A CASE-STUDY OF THE EVALUATION AN!) USE OF SPECML TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS AN INSTRUCflGNAL AID RN VOCATIONAI. AGNCULNRE Nikki-mime?» «Hid. D. MWMAN STATE UNlVERsm Charlesl'dward King 2955 This is to certifg that the thesis entitled A CASE-STUDY OF THE EVALUATION AND USE OF SPRIAL TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL AID IN VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE presented by Charles Edvarfl King has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for ? Ado—Pu— degree in M1911 Major pro "or Date July 21, 3955 0-169 .mu.. 0-. 429 4‘; ~’ A CASE-STUDY OF THE EVALUATION AND USE OF SPECIAL TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL AID IN VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE By Charles Edward King All ABSTRACT Submitted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan state University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION College of Education 1955 Approved by fig. Charles Edward King (C 1 Purpose. (1) To present a chronological development of the Television Project, (2) to determine ways in which teachers of vocational agriculture used television programs and ref: erence materials, (3) to evaluate these programs and materials when used as instructional aids in classes of vocational agri- culture, (4) to determine criticisms of programs and materials and recommendations for future programs and materials. Method. The chronological development was written from minutes of meetings, diary, and special notes. A case-study was made of ten teachers and class members in selected classes. Four instruments were completed by either the teachers or class members. A class in nine schools was observed, a tape recording was made, and an observation report was prepared. Teachers were interviewed; a tape recording was made of each interview except one. Data which were largely secured by observing classes and interviewing teachers were described in a narra- tive report on each school. Ratings of programs, reported limitations, recommendations for presenting future programs, and adoption of farming practices related to topics with which television programs gggg and geggflgg£_used were com- pared. Findings and Interpretations. The information reported by teachers included: (1) 76 television programs used with seven adult, three young-farmer, and three high-sChool . —‘ .x’ 9.1.5299 Charles Edward King 2 classes; (2) classes in nine schools viewed programs on an organized basis, five television sets loaned by local dealers, and six sets located in the agricultural room; (3) from 17 to 25 activities or practices utilized (a) to inform admin- istrators and other persons, (b) in organizing classes and in preparing for, conducting, following up, and evaluating instruction, (c) by only one teacher each or a small minority of teachers; (h) 17 problems were reported in using programs and references. These ratings1 were made: (I) scored items: adult and young farmers-~2.82*; high-school boys-o2.h6*; (2) overall numerical ratings: adult and young farmers--7.35*; high-school boys-~6.S7*; teachers--7.33; (3) reception: adult and young farmers-~3.07; high-school boys--l.8h; teachers--3.20; (h) references: teachers--3.00. Farming practices were re- ported by farmers h80 times as "already in use when class started," h59 times as "partially or completely in use since class started," and 92h times as "have decided to use prac- tice." Ratings on selected methods of presenting future programs: (1) highest: (a) high-school boys-~3.S3--"illustra- tion by motion picture," (b) adult and young farmers and teachers--3.35, 3.67 respectively--"demonstration"; (2) low- ggt: all groupsu-l.lb, 1.89, .88 respectively-~“lecture.” 1All figures in this paragraph are mean values, and the maximum score was h.OO on all figures except the three overall numerical ratings whose maximum score was 10.0 “Significant at the one-percent 19V°1° lllljlllllllllltilllllllll'lltlll' Charles Edward King 3 Eighty-nine and three-tenths, 87.5, and 100 percent respec- tively felt that programs “definitely" or “probably should be used" as a part of some meetings next year. It was concluded: (1) a majority of teachers used programs as core of meeting; teachers and class members seemed to have needs which were both similar and different; (2) teachers had varying Opinions on what they wanted tele- vision programs to do and on what they expected from.programs; (3) quality of television programs and references appeared satisfactory; (h) there were some indications that programs and information were above knowledge-level of high-school boys; (5) television programs and references had some limi- tations. It is recommended: (1) telecast programs on a more con- centrated basis covering a shorter period; (2) prepare and telecast different programs for high-school classes: (3) use criticisms and recommendations in making changes in tele- vision programs and references; (A) offer programs next year on.requested subject-matter areas; (5) send references and scripts to teachers one to two weeks prior to telecasts; (6) offer a television workshOp and an in-service training program on television. A CASE-STUDY OF THE EVALUATION AND USE OF SPECIAL TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS AN INSTRUCTIONAL AID IN VOCATIONAL AGRICULTURE By Charles Edward King A THESIS Submdtted to the School of Graduate Studies of Michigan State University of Agriculture and Applied Science in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF EDUCATION College of Education 1955 \ t‘lfifjifi .I. Ill ['1 I I I‘ll ll ll“ ii I A t I l‘ ACKNOWLEDGMENTS The writer is deeply grateful to Dr. Harold M. Byram for his guidance and generous help as the investigation was planned and carried to completion. He is indebted to Dr. H. Paul Sweany, Dr. C. R. Megee, Dr. William H. Roe, and Dr. Glen L. Taggart for their advice and helpful assis- tance. Valuable suggestions were made by Dr. Raymond M. Clark throughout the study. Special recognition is due Dr. Daniel W. Sturt who produced the television programs ‘which were the basis of this investigation. He wishes to express his grateful appreciation to the participating teachers for their efforts and cooperation in supplying the data for this study. To the administrators of the participating schools and the members of the Aug- mented Guidance Committee the writer owes a debt of gratitude. I'll ‘Illlll I I18 ‘ll 'II. Ill ll. 'lbtltlli TABLE OF CONTENTS CHAPTER I. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Statement of Problem. . . . . . . . . . . . . . Purposes of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . A Concept of Educational Television . . . . .'. Importance of Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . Definition of Terms . . . . . . . . . . . . . {Method of Investigation . . . . . . . . . . . . II. THE CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE TELEVISION PROJECT IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION . .' . . . . . . Early Activities of the Television Committee . . Initiation of the Project and Experimental Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Plans and Activities for the l95h-55 School Year Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Tentative Recommendations for 1955-56 . . . . . III. PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE STUDY . . . . . . . . Preparatory and Informative Activities of the Investigator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Selecting the Research Design . . . . . . . . . Selecting the Augmented Guidance Committee . . . Selecting the Participating Teachers . . . . . 11 PAGE (3me ll 16 20 20 21 26 31 32 3h 3h 35 37 38 CHAPTER Observing a Class in the Participating Schools Preparing the Forms and Instruments Preparing for and Conducting the Interview 0 O O O Securing Data on the Forms and Instruments Scope of Study . Limitations of the Study AssuMptions REVIEH'OF LITERATURE IV. Research on Educational Television Research on Instructional Films Uniqueness of the Television Project Study V. THE USE, EVALUATION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS 0F and TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS SCHOOLS School School School School School School School School School School C—aHtflQ'fll‘JUOm'> PAGE . NZ 1&5 . 56 . 61 . 6h .105 107 108 116 123 132 1N2 11+? 153 159 161;. 169 ‘Il:.TA.III.I ’ l 'l II] It ‘1‘ 1 II- IIIIJIIJI‘I [1].! [I'll Il,ll|fr‘lll I‘ v ‘ It‘ll I'll! fill jll . CHAPTER PAGE VI. PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA . . . . . . . . . 176 Data Related to the Use of Television Programs and Reference Materials . . . . . . . . . . . 178 Data Related to the Evaluation of Television Programs and Reference Materials . . . . . . . 197 Data Related to Criticisms of Television Programs and Reference Materials and Recommendations for Future Programs and Materials . . . . . . . . . 223 VII. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS, AND RECOMMENDATIONS . . . . . 25h Summary of the Method . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2BR Findings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 259 Conclusions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 268 Recommendations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27S Suggestions for Further Research . . . . . . . . . 280 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 283 APPENDIXES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 291 iv IIIIII '] All I I '4'! 1:1. I ill. [ll I 'cll'll IlllJ 11 TABEE I. II. III. IV. V. VII. VIII. LIST OF TABLES PAGE Opinions of Junior-Senior Class Members in School C of Selected Television Programs . . 133 Number of Meetings, Class Members, Television Programs Used, and Forms Submitted by Types of Classes and by Schools . . . . . . . . . 179 Total Number of Television Programs Used and Number of Persons Viewing by Schools . . . 182 Activities Related to Interpretation and Establishment of Relations as to Use of Television Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . 183 Activities of Teachers in Organizing Classes and Preparing for, Conducting, Following Up, and Evaluating Instruction . . . . . . . . 186 Reasons Reported by Teachers for Using Television Programs with High-School and Adult and Young- Farmer Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 189 Problems Encountered by Teachers in Preparing for, Conducting, and Following Up Instruction with High-School and Adult and Young-Farmer Classes When Using Television Programs . . . 191 Problems Encountered by Teachers in Using Television Programs and Reference Materials. 192 TABLE XIII. XIV. XVI. XVII. XVIII. PAGE Special Activities Related to Use of Television Programs Reported by a Minority of Teachers . . . . . . . . . 19h Method of Securing Television Sets Reported by Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Location of Television Sets Used by Class 8 Members and Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . 196 Overall Ratings of Television Programs by High- School and by Adult and Young-Farmer Class Members . