electronic resource] : a research study of eighth-grade students mentored in a hospital setting /
Beyond the Walls: A Research Study of Eighth-Grade
Students Mentored in a Hospital Setting
This research study was designed to evaluate twelve eighth-grade students participating
in the fourth year of a mentoring program to determine what effect the mentoring experience
would have on the students' sense of a scientific community, their understanding of scientific
knowledge and process skills and attitudes toward science. The mentoring program was
developed through a partnership established between the researcher, an eighth-grade science
teacher at a junior high school, and an administrator of a local hospital, to provide educational
opportunities for students mentored by medical professionals.
The research design included qualitative and quantitative methods of analysis. The
qualitative instruments were student journals and interviews. The quantitative instruments
included the science subtest of the Stanford Nine Achievement Test, a Student Attitude Toward
Science Survey (STATS), and a Hospital Questionnaire. The findings indicate that mentoring
developed the students understanding of a scientific community, revealed a wide range of
attitudes and had a positive effect on the students' scientific knowledge and process skills.
Finally, this research study has shown the benefits of mentoring as a model for teaching science
in a community setting beyond the walls of the school.
School:West Virginia University
School Location:USA - West Virginia
Source Type:Master's Thesis
Keywords:mentoring in education science junior high school students
Date of Publication: