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MASSEY UNIVERSITY
AN EVALUATION OF MICROCOMPUTER ASSISTED INSTRUCTION FOR TEACHING WORD RECOGNITION TO MENTALLY RETARDED ADULTS
by
KENNETH ALLAN RYBA
A TIIESIS
PRESENTED IN PARTIAL FULFILMENT OF THE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE DEGREE OF
DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY IN
EDUCATION
FACULTY OF EDUCATION
PALMERSTON NORTH, NEW ZEALAND DECEMBER, 1980
•>' :· n M
KENNETH ALLAN RYBA, 1980
Ab stract
Th is study compared the utility of c omputer assi ted instruc
tion with more conv entional interper sonal tuition for teaching word recognition skills to mentally retarded adults . A second aspect of the research was to eval uate acquis ition , retent ion , and transfer of
learn ing us ing two c ommon methods of instruction ; the se were error less discrimination ( word-focus only) and paired as soc iate learning (picture
word focus) . Recognition of words was se lec t ed as the exp erimental task on the basis that th is was a practical academic area that trad itionally involves large amounts of teaching time , primarily with in th e realm of drill and practice procedures .
The samp le c ompr ised 5 2 subj ects who were drawn f rom three speci�l education fac il ities in Palmerston North , New Zealand ( a Special School, and two Vocat iona l Training Centres) . Subj e cts were screened initial ly
on tests of visual perception and letter discrimination to ensure that
they posses sed requi site ski lls to benefit f rom partic ipation in train
ing . Pre-testing was carried out to determ ine whether subj ects were ab le to r eca l l or recogn i z e any of the words to be taught . All subj ect s enter
ing the exper iment knew two or less of 16 words selected for inclus ion in the training programmes .
Subj ects wer e randomly ass igned to c omputer as sisted instruction or individual tuiti on groups with 2 6 per son s plac ed in each group . Within each group , sub j ec t s were again randomly al located to receive error less d iscrimination or p aired assoc iate modes of instruction . This 2 X 2 clas sification resu lted in 13 subj ects bein g placed in each subgroup . Two modules each containing eigh t words wer e used for train ing . Both the
ind ividual instruct ion and computer groups were given a total of 10 tra ining sess ions , or five sessions for each of the two module s .
A mod ified m icr ocomputer was inter f a ced with a sound-on-s l id e proj ector t o provide both audio and visual instruction . Parallel teach ing programmes were developed for administration by computer or ind ividual tui t ion . The f i r s t programme (errorless discr imination) required subj ects to select target words from a s eries o f inc reasingly comp lex word d iscri
minations with no p icture cues provid ed . A s econd teach ing method ( paired associate learning) involved the pair ing of p ictures and words . Sub j ects were ins truct ed to select target words f rom a list of printed items that mat ched referent photographs . Thirteen senior special educat ion students
(Teacher s Col lege Graduates ) carr ied out the individual training wh ile ii
the exper imenter supervised the computer b ased programmes .
Progress in training was assessed by compar ing pre- and post-test performance on Wor d Recognition (verbal lab elling) , Word Identif ication
( pointing on cue) , and P icture-Word Matching . Tr ansfer of learning was evaluated us ing situational tests requiring that subj ects match pr inted words with real l i f e ob j ects . Tests of retention were conducted four weeks after comp letion of training . A repeated measure s design was used with counterb alanc ing to control for po ssible con founding e f f ects of list order (Modules) .
The f indings revealed that b oth computer as sisted instruction and interpersona l tuit ion resulted in very similar learning outcomes with regard to acqui sition , retent ion , and tran s fer of learning . No rel iable dif ferences were f ound b etween the two groups or modes o f instruction in terms of training method . It was advanced that some common features
-.t: _ _ ..,.,...._ .... _'"" ... A .:- ... �-,,�+-;",., fo n
U.L. !"'.l.VO.Lc.a..u.u..u."'-� ..L..&.&.��.L_.._._....__ ... ,-•o• active participatio�i sPlf-p��ing, over-
learning , and immed iate feedback) may have accounted for these equal gains in pe r formanc e .