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... 198 Overall Ratings of Television Programs by High-School Pupils . . . . . . . . . . . . 201 Overall Ratings of Television Programs by Adult and Young-Farmer Class‘Members . . . 202 Overall Ratings of Television Programs by Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203 Overall Numerical Ratings of Television Programs by High-School and Adult and Young-Farmer Class Members and by Teachers . . . . . . 205 Opinions of High-School and Adult and Young- Farmer Class Members on Selected Items as Related to Use of Television Programm . . 207 Teachers' Opinions of Selected Items as Related to the Use of Television Programs. 209 vi TABLE XXI. XXII. XXIII. XXIV. XXVI. XXVII. Opinions of High-School and Adult and Young- Farmer Class Members of Selected Television Programs as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . Opinions of Teachers as to Television Programs Used.with High-School and Adult and Young— Farmer Classes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ratings by Teachers of Adequacy and Adapt- ability of Reference Materials . . . . . . . Specific Values of Television Programs as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . . . . .. . Rays in Which Television Programs Used With High-School and Adult and'Young-Farmer Classes Were of Greatest Use as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . Strengths of Television Programs Used With High-School and Adult and Ybung-Farmer Classes as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . Strong-Points of Television Programs as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . "Indirect" Values of Television Project as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . Number of Times Farmers in Selected Schools Reported Practices Related to Topics Taught With and Without Television Programs . . . . vii PAGE 211 212 213 21h 216 220 221 TABLE XXVIII. XXXI. xxxII. XXXIII. IXXXIV.. XXXVI. XXXVII. PAGE Tepics Taught Iii-.93. Use of Television Programs and Related Farming Practices Adopted by Farmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22A Topics Taught Without Use of Television Programs and Related Farming Practices Adopted by Farmers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 227 Criticisms of Television Programs Used with High-School and Adult and Young-Farmer Classes as Reported by Teachers . . . . . . 230 Criticisms of Television Programs Reported by Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 232 Recommendations Made by Teachers for Improving Television Prcg rams Used With High-School and Adult and'Young-Farmer Classes . . . . . 23A Recommendations Made by High~School and Adult and'Young-Farmer Class Members to Improve Future Television Programs . . . . . . . . 236 Recommendations of Teachers for Improving Television Series and Programs . . . . . . . 2&0 Recommendations Made by Teachers to Improve Future Television Programs . . . . . . . . 2&1 Recommendations Made by Teachers to Improve Reference Materials . . . . . . . . . . .. 2&3 Recommendations Made by Teachers to Improve Source Units, Scripts, and Other Reference Materials00000000000000...21+“- viii TABEE XXXVIII. Overall Ratings of Selected Methods of Presenting Future Television Programs . . . Ratings by High-School Pupils of Selected methods of Presenting Future Television Programs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Ratings by Adult and Young-Farmer Class Mambers of Selected Methods of Presenting Future Television Programs . . . . . . . .. Ratings by Teachers of Selected Methods of Presenting Future Television Programs . . . Subject-Matter Areas on Which Television Programs Were Requested for 1955-56 by Teachers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Television Programs Used and Number of Persons Viewing by Schools . . . . . . . . . . . . . ix PAGE 2R6 2&8 2&9 251 252 330 CHAPTER I INTRODUCTION Statement of Problem Many opinions have been stated, both orally and in writing, by educators and specialists in the fields of comp munications as to the use of educational television. Great claims have been made as to the need for and the importance of this medium to education.1 However, very little experi- mental research has been conducted on the educational uses of television. ‘ Realizing the characteristics of the medium.and its potentialities for education, personnel at Michigan State College made the decision to telecast three series of tele- vision programs especially designed for class members attending adult and young-farmer classes under the supervision of local teachers of vocational agriculture. The programs, beginning on October 17, 195h, and ending on May 11, 1955, were titled Talking Sense and consisted of three series entitled: (1) "Getting Established in Farming," (2) Marketing,” and (3) "Agricultural Policies." A miscellaneous group of pro- grams which.might be labelled "General Economic Tepics of Interest to Farmers" was later added as a fourth series. The programs were produced and financed by the Department of 1Carroll V. Newsom (ed.) A Television Polic for Educa- tion (Washington: American ouncil on Education, 1932). 23; PP- .--.. L e- Agricultural Economics, MUchigan State College; and the Television Project2 was Jointly participated in by this Department; the Department of Vocational Education, Michi- gan State College; and the Division of Agricultural Educa- tion, Michigan Department of Public Instruction.3 The writer selected the Project for investigation, based upon the assumption that a continuous and concomitant study of these television series and the prepared reference materials should be made to evaluate them and to determine how they were used. Therefore, this problem was an attempt by a field study, using the case-study method, to determine by concurrent investigation and evaluation the use and effectiveness of these programs and supplementary reference materials when used as instructional aids in classes of vocational agriculture. Purposes of Study More specifically, the purposes of this study were: 1. To present a chronological deveIOpment of the Television Project, reporting the problems en- countered and the decisions that were made. 2. To determine the ways in.which teachers of voca- tional agriculture used the television programs and reference materials. 2These programs and the supplementary reference materials are referred to throughout the study by the synonymous terms Television Project“ and "Project". 3A detailed explanation of how this Project was initiated and cenducted is reported as Chapter II. 3. To evaluate these programs and materials when used as instructional aids in classes of voca- tional agriculture. h. To determine the criticisms of the programs and materials and the recommendations for future programs and materials. A Concept of Educational Television It was necessary that a base or frame of reference be established as a guide and to give direction to the Television Project. Therefore, this section is presented to set forth a construct of what educational television means and to set forth certain concepts relative to the use of educational television programs. A large number of books and articles have been written eXplaining education, its objectives and purposes, the learning process, and the role of the teacher. Broadly defined, edu- cation may be considered to include all the experiences which an individual encounters and which change or modify his Opin- ions, beliefs, knowledge, attitudes, ideas, abilities, and other phases of his development. Much of an individual's education occurs outside of the confines of the classroom.or school. His present and future behavior is influenced by: (1) the home and the church, (2) the demands and value-systems of the society, (3) his associates, and (A) the mass media of which television 18 one of the major influences. . Teaching then means guiding students in the selection of desirable and purposeful experiences, recognizing similarity and differences, and helping each individual to help himself in developing to his fullest capacity. Regardless of the“ efforts of the teacher, learning cannot take place until there has been mental and/or physical activity on the part of the_student. Therefore, learning cannot be forced, and the role of the teacher is more that of providing motivation and of aiding the student in recognizing interests, in select- ing and in evaluating incentives and goals, in broadening his concepts, and in developing his ability to determine and ’ synthesize interrelationships. ‘ Educational television is a medium which can assist the teacher and student in accomplishing the purposes of education. Broadly conceived, the term ”educational television program" can include any program on television which causes a person to react in such a way that a desirable change in his behavior will result. Any program from which the individual can derive socially useful values and experiences may be said to be educa- tional for him. Therefore, this explanation does not exclude the possibility that a part of or all of a commercial television Programlmay be educational regardless of the originating agency. However, there is a greater possibility that the program will be educational if it is planned and produced by educators, "helluva a greater degree of understanding of the learning pro- °°38. of the interests and needs of students, and of the objec- tives and purposes of education. "When programs are so planned, they can justifiably be called planned learning situations 9}; television, 25 educational television programs.""L Expressed most succinctly, an educational television program.is one whose major purpose is to inform or to instruct. Perhaps, a broader concept and meaning will need to be given to the term "educational" as applied to television than some educators have been willing to give at the present time. An educational telecast5 should meet certain specifica- tions or should have certain qualifications which are included in the following statements: 1. 2. 3. h. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. g hHarold E. Wigren, ”Educational Television--Some Suggestions, It should have an educational purpose. The telecast should be based upon the problems and needs of the viewer. The viewer should be involved as a participant. It should aid the viewer in growth and development. The program should be planned for a specific audi- ence rather than for a general audience. It should present information in a logical sequence from week to week. Its educational philoSOphy should be consistent with the values of a democratic society. The design, format, and method of presentation should be flexible and unpedantic. At all times its presentation should be factual and objective and "maintain a devotion to truth." Teachers College Rgcord, 5h:23, October, 1952, p. 26. 