The purpose of this study was to determine whether a Constructivist approach to teaching, or a varied approach is most effective in teaching a first-year Spanish class at the secondary level. The sample for this study consisted of 40 high school students enrolled in a Spanish I course. All students were given a pretest at the beginning of the second marking period. The test was developed by the researcher, and covered all the concepts that were to be taught throughout that marking period. One class was instructed using a Constructivist approach to teaching, while the other class received a varied instructional approach. At the end of the second marking period, the students took the same test, a posttest. It was hypothesized that the students receiving the varied instructional approach would perform better on the posttest than those receiving instruction through a constructivist approach. Pre and Posttest results were analyzed using a two-way mixed ANOVA. Although results revealed inconclusive in terms of methodology, both groups improved regardless of instructional approach used.
","abstract_html":"<p>The purpose of this study was to determine whether a Constructivist approach to teaching, or a varied approach is most effective in teaching a first-year Spanish class at the secondary level. The sample for this study consisted of 40 high school students enrolled in a Spanish I course. All students were given a pretest at the beginning of the second marking period. The test was developed by the researcher, and covered all the concepts that were to be taught throughout that marking period. One class was instructed using a Constructivist approach to teaching, while the other class received a varied instructional approach. At the end of the second marking period, the students took the same test, a posttest. It was hypothesized that the students receiving the varied instructional approach would perform better on the posttest than those receiving instruction through a constructivist approach. Pre and Posttest results were analyzed using a two-way mixed ANOVA. Although results revealed inconclusive in terms of methodology, both groups improved regardless of instructional approach used.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Ferus, Christina Di Mento"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"M.A. in School Psychology","degree_level":"Thesis","degree_discipline":"Educational Services and Leadership","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":2004,"date_issued":"2004-05-04T07:00:00Z","date_published":"2004-05-04T07:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:04Z","subjects":["Second language acquisition--Methodology; Spanish language--Study and teaching (Secondary)--United States","Educational Psychology"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1147","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Ferus, Christina Di Mento"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date.available","label":"Dc Date Available","values":["2016-04-24T07:00:00Z"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Educational Services and Leadership"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["M.A. in School Psychology"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Second language acquisition--Methodology; Spanish language--Study and teaching (Secondary)--United States","Educational Psychology"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1147"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["The purpose of this study was to determine whether a Constructivist approach to teaching, or a varied approach is most effective in teaching a first-year Spanish class at the secondary level. The sample for this study consisted of 40 high school students enrolled in a Spanish I course. All students were given a pretest at the beginning of the second marking period. The test was developed by the researcher, and covered all the concepts that were to be taught throughout that marking period. One class was instructed using a Constructivist approach to teaching, while the other class received a varied instructional approach. At the end of the second marking period, the students took the same test, a posttest. It was hypothesized that the students receiving the varied instructional approach would perform better on the posttest than those receiving instruction through a constructivist approach. Pre and Posttest results were analyzed using a two-way mixed ANOVA. Although results revealed inconclusive in terms of methodology, both groups improved regardless of instructional approach used.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Second language acquisition: a study of a constructivist approach to teaching versus a varied approach, and its effectiveness in a first-year Spanish class at the secondary level"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Klanderman, John","Dihoff, Roberta"],"dc:creator":["Ferus, Christina Di Mento"],"dc:date.available":["2016-04-24T07:00:00Z"],"dc:description.abstract":["The purpose of this study was to determine whether a Constructivist approach to teaching, or a varied approach is most effective in teaching a first-year Spanish class at the secondary level. The sample for this study consisted of 40 high school students enrolled in a Spanish I course. All students were given a pretest at the beginning of the second marking period. The test was developed by the researcher, and covered all the concepts that were to be taught throughout that marking period. One class was instructed using a Constructivist approach to teaching, while the other class received a varied instructional approach. At the end of the second marking period, the students took the same test, a posttest. It was hypothesized that the students receiving the varied instructional approach would perform better on the posttest than those receiving instruction through a constructivist approach. Pre and Posttest results were analyzed using a two-way mixed ANOVA. Although results revealed inconclusive in terms of methodology, both groups improved regardless of instructional approach used.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1147"],"dc:subject":["Second language acquisition--Methodology; Spanish language--Study and teaching (Secondary)--United States","Educational Psychology"],"dc:title":["Second language acquisition: a study of a constructivist approach to teaching versus a varied approach, and its effectiveness in a first-year Spanish class at the secondary level"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Educational Services and Leadership"],"thesis:degree_level":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_name":["M.A. in School Psychology"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T04:14:04Z"}