In respect to the question o f the potential ut ility of micro
pro cessor technolo gy in special education , th is res earch po int s to th e e f f icacy of computer ass isted instruction for drill and tutorial practic e . Specif ically , the computer prov ides a h igh ly structured learning exper
ience that h as th e potential to ass ist retarded learners in organising input material s . Evidence from th is study sugge sts that computer related learning environments give the adult learner cons iderab ly more control of the teach ing s ituation , and provide con s istent reinforcement that is not so readily administer ed through conventional forms of instruction . Final ly , it was proposed that the relatively impersonal , though highly interactive , nature o f the computer may avoid the triggering o f percep
tions of failure that can impede per formance of handicapped learners .
iii
Thi s d i sse r ta t ion is dedicated to my wi fe , Beth , who se understanding and suppo r t p rovided me wi th
the encouragemen t to comp l e te this work .
Acknowledgements
This thes is would not have been possible without the assistance of a large numb er of persons who contributed much time and effort . I
am particularly grateful to my Ch ief Supervis or , Dr . Alan Webster , who has p rovided me with excellent profess ional supervision , emotional sup p o rt , and inspiration throughout th e duration of th is resear ch .
Apprec iation is also due to Dr . Dan McKerracher who o f f e red sup e rvis ion and advice concerning the experimental des ign . I wish also to thank Dr . Lauran Sandals , Overseas Examiner , and Dr . David Mitchell , Exte rnal Examiner , for th eir criti cal appraisal o f th e diss ertation .
Dr . James Chapman contributed much appreciated advice , guidance and f r iendsh ip , particularly with regard to measurement and statistical as p e cts . I woul d also like to extend my appreciat ion to Mr . B ryan
Ch ristiansen and Dr . Ted Drawneek whose technical and programming exper
t i s e proved invaluab le in d evelop ing the micro computer-b as ed teaching system . Thanks are also due to Mr . Bas il Orr , Control Electronics Ltd . , who d es igned s ome of the sp ecial purpos e equipment used in this experi
ment .
I am extremely grate ful to the s taff of Awatapu Special Schoo l , Coo k Street Training Centre , and Aokautere Training Complex for support provided during the course o f th is investigation ; particularly , Mr . Don Budg e , Mrs . Glyn Robinson , Mr . Bruce Houghton , Mr . Alan Parry , and Mis s Ann Harris . S pecial appreciation is accorded t o Mr . John Doo l an, Admini
s trator , Manawatu Branch , New Zealand Society for the Intellec tually Hand i capped , f o r his continued support of this p roj ect .
My s incere thanks is o f f ered to the many trainees and s tudents who par ticipated in the training programmes . I t was a pleas ur e to work w i th this enthus ias tic group of learners. I am appreciative also of the as s i s tance rendered by Mis s Sheena Raj pal , B . S .W . s tudent , who conducted s ome of the ass essment and training s es s ions .
Thanks are also due to the Special Education S tudents f or the cons i derab l e t ime and energy they invested in the res earch . It would no t have been possible to conduct the inves t igation without this support .
I am grateful to Mrs . Bev Hawthorn and Mrs. Maryanne Nation for their assis tance in typing several sections o f this m anus cript with such ' speed and accuracy.
V
Appreciat ion is also due t o the New Zealand Institute o f Mental Re tarda tion and N ew Zealand Socie ty for the In tel lectually Handicapped who s e financial a ssistance enabled me to devo te full t ime and ef fort
to c ompletion of this researc h .
The f inal thanks go es t o my wife Beth . She has provided m e with much needed emo t ional suppo r t , encouragement , and unde rs tanding through the inevitable s t resses o f s tuden t life . Moreover , Beth typed a large par t of this dissertation and c ritically proo f-read the final dra f t . This wa s t ruly a team e f for t .