5 Ibide, ppe 27-290 10. The presentation should be "natural", and ornateness or polished performance is not a necessity. These ten specifications or qualifications then mean that educational programs must be based upon sound principles of learning. They must be designed by persons who are ex- perienced in the art of television as a medium of communica- tion. Both the message and the technique of presenting the message are equally important. Therefore, the educator and"“x the television technician must work together cooperatively if the most effective educational programs are to be avail- able. There is no cause for competition with commercial pro- grams or even trying to compete with commercial stations. Both types of prOgrams can actually complement each other: the commercial programbwill usually seek the general audience, while the educational program should be designed for the specific audience. Television programs should not be expected to do the complete job of teaching, but they should be regarded as an additional aid to classroom instruction. There is still a necessary place for other instructional materials, such.as ifllms, filmstrips, slides, radio, recordings, charts, Opaque projectors-~and even the blackboard is still needed and is in vogue. Educational television programs should be thoroughly integrated with the curriculum. The needs and problems of the students should be ascertained, and television programs may be utilized to provide a partial solution to some of these needs. For most effective viewing, these programs should be tied in with other planned activities and or- ganized viewing groups. To hold to the concept that the planning of the curriculum should start with the television programs would seem to be erroneous. It would seem to be obvious then that teachers must be involved in the planning and in the evaluating of educational television programs and in the evaluation of educational out- comes. The instruction, including the design of television programs, must be pre-planned and directional in intent to be most effective . It seems reasonable to state that educators are respon- sible in part for providing a better way of life to persons in schools and outside of the school and that educational television can assist in the accomplishment of this objec- tive. There is no doubt, based upon research, that television is a medium.of great impact and importance for educational Purposes. Programs can be designed for the education of youths and adults and for extension courses, credit courses, and "captive audiences." Therefore, the number of persons Who can be reached is very large as the medium may be used for telecasting educational programs to the general public and for telecasting special events and specially prepared programm to school groups. Importance of Study The television medium has been recognized by educators as having great importance, but because of its newness there was a paucity of research on the uses of educational tele- vision, as reported previously. No experimental research has been conducted on the uses of educational television in the area of agricultural education, as far as the investi- gator could determine from.the literature reviewed. Schramm seems to recognize that research should be an integral part of all television activites in the near future. He states: If 10 percent of the rather large sums now being raised for educational television were put into re- search and evaluation during the first five years of educational stations, the growth of the medium through its ugly duckling years to its prgductive adulthood would be immensely speeded up. McKune conducted a study on the use of the television medium as a means of teaching high-school pupils. He feels that: (1) research should be planned far enough in advance to make possible the utilization of effective research pro- cedures, (2) research projects of this kind are of suffi- cient scope to require the employment of personnel who are 6Wilbur Schramm, "TV Predictions Based on Research," flpurnal of the Association for Education by Radio and $912: vision, 13:13, November, 1953. technically trained in research procedure, and (3) the job of research is big enough to comprise a dissertation in it- self. The areas which need research include: (1) the placs of in-school viewing in the curriculum of schools participating; (2) methods by which the station, the production group, and the school can integrate their objectives and efforts; (3) the types of programs which produce desirable results; (h) methods of production which produce desirable results; (5) the meti- vation produced when students of the schools using television participate in the programs being viewed by classmates; and (6) the kind of writing, the quality, and the techniques which may be effectively used in relation to the subject ‘ 7 matter area. ‘Wigren is also aware of the importance and the scope of the research that is needed on educational television for, as he states: Research is needed--and this might well be the basis of a future doctoral study--in determining whether changes in behavior occur because of edu- cational television programs. This, after all, is the only basis for determiging whether or not learning has taken place. The A11 College Television Committee of Michigan State College also recognize the newness of this medium.and the rmed for experimentation. This Committee reports that: h 7Lawrence E. McKune, "Some Problems in Writing, Produc- tion, and Evaluation.of Television Programs for In-Class Viewing " (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The State University of Iowa, Iowa City, 1953), pp. hl-h8. 8Harold E. Wigren, "Planning for the Develo ment of Educa- tional Television n Houston, Texas “ (unpublis ed Doctor's <flssertation, Teachers College, Columbia University, New York City. 1953), p. 1170 10 The Committee was aware that educational television is a sufficiently new field that few firm criteria of excellence can be found. Inevitably, there must be some experimentation and the college should be prepared for this. Evaluation techniques to deter- mine the quality of the results naturally will need to be devised. It seemed inevitable that television would be used in some way in agricultural education, and, therefore, leader- ship should be provided to begin to ascertain the most effec- tive means of utilizing this medium_educationally rather than waiting until the methodology was partially forced upon the users by the pressures of sources outside of the field of agricultural education. As very little experimental research had been conducted concerning the utilization of this medium on an educational basis and none had been reported in agri- cultural education, a detailed investigation of the use of the medium was deemed desirable and necessary. Further, the determination of the problems which were encountered by the teachers and the delineation of specific areas of research and evaluative techniques were considered important. There seemed to be a consensus of opinion among educa- tors in agricultural education that generally instruction in local departments of vocational agriculture should be based upon the local Situations and the problems of the Class members. What would be the effects of televised pro- granIs and how could they be utilized in view of the above \ Co 9"Report of the Al College Committee on Television ur‘Ses for Credit," Michigan State College, East Lansing: ‘he President‘s Ad Hoc Committee on Television, 1959 , p. 1. (Mographed) . l1 concepts? Was there a place for the use of educational television in vocational agriculture? The importance of this study, therefore, seemed obvious based upon the existing situation with the Television Project and the apparent con- cept that an evaluation should be made of all educational activities and that evaluation is a part of the learning pro- cess. After a review of the literature, this Project was considered to be unique in many respects.10 Definition of Terms The special terms used in this study are defined within the context and with meanings as used herein in order that they may be more clearly understood. 1. Teacher - This term.is limited to the teachers of vocational agriculture. 2. Instructor - A term used synonymously with teacher. 3. Clags member - A person attending classes taught by teachers of vocational agriculture. h. Participating teacher - One of the ten teachers of vocational agriculture who participated in this study and supplied the data for the investigation. .5} Egperimental teacher - Teachers of vocational agri- culture who participated in the planning meetingsudth the Television Committee and in the two experimental \1‘5 £9.22: pp. 105-106 . 12 television programs telecast in May and June, l95h. 6. Adult farmer - An individual, generally over twenty-six years of age, who is enrolled in a course of systematic instruction, established under public supervision and control and taught by the teacher of vocational agriculture. 7. ‘Young farmer - An individual, generally from six- teen to twenty-six years of age, who is enrolled in a course of systematic instruction established under public supervision and control and taught by the teacher of vocational agriculture. 8. Vocational education in agriculture - Educational activities relating to training present and pros- pective farmers for proficiency in agriculture as a phase of the instructional program.provided through the public schools with financial assistance from the Federal Government.11 9. Vocational agriculture - A term used synonymously with vocational education in agriculture. 10. Problem - A life situation which creates a difficulty, a state of suspense, confusion, and doubt and, there- fore, requires thinking in its solution, not merely 12 the findings of facts in a book. \ neillRaymond A. Garner "Practices of Teachers of Varying Pro- tio One in Conducting Pro ramp of Supervised Farming n oca- tat-.294 firiculture in Mich gan (unablished Dgcfor's d§sser- ichigan State College, East using, 19 1 , p. 2 . PilaLloyd J. Phi s and Glen C. Cook, W MnltureeéDanviIIe, Illinois: The Interstate Printing Company, ’ O O 11. 12. 13. 15. 16. 