Year of Award

2018

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Type

Doctor of Education (EdD)

Degree Name

Curriculum and Instruction

Other Degree Name/Area of Focus

Teaching and Learning

Department or School/College

College of Education and Human Sciences

Committee Chair

Martin Horejsi

Commitee Members

David Erickson, Roberta Evans, Patty Kero, Heidi Rogers

Keywords

educational technology, engagement, intelligent personal assistance

Abstract

Intelligent personal assists are as a software tool utilized by millions of consumers to interact with their smartphone, tablet, laptop or desktop computer, or smart speaker. As more mobile and computer operating systems offer the feature, more classrooms and ultimately students will have access to one of these tools, either on a school-purchased device or a personal device.

The aim of this study was to look at a specific implementation of Siri, an intelligent personal assistant platform, in upper elementary and middle school science classrooms. The researcher utilized the lense of student engagement to measure the impact of the implementation of Siri.

To that end, the research proposed the research question: Does implementation of the intelligent personal assistant Siri via purposeful introduction and instruction increase engagement of middle school science students or upper elementary students?

The research question is answered utilizing a quasi-experimental model that measures engagement via the Engagement Versus Disaffection with Learning-Student Report instrument, pre- and post-treatment. The treatment involved teachers introducing Siri to treatment groups and then encouraging appropriate use. The researcher analyzed results utilizing descriptive statistics, paired-sample t-test, and the Wilcoxon Signed Rank test.

The researcher found only one statistically significant result out of 24 tests conducted. After analysis of changes in student use and student perception of engagement across all tests, along with an analysis of effect sizes, the research was not able to find persuasive evidence to reject the null hypothesis.

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© Copyright 2018 Jason Patrick Neiffer