Tab l e o f Con ten ts
Chap t er Page
I INTRODUCTION AND OVERVI EW . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . 1 Purpose of the S tudy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6 I I REVIEW OF RES EARCH ON INFORMATION PROCESS ING :
ACQUISITION , RETENTION , TRANSFER OF LEARNING . . . 8 Introduction . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8 Procedural Variations .. ... ..... . . . ........ . . . 8 Error Factors . . • . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . 1 1 Re tention of Learning ... ...•.. •........... ....•.. 1 3 Trans fer o f Learning . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 1 8 S uiDIIla ry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 2
TTT REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON TEACHING WORD RECOGNITION . . . . . 2 4 Introdu ction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2 4 Defini t ion of a Social S ight Vo cabulary . . . 2 4 Ef fects of Extra S t imulus Dimens ion ............•. 2 5 Research Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . 2 7 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32 IV REVIEW OF RESEARCH ON PROGRAMMED INSTRUCTION AND
AUTOMATED TEACHING IN SPECIAL EDUCATION ...........• . 34 Introduction . . . • • . • . . • . • . • . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34 A Process Def inition o f Programmed Ins truct ion • .. 34 Programmed Ins truc t ion Res earch •....•.•..••.•••.. 36
Electromechanical Teach ing Machines 4 0
Computer Appl icat ions of Programmed Ins t ruction •. 4 5 Types o f Computer Assis t e d Ins t ruc tion •..••.•...• 4 7 Early Developments o f Computer As s is ted Ins truct ion 50 Computer Assis ted Ins t ruc tion Wi th Handicapped
P ersons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5 4 Summary and Implicat ions f o r Further Res earch on
CA! . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59 Res ear eh Ques tions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . 6 2 V DEVELOPMENT OF INSTRUMENTATION AND TEACHING PROGRAMMES 63 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 63
Backgro und to the S tudy 63
Equipment and Technical Modi fications •••••••••• •• 67 The Computer S oftware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70 Development of Computer Ass is t ed Ins truction
Courseware . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7 3 vii
CAI Training S equenc e : Errorless Discrimina tion 7 4 CAI Training S equence : Paired Associate Learning 78 Development o f Ind ividual Ins truc tion Programmes 81
Individual Tr aining Sequence : Error less
Dis criminat ion . . . . . • . • . . • • . . • . . • • . • . • • . . . . 82 Ind ividual Training Sequence : Paired
Associate Learning • . . . . . . • • . • . . . . . • . . • . • . • • . . . . 84 VI RESEARCH DES IGN AND PROCEDURES •. ..•.•.•.• .••.....•... 87
Introduction 87
Pilot Phase • • . . . • • . . . . • . • . • . • • . • • • . • • • . . • • . . . . • • . . 87 Trial Evaluat ion • . • . . • . . . . • . • . . • • . . . . . . • • . • . • . . • • . 89 S ub j ects • • . . . . • . . . . . . . • . • . • • . . . • . . • . • • . • . • . • . . . 89 Procedure • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . • . • . . • . . . . . . 9 0 Res ults .•••..• .•..•... •.•...•....... ..•..• .•••. 9 1
"' 7'-t
Screening of Subj ects . . . . . • . . . . • . . . • . . . • . . . . . • . . . . 9 5 Visual Dis crimination Tes t . . . . . . . • . . . . . . . . . . . 9 5 Word Recogni tion and Iden t i f i cation ............ 9 6 The S ample . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . 9 7 Procedure . . . . . . • . . . . . . • . . . . • . . . . • . . • . . . • . . . . . . . . . . 9 9 Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9 9 Evaluation Procedures .•.•••..•.... ..••.•...••.• lOO Training Adminis trat ion Pro cedures •.•.....•••.• 106 Hypotheses • • • • . • • • • . • • • . . • . • • • • • • . . • • • . • • • • • • • • • • • 1 16 Des ign . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 2 1 VII RESULTS ....... ..... ............ ............ ..... .... . 1 2 2 Descriptive Data ........... ............. .......... 1 2 2 S tatis t ical Analys is ••••-•••• ••.• ••••••• •••• .• ••••• 1 24
