Standards-based instruction is helping to meet the cognitive needs of many students, but whether or not the affective needs of students are being addressed is unknown. This study attempts to answer the question: Do high school teachers who use standards-based instruction practices at a high level address affective domain objectives less than those who utilize standards-based instruction practices at a low level? In this chapter, the participants of the study will be described, as well as the setting that the study utilizes. This will be followed by a look at the instrumentation that was employed. The details necessary to conduct the study are outlined in the procedures set forth. The research design will be explained and data analysis procedures will be clarified.
Design
The design of this research uses nonequivalent groups that are not randomly assigned. To assist in achieving equal groups, the matching method will be based on demographic data obtained in part one of the instrument, which will help account for a lack of randomized groupings in this causal-comparative study. Matching pairs reduces the likelihood that extraneous variables will disrupt the study. Extraneous variables can disrupt a study byproviding an alternative explanation or possible cause to the relationship in the variables other than that which is being investigated. Bicak (2003) matched groups in his study based on subject taught, grade level taught, and gender. This study will attempt to match groups using the same criteria.