Preparing Our Educators

Honors students showcase their research at luncheon

Honors students shared their research with family, friends, faculty and staff.

ATHENS, Ohio - The first class of students to take part in The Patton College's Connavino Honors Program presented their research to family, friends, faculty and staff at a luncheon on May 16.

Dean Middleton addressed the first-year students and attendees and thanked the parents for their support. “Your presence here is a motivating factor in your child’s education, so I applaud you for showing your support,” Middleton said.

Also in attendance were Ohio University President Roderick McDavis, a graduate of the former College of Education, and his wife, Ms. Deborah McDavis, First Lady of OHIO. President McDavis spoke to the students about the importance of honors programs.

“By offering high-achieving students like yourselves an enriched learning experience, we are able to challenge you in ways that traditional programs might now allow,” he said.

Dr. Howley addressed the accomplishments of the honors students.

Dr. John Hitchcock, assistant professor in The Patton College, introduced the research presentations of the students and explained their assignment. As part of their courses for the Honors Program, taught by Dr. Jerry Johnson and Dr. Gene Geist, the students were assigned to various local classrooms to observe. After completing observations, their task was to come up with a research question design a study and implement it to the best of their ability. The students were broken up into four groups to complete the assignment.

One group wanted to learn what it was like to teach Spanish to preschool-aged children. Through different controls and variables, the group found that the most successful way to teach the students was to adapt to individual needs.

Another group worked with Coolville Elementary and looked into how an online program called Learning First promotes student engagement. They found that students benefit from fewer lectures and more engagement via the program.

The third group observed in a classroom that was reading Shakespeare. A certain number of the students in the classroom received an extra assignment: perform a skit with the script of the original play transcribed into modern English. While the students did not necessarily score higher on exams because of the extra assignments, the researchers said the students seemed to enjoy the material more.

The final group worked with a seventh-grade class in the Federal Hocking district and studied the effects of homework on achievement. They found an 88 percent positive correlation between the two.

Story by Ashley Showen; Photos by Heather Anerino

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