13 Problemvsolving method - A teaching method in.which the farming problems of the class members are the basis for the course of study and for the class instruction. Approved practiceg_- A procedure which is important for success in an enterprise or another phase of farming.13 Instructional aid - Any device used by a teacher to expedite learning and to help the student in the learning process. Evaluation - A term.used to denote the process of judging or appraising the worth of something or the product of such action. Case-study - A procedure whereby all pertinent as- pects of one thing or situation are considered. An individual, an institution, a community, or any group considered as an unit may be employed as the unit for study.1u Television Committee - An abbreviated term that re- fers to the Television Committee in Agricultural Education consisting of two staff members in Agri- cultural Education of the Department of Vocational Education, Michigan State College and two staff 13George P. Deyoe, Farmi ,p. 71 Carter V. Good and Douglas E. Scates, Methods of Research ("3" ‘York: Appleton-Century-Crofts, Inc., 19 , p. 2 . t Pro rams in Vocational Agricul- 1% (Danville, Illinois: The Interstate Printers and Publishers, 9 £3) 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. members in the Division of Agricultural Education, ‘Michigan Department of Public Instruction. The Television Project - An abbreviated term.which.refers to the supplementary reference materials and the special series of television programs which were telecast from October 17, l95u, to May 11, 1955. by the De- partment of Agricultural Economics and cooperated in by the Department of Vocational Education, Mich- igan State College and the Division of Agricultural Education, Michigan Department of Public Instruction. Project - An abbreviated term used synonymously with Television Project. Television program - Any television program.which was telecast as one program of the Television Project. Educational televigigp - Any televised program whose major purpose is to inform.or to instruct. Kinescope or televipignrecording - A special process of photographing a television program on a bright tele- vision picture tube and recording the sound at the same time. The processed film may be shown by a standard 16 mm. projector or may be retelevised. Reference material; - The source units, bulletins, scripts, and other prepared materials which were sent to the teachers of vocational agriculture. Script - The mimeographed text which was prepared for the programs and from which the information 15 presented on the television programs was secured. These were sent to the teachers of vocational agri- culture prior to each television program. 2h. 23E - An abbreviated term which refers to Very-High Frequency, a term that is standardized to radio frequencies ranging from 30 to 300 megacyclea/ second. Channels 2 to 13 have been assigned to this section of the spectrum for television broad- casting. 25. {EEEIS - An abbreviated term which refers to Ultra- High Frequency, a term that is standardized to refer to frequencies of 300 to 3000 megacycles/second. Channels 1h to 83 have been assigned to this section of the spectrum.for television broadcasting. 26. "Agricultural Policy" - The series title of the television programs used in the Television Project as a part of the Talking_Senpg television production and telecast the first week of each month during the period of October 6, 195h, to May 11, 1955. 27. "Marketing" - The series title of the television programs used in the Television Project as a part of the Talkipg Sense television production and tele- cast the second week of each month during the period of October 6, l95ho to May 11, 1955. 1SThe VHF and UHF equipment are not compatable, i,e., tele- ‘1eion sets designed to receive the VHF signals only cannot re- °°1Ve the UHF signal. Older VHF sets can e adjusted to receive the UHF signal by the installation of a converter on the set. at current television sets are constructed to receive both 81Snals'by turning a selector knob. 16 28. "Getting Started in Farming" - The series title of the television programs used in the Television Project as a part of the Talking Senpg television production and telecast the third week of each month during the period of October 6, l95h, to May 11, 1955. 29. "General Economipg Topicprof Interest to Farmers" - The series title of the television programs used in the Television Project as a part of the Talking Spppg television production and telecast the fourth week'of each month during the period of October 6, 195k. to May 11, 1955. 'Additional terms used throughout the study which have special meanings are defined or explained at appropriate points in the context. Method of Investigation A brief outline of the procedures used in conducting the study is presented here. A detailed description of each part of the investigation is presented in Chapter III. The major divisions of the investigation included: J 1. Preparatory and Informative Activities of_the Investigator. Since a part of this study included visitation and subjective evaluation, it was felt that special course Work and participation in other activities of the Project were desirable. 17 ‘f 2. §glectingkthe Regearch.Design. Special notes, :minutes of meetings, and a diary were the basis of the data from.which the development of the Project was written. A case-study method was selected as the research technique ‘which was most desirable for accomplishing the purposes of the study. 3. Selecting the Augmented Guidance Committee. A nine-man Commdttee consisting of persons working directly with the Project was selected to offer advice and to approve the research design and the forms and instruments. “ h. galacting the Participating_Teacheg§. {The criteria were established which were used as the basis for selecting the teachers in this study. Thirty-three teachers indicated on a survey form sent out by the Research Specialist of the staff in Agricultural Education that they would probably use the television programs in some way. Visitations to some of these teachers and other information narrowed the number down to twenty teachers who were then visited by the investi- gator. IFinally, only ten teachers remained who completed their plans of using the programs, and they were selected as the participating teachers in this study. :J S. Qggerving Classes infthg_¥articipating Schools, Nine out of the ten teachers were visited to observe their _ use of a television program with one class, and an observation form was filled out during and after the meetings. Tape re- cordings of the class meetings were made, and these were re- played and analyzed. 18 6. Preparing the Forg§;and Instruments. Form E, "Data Sheet for Recording Information on the Use of Each Television Program"; Form F, "General Data Sheet for Recording Information on the Use of the TV Series"; and a sheet of directions explaining their use were prepared and approved by the Guidance Committee and mailed to the teachers. Later, three additional instruments and a sheet of directions ex- plaining their use were prepared and approved by this Committee. These were mailed to the teachers and included: (1) Form H, "Rating Sheet of 'Talking Sense' TV Programs (Class Members)”; (2) Form 1, ”Rating Sheet of 'Talking Sense' TV Programs and Other Reference Materials (Teachers)”; Form J, ”Report of Farming Practices"; and (A) "Directions to the Teacher." The requested data which were called for on these forms were submitted by the teachers and the high-school, adult, and young-farmer class members, where applicable. V 7. Preparing for and Conductingthe Interview. An interview schedule was prepared and approved by the Guidance Committee. Each teacher was interviewed and notes were re- corded on the interview schedule. A tape recording was made of all interviews except one. A detailed narrative report was written on each interview. One of the major purposes of the study was to present a chronological development of the Television Project. Since this was the first project of its type and because it was different from other research and was unique in several ways, 19 the investigator considered it most important that a comp plete record be made. This record is reported as Chapter II. CHAPTER II THE CHRONOLOGICAL DEVELOPMENT OF THE TELEVISION PROJECT IN AGRICULTURAL EDUCATION Early Activities of the Television Committee In the early part of 1952 two members from the staff in Agricultural Education of the Department of Vocational Edu- cation at Michigan State College were appointed as a four-man Television Comittee in Agricultural Education for Michigan. The Committee's responsibility was to study the development of the educational television activities of the College, which were in the develOpmental stage, and to make recommendations concerning ways in which this medium might be used effectively in agricultural education. A program was prepared and presented on the television station of the College by the Chairman of the staff in Agri- cultural Education, and a kinescoped recording was made for future use. The theme consisted of the educational and ex- periental requirements for a teacher of vocational agricul- ture and of an explanation of the different activities in Which he would be likely to participate in that position. Pictures were taken of activities in one of the student-teaching centers. and on local farms and were used to supplement the ”Plenation by pictorial means. 21 Initiation of the Project and Experimental Programs In April 1951; the Extension Service Specialist in Agri- cultural Policies1 and the Chairman discussed the possibility and advisability of preparing a series of television programs for high-school boys enrolled in classes of vocational agri- culture. During this conference, the decision was made that the subject matter area in which the programs might be develOped would probably be more suitable for young farmers than for high-school boys. The television programs were to be produced and financed by the Department of Agricultural Economics, and the teachers were to be involved in the planning of programs, which were to be designed to meet their needs. The need for research on many aspects, of which 21.13.51 £3.12! was to become one, was recognized as a necessary and concomitant part of the Project. There was also a recognition that supplementary materials would need to be prepared to aid the teachers in the preparation and teaching of their classes.2. A meeting of the Television Committee was called, and at this meeting the above proposal was discussed. It was decided that the opinions of a selected group of teachers Should be secured, and if they concurred in thinking that ~ 1Referred to hereafter as the Policies Specialist. Z‘l‘his plan was later approved, and all of the programs “1'0 produced by Dr. Daniel W. Sturt, Agricultural Policies sIncialist of the Department of Agricultural Economics. Ex- ension groups, Farm Bureau groups, and other farm organiza- 1038 used some of the television programs and the prepared materials in their meetings. However, only the activities $193 Bare related 22 La ricaltureliduaawtion .ear‘ahreaeir'iW- 22 the proposal had merit; they should be surveyed to determine the topics, the time for the television programs, and the method of presentation. The investigator3 secured a list of teachers from the records of the Division of Agricultural Education office who were teaching young-farmer classes and the topics that were being taught. A brief report concerning the proposed Project was made to the supervising and teacher education staffs, and the approval of these two staffs was received to implement the Project. At this time the investigator started a review of the literature on educational television and instructional films, which was to be used as a guide in the further development of the Project. A letter was sent to the personnel of various schools, universities, and tele- vision stations who were preparing educational programs, re- questing information about their activities. At the next meeting of the Television Committee selected teachers of vocational agriculture were present and offered suggestions on the items presented in the previous paragraphs. They further expressed an interest in the television programs and requested that the proposed plans be implemented. One Pertinent question seemed to be in the minds of various pe0ple during the initial stages of the Project: should the evalua- tion be based upon the television programs per £2, or should 3The investigator was employed as an Instructor (part-time) 1n the Department of Vocational Education during the school year 1953-5h. He also attended most of the meetings reported in this chapter. 