Word Recogni tion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 24 Word Identification • ••••• •••.•••••• •••••••••••• 1 30
P i cture-Word Matching • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 1 3 5 Trans fer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 140
Re tention . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 4
Time i n Training . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 4 9
Attemp ts to Mas tery •••••• ••••••••• ••••••• ••••• • 1 5 2 VIII DISCUSSION . . . . . . • . . • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • • • . . . . . . . . . . . . . . • . 156
Acqui s i tion of Learning •••• •••••••••••••••••••• ••• 1 56 Transfer of Learning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Re t ent ion of Original Learning . . . 168 Methods-Time Meas urement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1 7 1 I X CONCLUS ION AND EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS ............... 1 7 3 Bridging the Gap Between Invention and Innova tion . . 1 7 3 Lim i tations o f the S tudy .... ....................... 1 7 7 Sugges tions f or Future Research .......•............ 1 7 8 APPENDI CES
A . Survey o f Social S igh t Words .... ...• ............... 182 B . Visual Discriminat ion Tes t . ...•.................... 1 8 3 C . Word Recognition and Iden t i f i cation S creening Tes t . 1 88 D . Pre- and Pos t- Tes t Procedures . . . 1 9 1
E . Trans fer Tes ts 1 9 5
F . Training Pro cedures : Adminis tration and S coring . . . . 19 7 G . Raw S core Data ..................................... 2 1 0
Kt:f<'t:Kt:NCt:S • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 219
ix
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1 . Pilo t S tudy Pre-Ve rsus Po s t -Te s t Comparison • 92
2 . Pilot S tudy Number of At temp t s to Mas tery • • 92 3 . Vocabulary I tems Ar ranged By Mo dul e . • 1 0 3 4 . Age and Sex Dis t r ibut ion o f Subj e c t s 1 2 3 5 . I Q and Visual Dis criminat ion Score Dis t ribution
of Subj ec t s . . • . . • . • . . • • • • • • • 123 6 . ANOVA Summary Data for Mo dule 1 Word Reco gnition
Pre- Versus Po s t -Tes t Comparison ( Repea t ed Measure s ) . • 1 2 5 7 . Means and S tandard Devia t ions for Module 1
Word Recognit ion : Pre- Versus Po s t-Te s t Comparison 1 2 5
8. ANuvA Summa ry ua t a for Module 2 Word Keco gnition
Pre- Ve rsus Po s t -Te st Comparison ( Repea t ed Mea sure s ) . 1 26 9 . Means and S tandard Deviat ions for Mo dule 2 Wo rd
Re c o gnit ion : Pre- Versus Po s t-Te s t Comparison • 1 0 . ANOVA Summary Da t a for Mo dul e 1 Word Reco gnition
Lis t Order E f f e c t s . . • • . • . . • . • .
1 1 . Means and S tandard Devia tion s for Module 1 Word
126
1 2 8
Rec o gnit ion Lis t Order E f f e c t s . • • . • . • 1 2 8 12 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 2 Word Reco gnit ion
Lis t Order E f f e c t s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • . . 1 2 9
1 3 . Means and S tandard Deviations for Module 2 Wo rd
Reco gnition List Order E f f e c t s . • • • • • • . . 1 2 9 1 4 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 1 Word Iden t i f ication
Pre- Ve rsus Po st-Te s t Comparison ( Repea t ed Measure s ) • • 1 3 1 1 5 . Means and S tandard Deviat ion s for Module 1 Word
Ident if icat ion : Pre- versus Post-Te s t Compar ison • • • • 1 3 1 1 6 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 2 Word Iden t ific a t ion
Pre- Ver sus Pos t-Te st Compar i son ( Repeated Measure s ) • • 1 3 2 1 7 . Means and S tandard Devia tions f o r Module 2 Word
Identif ication : Pre- Versus Post-Te s t Compar ison • • • • 132 18 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 1 Word Iden t i f icat ion
L i s t Order Ef fec t s • • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 133 1 9 . Means and S tandard Deviat ions for Module 1 Wor d
