Note: This Example Has Multiple Hypotheses; It Is More Typical to Have Only One

Applied Subproblem Example**

** Note: this example has multiple hypotheses; it is more typical to have only one.

Subproblem question: Is the Allatoona Ally coloring book contest an effective way to reach out to the public youth and inform them of water conservation?

Hypothesis A: Fourth and fifth graders learn more about water conservation and how to employ this knowledge through participation in the Allatoona Ally Coloring Book Contest.

Hypothesis B: Students will implement water conservation techniques at home due to their participation in the coloring book project.

Hypothesis C: Teachers will have consistent suggestions for improvements to the Allatoona Ally program.

Criteria to collect data:Students and teachers participating in the Allatoona Ally Water Conservation Coloring Book Project at Sope Creek Elementary School will be surveyed by the student research intern.

Procedure:

Hypotheses A & B

The student researcher intern will work with the seven elementary teachers at Sope Creek Elementary School in the Water Conservation Allatoona Ally Coloring Book Contest project. Permission will be obtained from the teachers and students participating in the program in order to survey them about the program. After the unit on water conservation has been performed in all seven classrooms, the researcher will create a survey and take it to the elementary school. Participating teachers will be asked to have their students fill out the survey within one week of completing this unit at school. (See the Survey questions below). The rankings and applications used by the students in their homes will be collected from the surveys and placed in Table 1

Hypothesis C

The student researcher intern will survey the seven participating teachers in the Allatoona Ally Water Conservation program within a week after the unit and ask for suggestions of improvement to the program before implementing next year. (See survey question below). The teacher suggestions will be placed in Table II. The student researcher and mentor at the Allatoona Ally Water Conservation will analyze the comments for consistency of most popular suggestions. These will be used for recommendations of improvement for next year’s program.

Data Tables

Table I. Hypotheses A & B(Student Responses)

Classes / I learned more about using less water / I now try to use less water at home / My family is using less water because of me / Applications used at home I learned from the program
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Table 1. Hypotheses A & B

Student Survey Instructions:

To determine if the Allatoona Ally program is successful in the fourth and fifth grades, Please rate each item on a scale of one to ten. If you don’t feel strongly use a (1) or if you feel very strongly (10) about the statement.

Rate (1-10)

______1. I learned more about using less water because of this program

______2. I try to use less water at home

______3. My family is using less water because of me

1. Average Rank:

2. Average Rank:

3. Average RanK:

After completing the survey, please answer these questions:

What have you learned from the program that you now use at home?

Did you do this before the program? Yes or N

Table II Hypothesis C (Teacher Suggestions)

Teachers / Suggestions of how Programs Can Be Improved
1
2
3
4
5
6
7

Hypothesis C

Teacher Survey:

What improvement(s) do you suggest for the Allatoona Ally program to be more effective?

Criteria to Support or Not Support

If the average of each question #1-3 is 7 or higher, I will support my hypothesis.

If at least 60 % of students surveyed, give an application that demonstrates conservation of water at home as a result of the unit completed that they were not doing at home prior to the unit, the hypothesis will be supported.

If there are at least 2 Consistent Improvements Suggested by the Teachers determined by the analysis from the student research intern and mentor, the hypothesis will be supported.