23 it be based upon the entire class meeting in which the tele- vised programs were used as an instructional aid? The con- sensus of opinion seemed to be the latter, namely, that the major evaluation should be based upon the entire class meeting or series of meetings in which the television programs were being used as an instructional aid. However, it was recog- nized that the production and format of the television pro- grams and the degree to which.the programs met the needs of the class as an instructional aid would also be evaluated. The dates of May 27 and June 10, 19Sh, were selected for the televising of two experimental programs of thirty Idnutes length to yOung-farmer classes, and the tOpics to be presented were decided upon. Each experimental teacher agreed to submit a list of problems based upon the needs of his class members for use as the basis for the development of these television programs. In order that direction might be given to the develop- nmnt of the Project, the Research Specialist of the staff in Agricultural Educationh'proposed a list of tentative purposes to guide this staff and the teachers which, with certain re- Visions and additions by the investigator, are presented below: 1. To provide teachers of vocational agriculture with t”~"t3l’mical assistance and consultant services in planning and teaChing adult-farmer and young-farmer classes when using tmlevision as an instructional aid. \_ h“Hereafter referred to as the Research Specialist. a. To use a small group of teachers in planning young-farmer programs so that a series of television programm might complement instruc- tion for young farmers. b. To determine the needs of instructional mater- ials and provide them through one of the many channels which may be used at Michigan State College. c. To assist teachers in planning their instructional program.for specific lessons so that materials that are made available through television, tapes, or printed.matter may be used effectively. 2. To plan television programs which will:more nearly meet the needs of groups of adult and young farmers who might be viewing as a part of an organized instructional program. 3. To evaluate the effectiveness of presentations given by television upon organized groups. h. To assist teachers in planning instructional pro- grams that will result in the adoption of approved practices. 5. To help structure and determine a methodology of Ewing the television medium as an instructional aid. 6. To increase the number of adult and young-farmer classes in vocational agriculture and improve the attendance in those classes. Upon receipt of the previously mentioned problems, the Policies Specialist and the Instructional Materials Specialist 25 of the staff in Agricultural Education5 planned the content of the first experimental television program and the in- structional materials which would be prepared and mailed to the experimental teachers. Later, these materials were 'mailed with a cover letter explaining the Project, and a request was made that it be given consideration and thought prior to the summer conference of teachers. It was announced that during the summer conference further consideration would be given to the Project, and plans wouldbemade for getting the proposed activities started. Prior to the first experimental television program (and the summer conference), rating forms were prepared for use by class members and teachers in evaluating this program and were mailed. A summarization of these forms and the opinions of the experimental teachers using the program were discussed at the next meeting of the Television Committee. A discussion of possible television topics to be telecast in the fall of 195k was held. The topics of "Getting Started in.Farmdng," "Marketing,“ and "Agricultural Policies" seemed to be three possible series. ' ’ On June 1h, l9Su, the Television Committee with selected teachers met to discuss the second experimental television Programuwhich had also been telecast and to make further plans. A summarized report of the rating sheets filled out by Staff members, teachers, and class members was discussed; 3Referred to hereafter as the Materials Specialist. 26 and ways of improving the televised programs were suggested. The teachers made the following recommendations in light of the experiences gained in using the two experimental programs: 1. That a television program should not be used oftener than every other meeting of the class. 2. That there should be some time in the - class meeting for discussion prior to the telecast. 3. That the telecast should be based on - problems which were current to the far- mras ' A. That the telecast should include recent infermation not availab e to teachers in other publications. The three topics listed in the previous paragraph were selected as the basis for the presentation of three television series, and the teachers agreed to meet at a later date with suggested program.topics and problems.7 Plans and Activities for the l9Sh-SS School Year At this next meeting the problems were grouped, and approval was given to the Materials Specialist to plan the three series and the source units within the outlined framework. The dates 0f the televised programs were selected based upon a sample Survey of selected teachers of vocational agriculture. The c‘vbmpleted list of television programs with dates and with x; 613. Paul Sweani], "The Use of Television in Agricultural Education (Tentative Reporfl," Eiichigan State College, East I:-~‘-l1rxsing: Department of Vocational Educatioé], March 3, 1955. P. l. (Mimeographed). 7In scheduling these series it was necessary to add a rOurth series later which might be considered as "General ‘Economics TOpics of Interest to Farmers." 27 brief outlines was distributed to the teachers by the Policies Specialist.8 The Research Specialist prepared a "Memo of Relation- ships of Teachers of Vocational Agriculture to a Special Television Program" to be used as a guide in discussing the Project with interested teachers, especially at the summer conference of teachers. During this conference, held in July, the kinescoped recording of one of the experimental programs was shown; and the Project was discussed. Inter- ested teachers selected the television programs which they thought might possibly be used by them. In early August a panel9 presented a tentative report of the proposed research of this Project and of the research on educational television to the personnel of the North—Central Research Conference in Agricultural Education and received their reactions and suggestions which were incorporated into the plans for the Project. The Materials Specialist prepared and mailed the source units and other reference materials to the teachers who had indicated on a survey that they were planning to use selected television programs. The Policies Specialist distributed a letter to all teachers explaining the planned television pro- Eranm and the availability of the kinescoped recordings. Meetings were held with the teachers and the television Emu: extension personnel in the Bay City and Grand Rapids10 \ 8AppendixA. 00m osed of the Chairman the Research S ecialist a m“v‘mber ofpthe Television Committee, and the ingestigator. 10All cities referred to in this chapter are in Michigan. 28 areas to determine the needs and to formulate plans for getting the kinescoped recordings used by the television stations in these two cities. Arrangements were made whereby the Bay City station would telecast the programs, using the kinescoped recordings, each Wednesday at 1:00 P.M.; and the Grand Rapids11 station would televise the programs each Saturday at 12:30 P.M. The Bay City programs were to be presented seven days after the "live“ telecast, by WEAR-TV in East Lansing; and the Grand Rapids station would telecast the programs seventeen days later. In September l9Sh a letter was mailed to selected teachers in the Central-Michigan area who had indicated an interest in the Project, inviting them to become a member of a Television Study Group. Persons were permitted to en- roll for credit, if desired; and the purposes of the meetings were to discuss the problems encountered and the ways that the television programs, source units, and reference materials were used or might be used. Meetings were held throughout the school year to accomplish these purposes, to evaluate the pro- grams, and to plan and discuss projects which individual teachers attending the meetings were investigating. The in- diviwual findings of this Group were incorporated into a com- POsite report as one phase of the research on the Project.12 \ 11Both of these stations Operate on a VHF channel. lenr the joint report b 1twomembers of theg group see e ton (iCharles E. "An aluation of t ele- {it Promggxlnal'Bu Bulk-Handling nof Milk lkgxM ichi an State ollege EastL Lans ng: Department oi ocational Educat on, February 2 , 1955), 39 pp. (Duplicated by Ditto process 29 A script was prepared for each program.of the three television series by personnel of the Department of Agri- cultural Economics; and the script, bulletins, and other reference materials were mailed to the teachers prior to the broadcast of each program.13 Teachers of vocational agriculture who received the source units and other materials were surveyed in October l95h to determine the use that they planned to make of the television programs. This survey revealed that the teachers in thirty-three schools were using or were planning to use some of the programs with adult, young-farmers, or day-school classes. Visits were made by the Research Specialist, the Materials Specialist, and the investigator to selected schools in three different areas to meet with the superin- tendents and teachers. The major purposes of these meetings were to determine: -(1) the problems that the schools were encountering with the television programs; (2) the specific television programs which had been used or selected to be used; (3) the relationship of the television programs selected t0 the lesson topics selected for the class meetings; (h) the m0thodology of the class meetings with particular emphasis on theuse of the television programs; (5) the adequacy of the sOurce units, references, and other distributed instructional \ 13All teachers who asked to be placed on the mailing list Secured the source units, scripts, and other reference materials regardless of whether or not they used the television programs. 