Effects of constructivisitic summer science activities on the initial academic achievement of culturally diverse in-coming ninth-grade students

his research examined the effect of a summer science bridge program designed to assist incoming ninth grade secondary school students gain high initial academic achievement in all courses especially science, mathematics and engineering technology. First Step is the title of this program.;Investigated was the influence First Step's social and academic (socio-academic) activities on students' perceived motivation (M), self-regulated learning (SRL), achievement goal orientation (AGO) and initial level of achievement in ninth grade academic courses. First Step activities were founded on motivation principles reflected in Eccles (1983) expectancy-value model, its application to present day students (Schunk & Zimmerman, 1994; Pintrich et. al., 1994) and the instructional delivery principles of constructivism (Brooks, 1993). Ninth grade students from Oxon Hill High School's (Maryland) culturally diverse Science and Technology Program (STP) participated in the study. The 108 students attending First Step made up the treatment group. The remaining 37 students not attending First Step formed the control group. A quasi-experimental modified Non Randomized Control-Group Pretest-Posttest Design (Isaac and Michael, 1984) measured the effect of First Step. A version of the Motivated Strategies for Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) language adjusted to the STP setting (MSLQ-STP), (Pintrich and DeGroot 1990), (Ames & Archer, 1988) measured changes in M, SRL and AGO variables. The MSLQ-STP was administered to the treatment group on the opening day of First Step (MSLQ-STP,...