Fall 2007- Spring 2008
The Effect of Math Sprint Competition in Student Achievement on SOL Mathematics Tests at Camelot Elementary School
Math Education: Math Sprints
Mentor: Dr. Darnell Johnson
Team Members: TreAsia Fields, Chelsea Goins, Shante Lyttle, and Tiwana Walton
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Abstract
Given Virginia’s Standards of Learning (SOL) (1995) mandates, Virginia’s elementary teachers and school leaders utilized research for teaching methods that encouraged gains on the end of course mathematics tests. The relationship between teacher motivation methods and student achievement on Virginia’s End of Course SOL Test for elementary deserves investigation. Virginia’s elementary students in grades three, four and five must maintain an annual pass rate to meet Annual Yearly Progress (AYP) as recommended by the national “No Child Left Behind Act” of 2001. Camelot Elementary School is a Title I school housing high concentrations of minority students who normally achieve lower test score gains than students in other schools. Camelot has a student population receiving at least seventy percent free and reduced lunch nested in a low middle class neighborhood in Chesapeake, Virginia.

This research was based on school effectiveness by developing and testing hypotheses about the specific relationships between student competition and state wide testing results in elementary mathematics in grades three and five at Camelot Elementary School in Chesapeake, Virginia. The study compiled data from the “Math Sprint Competition”, a series of student group related reviews of state released test items in a math test relay format. Research focused on methods for motivating an experimental group of students motivated by the use of a math sprint competition from 2005 to 2007 versus a control group of elementary students in mathematics for grades three and five from 2002 to 2004. Student learning activities were compared from teaching methods that included: direct instruction, problem-based learning, technology aided instruction, cooperative learning, manipulative, models, and multiple representations, communication, and study skills.

A group of twenty-four elementary teachers from Camelot Elementary School participated in this research to ascertain how frequently they used research-based teaching methods and determined the influence of teaching methods on their students’ achievement. A multiple regression analysis was used to show results from a 40-item state wide test for each grade level. Individual Pearson Product Moment Correlations were conducted to determine which variables possess strong and statistically significant relationships. This analysis determined if gains on the end of the year SOL scores were a result of an impact of the series of math sprint competitions used as motivators before each benchmark assessment leading to the SOL tests in 3rd and 5th grade mathematics.

Summer 2007

URE OMS TeraGRID
Mentors: Je'aime Powell and Keisha Wilkins
Team Members: Amanda Bland, Andrea Grumbles, Camden Hearn, and Tyrone Whitehurst
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The Center for Excellence in Remote Sensing, and Research (CERSER) utilizes very large data sets to compile visual representations of imagery downloaded from earth orbit satellites. This data is used to track plant life in the Dismal Swamp, ice sheet changes, temperature variations, and large storm tracking. To render such images often require the use of massive super computers, extended amounts of time, large amounts of internet bandwidth, and outside resources. In an effort to curtail these expenditures of time and resources, the task of creating a distributed computing infrastructure has been given. The software package methodology used to create the distributed computing network falls under the OpenGRID project standards from the OpenGrid Forum (OGF). This means that all software, and protocols are open source which elevate most if not all non-hardware related costs while creating a flexible and yet scalable infrastructure.
The primary goal for the GRID team is to setup a four (4) node grid with one (1) server and three (3) clients running Linux and OGF software. Unbutu® will be the preferred version of Linux to run both the server and clients. There are many versions of OGF software therefore a testing of multiple packages will be the determining factor. Once the node is setup and functional, it will be tested using a sample imagery data set.
The secondary goal for the team is to document how the GRID has been setup by creating a procedural guide, and Wiki to be used by other universities. The documentation will be house on a Linux based system running the LAMP (Linux Apache MySQL PHP) project standards with a Media Wiki interface. This will allow a collaborative atmosphere for document exchange along with a revision trail for future research projects.

Fall 2006- Spring 2007
Developing Standards and Practices for Archiving Multimedia Material
Mentor: Jeff Wood
Team Members: Jasmin Rivers and Tiwana Walton
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The Center for Excellence in Remote Sensing Education and Research (CERSER) at Elizabeth City State University is an umbrella for several funded projects. These projects include: The Northeastern Chapter of the IEEE-GRSS Society, The Center for Remote Sensing of Ice Sheets (CReSIS), NOAA's Educational Partnership Program at ECSU, The Undergraduate Research Experience in Ocean and Marine Science Program (URE OMS), as well as the Undergraduate Research Experience Program supporting undergraduate research at ECSU. These programs entail numerous special events that generate both video and photographic images. Reports and other documentation are also created to record the success and progress of each program.
A standard method of digitizing images, movies, and documents and documenting the attributes of these digitized files was developed during this project. Standard procedures utilizing the equipment currently in place were developed, tested, and refined in order to convert VHS formatted tapes and developed photographs into digital files. Software such as CapWiz and Hewlett-Packard flatbed scanning software were used to complete this process. These files were then annotated in a Microsoft Access database utilizing the Dublin Core Element Set as a standard. A combination of Microsoft Access and Active Server pages was then utilized to provide access to the digitized images and the attached metadata via the web.