30 materials; and (6) the recommendations of the superintendents and of the teachers concerning improvements needed on the programs and reference materials. Adding these visits to those later made as a part of the departmental research, a total of twenty-three different schools were visited. The Policies Specialist and the investigator later -visited one of the schools to observe the use of television by the teacher because of his unique situation. He used the kinescoped recording which was telecast by the Bay City Station at 1:00 P.M., with his combined junior-senior class of vocational agriculture students. That night he used the ”live" telecast from.WKAR-TV with his young-farmer class.1h The Television Committee made plans for three in—service meetings concerning educational television, and these meetings were held in January 1955. Administrators and teachers were invited to attend these meetings. The meetings included a discussion of the experiences of teachers in using the tele- vision programs supplemented with recommendations which the staff in Agricultural Education could make as a result of their observations in the use of the programs. In addition, the Service Letter of the Department was used to include additional information regarding the use of television in classes in vocational agriculture as well as to give sugges- tions to teachers planning to use the programs later in the _ 1“Cal Orr, "TV Comes to the Classroom," Better Farming Egggggg, 27:h6,.March, 1955; Cal Orr, "TV Helps with 'Talking Sense'," Michigan Farmer, 223:h5, February 19, 1955. 31 year. The schedule of programs over the Ann Arbor station was mailed to teachers who were in the coverage area of this station.15 A summarized report of the Project, as developed to date, was prepared and presented in March 1955 at the Northp Central Regional Conference in Agricultural Education by the Research Specialist. Another survey form was prepared and mailed to approxi- mately ninety teachers in March 1955 who were receiving the scripts and prepared reference materials. The purposes of .this study were to determine: (1) the programs used, (2) which of the prepared materials were used and in what ways, (3) the teachers' plans for teaching adult and young- farmer classes for next year (1955-56). and (h) the suggested topics from which television programs might be prepared for next year. Some of these teachers who were using selected television programs had not anticipated that they would do so when the October survey was made. Research The staff in Agricultural Education.used several methods of research to evaluate both the experimental programs and those in the regular series. Some of these methods included IBWPAG-TV in Ann Arbor started telecasting the kinescoped programs on December 20, 195h. and their telecasts of the programs were initially twenty-four days after the ”live" telecast from.WKAR-TV. After a few programs, the telecasts were changed to twelve days after the NKAR-TV broadcast. 32 the Television Study Group and the surveys described pre- viously. The over-all purposes of the departmental research, as reported by Sweany were: 1. To study the methods used in classes using the telecasts. 2. To determine the effectiveness of the programs in terms of quality and the effect on practices of farmers. 3. To determine the reaction of teachers and ztudents to the telecasts used in class sessions. 1 Two research studies, consisting of a doctoral dissertation and a master's thesis, were conducted by two graduate students in the department. Tentative Recommendations for 1955-56 Sweany reported the following tentative recommendations for 1955-56, based upon a study of the use of the television programs17 and upon the results of the tentative research: 1. That television programs be planned for use in classes of vocational agriculture in 1955-56. 2. That the results of the March survey be used to determine subjects for the television programs. 3. That an advisory group of teachers be used in making plans for television programs in 1955-56. h. That personnel from.other departments in the School of Agriculture be used on programs dealing with production and marketing. 5. That a survey of teachers using the programs b°18 made to determine the best time for telecasts. lftsweanfl ' 9‘20.cite, p. 3e . 17The last television program or television recording on each station was telecast on the following dates: (1) East Lansing (ms-Tv)--May 11, 1955; (2) Bay City (m-Tv)--May 18; (3) Grand Rapids (WOOD-TV)--May 28; and (in Ann Arbor (uric-Twuuay 23. 18 Eweanfl , £120 3-1—2" pe. he 33 At the time of this writing it seemed very likely that the Project would be continued for another year. CHAPTER III PLANNING AND CONDUCTING THE STUDY In this chapter a brief accounting of the activities undertaken by the investigator to prepare himself for this research and his relationships to the Television Project are reported. After describing themethodof the investiga- tion in detail, the interviewing techniques which.were used to secure one part of the data are presented. The sources‘ of additional information and the forms and instruments which were used to secure them are reported next} Finally, the scope and the limitations of the study are reported, and the assumptions upon which the investigation was based are stated. Preparatory and Informative Activities of the Investigator _ An.interest-was developed in the Project from its be- ginning in April 19Sh and immediately a phase of it was selected to comprise this study. Special courses in the use of audio-visual materials and methods1 and in communications and communications research2 were taken, and a television workshop3 was attended in order to be prepared, to a more iiEducation h75: a course designed for teaching the prin- ciples and usage of visual aid materials; such as projectors, radio, television, charts, camera, flannelgraphs, etc. ‘ 2Sociology 571, 575, and 585: three courses covering communications research.and research on the sources of informa- tion.and adoption of farming innovations by farmers. 3Speech h35: a three-week television workshop covering all phases of educational television including operation of the equipment and production. I 35 asatisfactory degree, to undertake the investigation. While working in the Department of Vocational Education, the inves- tigator utilized a small portion of his time in reviewing the literature as a basis for securing information which could be used by the staff in giving direction to the Project. Rating forms were developed for use by the teachers who par- ticipated in the two experimental television programs. Additional activities participated in, but which were not a direct part of this study included: (1) attending most of the meetings which were held concerning all phases of the Television Project, (2) participating as a member of a panel making a report at the NorthsCentral Regional Research Conference in Agricultural Education, (3) enrolling as a member of the Television Study Group and jointly evaluating and preparing a statistical report on one of the television programs with another member, (h) visiting schools with the Research Specialist and Materials Specialist, (5) attending three in-scrvice meetings on educational television, and (6) viewing eighteen of the television programs telecast as a part of the Project. Selecting the Research.Design As one of the purposes of this study was to present a chronological development of the Television Project in Agri- cultural Education, careful notes, minutes of various meetings, /\ //. 36 and a diary were kept; and Chapter II was written from these data. . ‘ Because of the uniqueness of this Project and the newness of educational television there was a paucity of information in the literature which could be applied directly to this study. From the eXperiences gained in various courses, from.discussions with numerous persons working with educational television, and from participation in the activities reported in the above section, including the two experimental programs; the detailed plans for the study were formulated. A case-studyh method of investigation was selected as being the most desirable to accomplish the purposes and to provide the needed flexibility. As the Project was experi- mental and unlike any previous research, as far as could be ascertained from.the available literature, it did not lend itself to formal, statistical analysis. Further, the teachers who were going to use some of the programs could not be de- termined until late in the year. Some of the teachers who had initially decided to use selected programs decided, for various reasons, not to complete these plans. Each teacher was also using different and varying numbers of television ¥ ECarter V. Good and Douglas E. Scates,'Hethods of Research (New'York: Appleton-Century-Crcfts, Inc., l9gfifigpp. 725-799; Ebnest W.*Burgess, ”Statistics and Cast StudieS'as Methods of Sociological Research," Sociology and Social Research, 12:99, November-December,'l927; Katherine Jocher, The Case Method in Social Research,” Social Forces, 7:203, December, 1928; Carter V. Good, A. S. fiarr, and 50 las E. Scates, Methodolo ‘ (New'York: ppleton-Century-Crofts, 00: a PP. ‘ 30 l\\ /\ /r 37 programs and was making changes continually in his teaching methodology, based upon empirical study. Since one of the major aims of the study was to define more clearly the special problems and the methods of use by the participating teachers, the case-study approad: seemed to fit the research design best, whereby each teacher could be interviewed in detail at the completion of the series of class meetings. Selecting the Augmented Guidance Committee An Augmented Guidance Committee was selected to offer suggestions concerning the research design and the forms and instruments and to approve them.before they were used. Selected personnel consisted of two staff members of the Department of Agricultural Economics and two members of the staff in Agri- cultural Education of the Department of Vocatibnal Education, all of whom.were directly involved with the Project; two consultants of the Division of Agricultural Education, Mich- ' igan.Department of Public Instruction who were also on the Television Committee; and the Producer-Coordinator for Tele- Vision, School of Education. After the participating teachers were selected, two of them were added to the Committee making a total of nine members.5 These men were selected because of their experience in either education or agricultural education, their experience with educational television, or the fact that they‘were closely associated.with the Project. Other 3Appendix B. 38 persons experienced in communications research, in research design, and in educational television were consulted although they were not on the Committee. This Committee was largely used in an advisory capacity; and the investigator maintained the prerogative of taking what seemed to be a consensus of opinion and the best recommendations, based upon the purposes of the study, and incorporating them.in the research design and in the forms and instruments. After revisions, the forms and instruments were submitted individually to the Committee members by mail or in person, and if there were no major individual changes recommended nor minor changes recom- mended on which there was a consensus of opinion, the forms and instruments were considered to have been approved by the Committee. Selecting the Participating Teachers The criteria for selecting the teachers who would parti- cipate in the study were established and included the following: 1. The department is located within a reasonable driving distance from.East Lansing. 