Learner characteristics and method in adjunct instruction

This investigation was designed first to determine the effect upon learning of various instructional treatments related to adjunct instruction, and second to determine the interaction of certain student characteristics with method in learning under these various instructional treatments. The term adjunct instruction is used to indicate instructional material designed to be used with other educational media, in this investigation, mainly the educational psychology textbook and secondarily with outside readings and instructor presentations.With respect to the treatments, the variables were format of the instructional material, as linear program or instructional quiz; the method of presentation of the instructional material, as teaching machine with immediate feedback and framed exposure, simple immediate feedback and framed exposure, simple immediate feedback device with open exposure, and delayed feedback device with open exposure; and the presence or absence of threat that the students’ performance on the instructional material would be counted as part of the final course grade.In the second aspect of the investigation, the following learner characteristics were studied with respect to learning or the various treatments: general mental ability, memory, ding, interest, attitude, general and test anxiety, and creativity.The subjects were 257 sophomore and junior level students enrolled in a course in educational psychology. The experimental unit was designed to be implemented in the assigned laboratory session, meeting one period per week and extending over a five-week period. The specially prepared linear programs and instructional quizzes were administered in the laboratory sessions.The criterion measure was a 44-item multiple-choice achievement test previously developed and tested in a pilot study. This measure was administered at the end of the experimental unit. The data concerning the eight learner characteristics were collected during the semester, prior to the administration of the criterion learning measure.The analysis of variance technique was employed to assess differences between instructional treatments. Two forms of this technique were utilized: the one-way analyses to test differences between the instructional variables, and the four-factor factorial to test for significant interactions. Where necessary, the Newman-Keuls test, an a posteriori method for testing differences, was utilized. As series of regression analyses were also run in which all eight learner characteristic variables were used in a single matrix to predict the dependent variable. No significant difference was found between the program the 'quiz, immediate and delayed feedback, open and controlled exposure to the instructional material, or the presence and absence of threat in the learning situation. The only significant postulated interaction occurred between the level of threat variable and the learner characteristic of mental ability. Here students of high ability operating in the non-threat situation scored significantly higher on the criterion test than the high ability group working under the threat rendition, and significantly higher than the low mental ability groups working in either the threat or the non-threat situations.Regression analyses were run for each of the two types of format, the three methods of presentation, and the two levels of threat. The reading test score appeared as a correlate in each of the seven sets of significant correlates. The multiple R for these sets of significant correlates ranged from .53 to .63. It was concluded that the level of multiple correlations remained essentially the same for the Seven analyses but that the set of predictor variables changed in the different instructional conditions.

Thesis (Ph. D.)