Iden t i f ication L i s t Order E f fects • • • • • • 133
2 0 . ANOVA Summary Da ta for Module 2 Wo rd Identifica tion
List Order E f fec t s . . . . . . . . • . • . . • • . 1 34 2 1 . Means and Standard Devia tions for Module 2 Wo rd
Identificat ion List Order Effec t s • . . • • • 1 3 4 2 2 . ANOVA Summary D a t a f o r Modul e 1 Pic ture-Word Ma tching
Pre- Versus Po s t -Te s t Comparison ( Repea t ed Measures) • . 1 36 2 3 . Means and S tandard Devia tions for Module 1 Pic t ure-Word
Ma tching : Pre- Versus Pos t-Test Comparison . . • . . . . 1 36 24 . ANOVA Summary Da ta fo r Module 2 Pic ture-Wo rd Ma t ching
Pre- Versus Po s t-Te s t Comparison (Repea ted Measures) . . 1 3 7 25 . Means and S tandard Devia tions for Module 2 Pic ture-Wo rd
Ma tching : Pre- Versus Pos t-Test Comparison • . . . 1 3 7 26 . ANOVA Summary Da ta for Module 1 Pic ture-Wo rd Ma t c hing
List Order E f f e c t s . . • . • • • • • • • . • . • • • . 1 3 8
2 7 . Means and Standard Devia t ions f o r Module 1 Pic ture-Word
Ma tching L i s t Order E f f e c t s . . . • . . • • • . 1 3 8 28 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 2 Pic ture-Word Ma t ching
List Order E f f e c t s • . . . . . . . • . • • • . . • • . . 1 3 9
2 9 . Means and S tandard Devia tions for Module 2 Pic ture-Wo rd
Matching Lis t Order E f f e c t s • . . • . • • • . . . 1 3 9 30 . ANOVA Summary Data for Trans fer Test Module 1 : Group By
Mode By Order Interact ions • . . . • . • . 1 4 1
3 1 . Mul tiple Classif icat ion Analysis o f Transfer Test ,
Mo dule 1 • • • • • . • • . • • • • • • • • • • 1 4 2 32 . ANOVA Summary Da ta f o r Transfer Test Modul e 2
Group By Mode By Order Interac t ions • • • •
33 . Mul tiple Cla s s i f ication Analysis o f Tran s fer Te s t ,
1 4 3
Module 2 . . . 1 4 3 34 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 1 Wo rd Reco gnit ion Re ten t ion
Group By Mod e By Order Effects • . • • • • • • • 1 4 5 35 . Mul t iple Class i f ic a t ion
Reten t ion , Module 1 •
Analysis of Word Recogni t ion
36 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 1 Word Iden t if icat ion
1 4 5
Group B y Mode B y Order Interac t ions • • • • • • • 1 4 6 3 7 . Mul tiple Clas s i ficat ion Analysis o f Word Iden t i f icat ion
Reten t ion , Module 1 • • • • • • • • • • • • • • 146 38 . ANOVA Summary Data for Re tent ion Module 2 Word Recognit ion
Group By Mod e By Order Interac t ions • • • • • • • • • • • 1 4 7
xi
3 9 . Mul tiple Cla ssifica tion Analysis o f Word Recognition
Re tention , Module 2 • • . . . . • • • • 1 4 7 4 0 . ANOVA Summa ry Da ta for Ret ention Module 2 Word
Identification : Group By Mode By Order Interac tions • . • 1 4 8 4 1 . Multipl e Clas sification Analysis o f Word Identifica tion
Re tention, Module 2 • • • • • • • • • . . . • 1 4 8
4 2 . ANOVA Summary Da ta f o r Mod ule 1 To tal Time ,
Group By Mo de By Order In terac tion s . . • • • • 1 5 0
4 3 . Multiple Classification Analysis o f To tal Time , Modul e 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 . ANOVA Summary Da ta for Module 2 To tal Time ,
Group By Mo de By Order Int eraction s
4 5 . Mul tiple Clas sification Analysis o f To tal Time , Module 2 . • . . . . • • • • . • . • . • • 4 6 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 1 To tal AttemptR;
1 5 0
1 5 1
1 5 1
Group By Mo de By Ord er Interaction s • . . • 1 5 3 4 7 . Multiple Clas sifica tion Analysis o f Total Attempt s ,
Module 1 . . . • . • . . . . . . . . • . . 1 5 3 4 8 . ANOVA Summary Data for Module 2 To tal Attempt s ,
Group By Mo de By Order In terac tions . . . • 1 54 4 9 . Multiple Clas sifica tion Analysis of To tal At tempt s ,
Mo dule 2 • • • . • • . • • • • • • • • . . . • . . 1 54
xii
Figure 1 .
2 . 3 . 4 .
LIST OF FIGURES
Mic roc ompu t e r Work S ta tion • . . . . • • • . • • • . • .
De sign o f Study • . • • • • . .
Errorl e s s Dis c rimina tion Linear Branch Routine Paired As socia t e Linear B ranch Routine
xiii
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