2. The department can receive the television programs. 3. An adult or young-farmer class is being taught. h. The teacher is using the televised programs with lfls adult or young-farmer class. 5. The teacher will agree to participate in this study to the extent of: 39 a. Permitting the observation of one class and a tape recording of the program.(the tape recording may be omitted if the teacher de- sires). b. Keeping certain requested information and data and making these data available as part of an interview. c. Administering a rating and evaluation form to the class members. d. Filling out a rating and evaluation form and a report on the adoption of approved practices. 6. After certain teachers have been eliminated by the five factors above, those remaining will be selected on the basis of years of teaching experience and the quality of the adult or young-farmer program, based upon a verbal consensus of the staff in Agricultural Education. The procedure for securing the teachers who met these criteria was initiated. The Research Specialist had received returns from.a survey form, and thirty-three teachers6 had indicated that they might use some of the television programs in some way. With this information at hand the Research Specialist, Material Specialist, and the investigator spent three non-consecutive days visiting sixteen schools either individually or, where driving distance prevented, collectively. ‘A 6For a list of the schools where these teachers were instructing see Appendix C. to Each teacher was asked what television programs he had used or was planning to use and whether or not he would be willing to participate in the study, to permit the investigator to visit one adult or young-farmer class and to make a tape- recording, and to make available certain information on fonms filled out by himself and the class members.7 Based upon the findings of these visits and same addi- tional information already known orsecured, it seemed probable that twenty teachers in fifteen schools would meet the cri- teria of usage sufficiently to be utilized in the study. Because of previous experience and the differences in the situations in the schools it was considered essential to make a personal visit to these schools to ascertain the plans of the teachersand to determine whether or not they would parti- cipate in the study. The superintendents of the schools were 8 written , explaining the purposes of the visits, and were asked to inform their teachers concerning the proposed visit. In the meantime two forms and a sheet of directionsg, explaining their use, were developed. FormE10 consisted of two sheets upon which the teachers were to record their use and evaluation of each individual television program, and the form was to be filled out on each program used. Form 1'"11 consisted of four sheets upon which the teachers were to re- cord information which was to be used later as the basis for providing information during the interview. ¥ 7Por a copy.of the form used see Appendix D. 8AppendixE. 9AppendixF. 10Appendix G. 11Appendix H. hi The above fifteen schools were visited during one week, and the desired information was secured. The superintendents or other administrators were consulted each time that the schools were visited while conducting the study. Forms E and F and the sheet of directions described in the previous para- graph were explained and left with the teachers who were making enough use of the television programs that they met the criteria of the study. All teachers who were asked agreed to participate in the study to the extent described previously. After these visits were completed, it seemed that thirteen teachers in ten schools met the criteria and that two teachers in one school were undecided as to their use of television. A teacher in still another school was added later. Three- teachers were unable to complete their plans because of chang- ing positions of employment, and one teacher had difficulty in scheduling, leaving ten teachers who completed their plans. Since such a small number of teachers were utilizing the tele- vision programs on an organized basis and all who were asked agreed to participate and were within a reasonable driving distance, it was considered desirable to include all ten of these teachers although one teacher was using the programs with high-school boys only. The criterion--that the teachers be selected on the basis of years of teaching experience and the quality of the adult oryoung-farmer educational program’- 12 Has, therefore, not invoked. The above ten,teachers and 12Appendix I. h2 the clags members 9; selected classes 2; vocational agricul- ported‘ig thig study. Observing a Class in the Participating Schools An additional letter was written to the teachers of the ten participating schools except one to select dates of visi- tation to one of the classes taught by the teachers, and a carbon copy of the letter was sent to the superintendents. One class in each.of the nine schools was observed once during a period of nine weeks to determine the ways in which the television programs were used in the classes. The observation forms13 which had been developed previously were filled out, and tape recordings of the class meetings were made. The tape recording of each class meeting was replayed, studied, and analyzed either on the same day that the class was observed or not later than the following day. The infor- mation secured frdm the tape recording plus comments and in- terpretations by the investigator were reported on an "Analysis Of Tape Recordings" Formlh which.was very similar to the ob- servation form. Preparing the Forms and Instruments Throughout the planning phase and while conducting this study, the concept was held that the television programs ‘_ 13Appendix J. ntAppendix K. #3 should not be evaluated pg; pg, but that they should be evaluated as an instructional aid which was used as a part of the class meetings, as reported previously. Therefore, two types of evaluation and evaluative instruments seemed desirable: (1) a rating of the television programs by the teachers and class members as to how well they met the needs of the class members and as to the strong-points and limi- tations of the programs, and (2) the changes in behavior as evidenced by the adoption of approved practices. Three instruments and a sheet of directions explaining the desired procedures to bound in administering the forms were prepared. Form B15 consisted of three sheets upon which all alga; members were to rate the television programs as a part of the class activities. Form 116, was to be filled out by the participating teachers as to their rating of the tele- vision programs and the reference materials as a part of the class activities. The form was composed of four sheets. Form .1”, consisting of four slightly different sheets and including as many additional sheets as needed by the respec- tive teachers, was also to be filled out by the teachers as to the farming practices adapted by the farmers. The form Wag so designed that practices as related to topics with "hich television programs 93.3 39393 2393 and had 9.0.15. 393;; 9539 Could be reported. In addition, general practices. which did not “ v- 15 Appendix L. 16Appendix M. 17Appendix N. fit into either of these two categories could be reported 18 suggested on another section of the form. The directions that the rating form for class members be administered at the last meeting or as close to the last meeting as desirable and that the ratings were to be a composite rating of all programs viewed and should be based upon the programs as a part of the class meetings. According to the planned research design, these instru- ments were to be used on a trial basis and revised, based upon weaknesses found in the trial study. However, as all of the schools which.met the established criteria were in- cluded in this study, this procedure was not possible. Form B was carried to the_last class which was visited for obser- vational purposes and was administered by the teacher to the four persons present. The class members were unobtrusively observed while filling out this form, and notes were made cencerning the questions asked of the teacher. After the class members had completed filling out the forms, they were questioned about certain statements and phrases which were difficult to interpret, and a record was made of these. All three of the forms and the sheet of directions were submitted the next day to a seminar class of graduate students in vo- cational education for their reactions and suggestions. All Of the suggestions of both groups were minor and consisted \ 181px) endix 0 e MS largely of recommendations: (1) that key words be under- scored, (2) that certain phrases which might be considered biased be reworded, and (3) that the concept, that the evalu- ation of the programs were to be considered in light of their use as an instructional aid, be pointed out more specifically. These recommendations were incorporated into a revision of the instruments and were mailed to the teachers participating in the study. Because of the flexibility of Form.H, it was felt that the changes did not affect the validity or relia- bility of the ratings given by the personnel in the school where it was first used. The investigator also felt that this meticulous study and revision satisfied the objective, as planned in the research design, of having these instruments used on a trial basis. Preparing for and Conducting the Interview It was felt that additional information was needed which was not requested on the above forms and which could not be secured satisfactorily by any method other than by an inter- view with the teachers. For example, it was considered de- sirable and of value to this study to find out why certain Pregrams: (l) were or were not used, (2) were considered "good" or "poor", and (3) met or failed to meet the needs of teachers and class members. Therefore, since the schools were participating in a pioneering project, a "focused" A6 interview technique was decided upon as the best method for securing this information along with the investigator's per- sonal observation and recording of class activities described previously. To those who might feel that a questionnaire is more objective and factual than the interview Parten, and Stoke and Lehman19 point out the weaknesses of this method of gathering information. Parten feels that the mail schedule advantages over the personal interview are offset mostly by many serious drawbacks and states that "because most people would rather talk than write, questionnaires must be made very interesting to induce responses."20 Good, Barr, and Scates, in recognizing the value of the interview, state that many data can be secured by this tech- nique which would not be secured through a distributed reply blank. In addition, the investigatorcan follow up leads which are provided by the interviewee.21 Merton and Kendall favor the focused interview for it enables the investigator to question more deeply into the fleelings of the respondent and determine ghy. They state: It is not enough for the interviewer to learn that an informant regarded a situation as "unpleasant" . . . He must discover precisely what ”unpleasant" denotes - ;—~_Ti§Stuart N. Stoke and Harvey C. Lehmen, ”Influence of Self- nterest Upon Questionnaire Replies,” School and Society, 32: a September 27, 1930. Ha aouildred Parten, Surve s, ‘PollsLand Samples (New York: Ppex. and Brothers, 19305, pp. 95796. 21 Good, Barr, and Scates, 22, cit., p. 378. h? in this context; what further feelings were called into play; e e e Lazarfeld also favors the use of the "open-end inter- view” whdch he identifies by the initials “OI" and states that "we need more detailed knowledge-as to what the answers of our respondents mean, on what specific points their opin- ions are based, in what larger motivational contexts they belong, etc."23 The planned interview technique and the situations in the schools being investigated seemed to meet the four char- 2h. The of questions which might have been asked included the struc- acteristics as presented by Herton and Kendall. tured and the unstructured. In.explaining the unstructured question, Merton and Kendall state: In the focused interview, then, an unstructured question is one which does not fix attention on any specific aspect of the stimulus situation or of the response; it is, so to speak, a blank page to be filled in by the subject.2 As to the type of questions to be asked and a method of Preparing an interview form, Bingham.and Moore suggest that the interviewer should decide upon just what information is Wanted. While definite questions are not necessary, general 52Robert K. Merton and Patricia L. Kendall, "The Focused litterview," The American Journal of Sociology, 51:5hl-5k2, ”83‘. 191.6. I ZBPaul F. Lazarfeld, ”The Controversy Over Detailed nt°“"1°""" 32" Pghliciflnw. 8&9. Spring, 191m. 21"Merton anchendall, 22. cit., p. Shl. zsIbide, p. Sliée 1+8 questions should be clearly in mind in order that when an opportunity comes to lead the conversation toward an answer, it will be recognized. This also permits the recognition of the answer and classification of it under the proper heading in the outline.26 It was recognized that the way in which the questions were stated was most important and'that the danger of bias was imminent. Blankenship, nose”, Cantril, andBingham and Moore also agree to the importance of the wording of a ques- tion and the way in which itis asked“. Blankenship describes how to conduct surveys and polls and recommends that questions be worded uniformly.28 Cantril states that'"the extent to which the wording of questions affects the answers obtained depends almost entirely on the degree to which the respondent's mental context is solidly structured.."29 . An effort was made to be as unbiased as possible in pre- paring the interview schedule and conducting the interviews. The conclusions that had been drawn from the literature and from the experiences with the Project were placed in“ writing in order that the biases might be recognized. An "open-end" ‘ 26Walter V. Bingham and Bruce V. Moore, How to gterview‘ gthigd revised edition; New York: Harper and Brothers, 191d). ' 3 e c 27Interviewi for NORC, University of Denver (Denver: °lorado: National Cpinion Research Center, 1946), p. 17. (N 2851136141 B. Blankenship, Consumer and 0 inion Research ew York: Harper and Brothers, 19 3 : Pg 2'- J. 2c(Hadley Cantril, Ga Public 0 inion (Princeton, New epgey: Princeton University rose, 1 , p. LLB. h9 interview schedule was prepared and studied carefully and recognized biases in the wording of questions were omitted. The Augmented Guidance Committee was asked to be particularly watchful for bias as they reviewed the interview schedule.30 It was planned in the research design that this instru- ment would be used on a trial basis and revised as needed, but as explained previously, this was not possible. It was felt that theflexibility of the instrument would permit minor changes, if they proved to be desirable, without af- fecting its validity and reliability. It was 395 found neces- sary to make any changes after the interviews were started. Letters31 were written to the participating teachers sug- gesting a date for the interviews, and the general nature of the desired information was explained. Carbon copies of the letters were sent to the superintendents or other administra- tors. ~. The problem.and possibilities of injecting bias in the follow-up questions and the interviews were also recognized by the interviewer. Parten points out the possibility of bias and distortion because of the "human equation" factor as she states that most opinion surveyors instruct their interviewers to ask the question exactly as printed on the ‘-scuedule.32 Crespi also seems to recognize the dangers of bias and warns those interviewing to be aware of bias in all Of their activities, questions, and interview techniques and k 30AppendixP. 31Appendix Q. 32Parten, pp. cit., p. 81. 50 states that "the obvious way to forestall preamble bias is to cut out the preamble."33 However, he recognizes that some questions demand placement in a context and, therefore, the explanatory statements must be framed so that they do not favor any of the positions regarding the issue.r Persons writing for NORC also make the suggestion to interviewers that they "don't discuss issues with respondents. As an un-- biased reporter of the opinions of others, you are not at liberty tO’disclose your own."3h The teachers were interviewed in accordance with the dates and times established in the correspondence, and each interview required approximately one and one-half hours. _ While this amount of time might be considered somewhat short, it should be remembered that some of the information about each school was already known, for example, the ways in which the television set was secured. In starting the interviews, the establishment of rapport was not considered a problem. The investigator was known by most of the teachers prior to the start of the Project. During the development of the Pro- Ject, he had other occasions to meet and to work with these teachers. He had also written them concerning the develop- ment of this study and had visited all classes except one35 Previously. From the beginning the teachers had been assured that complete anonymity would be maintained. P 33Leo P. Crespi "The Interview Effect in Polling,“ The .ubnc gpinion Qpar e141, 12:105. Spring, 19u8. 3(*tltnterviewing_forvNORC, o . cit., p. 13. 35School I. 51 Generally, the interviewer attempted to play the role recommended by Macoby and Macoby that "ideally, then the interviewer should appear to be (to some degree) an 'expert' seeking additional information from.an informed person who has detailed knowledge or opinions to contribute."36 A tape recording was made of each interview except one37, andthe key points of all statements were recorded under the proper questions. This information was re-read to each teacher at the close of the interview to determine its accuracy. Even if the replies had.not been recorded verbatim or to those who might criticize the one situation where the interview was not recorded verbatim, the personnel writing for NORC state: 'You don't need a knowledge of shorthand to record everything the respondent says in reply to a free- answer question. In the first place, few of the answers you receive, even after probing, will be longer than one or two sentences. In the second place, only a few persons talk go fast that you have trouble keeping up with them. 3 The information written in outline form and the tape recordings were used as the basis for writing a complete report of several long-hand pages on each interview. In no situation did more than one and one-half hours lapse between the completion of the interview and the beginning of the writing of the complete 36Eleanor E. Macoby and Nathan Macoby, "The Interview: A.Tool of Social Science," Handbook of Social Psychology, Vbl. I, Gardner Lindsey, editor (Cambridge, Massachusetts: AddisonAWesley Publishing Company, Inc., 195h), p. h63. 37This interview with the teacher of School 0, was can- celled on the date first planned. As the teacher was coming to a meeting at the College on a later date the interview was lanned for and conducted then to.save the interviewer a two undred-mile drive.__The available time and place of the inter- view prevented the making of a tape recording. 381nterviewingfor NORC, o . cit., p. 50. 52 report. The narrative report of each interview was comp pleted before it was necessary to conduct another interview. In each case, and more especially during the first few cases, the tape recordings were first replayed and studied by both the investigator and his wife for leading or biased questions, "putting words into the interviewee's mouth,” and the expressions of Opinions and the giving of information by the interviewer. No claim is made that all bias was removed although, as explained previously, all reasonable effort was exerted to make the interviews as bias free as possible. Even had the.interviews been practiced before."experts" to remove all possible bias, there was the possibility that the biases of these "experts" mdght have affected the selected interview pattern. Securing Data on the Forms and Instruments As reported previously, it was believed from the begin- ning of the Project that the programs would be more suitable and desirable for adult and young-farmer classes than for high-school boys enrolled in vocational agriculture. There- fore, the major emphasis in the study was placed upon the _§g. 0f the programs with the former groups. However, because 0f the small number of participating teachers and the fact that three teachers did use these programs with highrschool classes, it was considered desirable to include the ratings 53 on the programs by these pupils. These data might also pro- vide some indications as to whether or not the programs were less suitable for these pupils than for the adult and young farmers, although this was not one of the original purposes of the study. Four teachers submitted Form.E on twenty-two individual television programs which were used by them with nine class meetings of high-school boys and with thirteen class meetings of adult and young-farmers. Form.H was submitted by fifty-seven high-school boys from the three schools using the programs with this group. The classes in two of these schools were combined junior-senior classes, and the pupils in the other school included all who were enrolled in vocational agriculture. Form H was also sub- mitted by 70 adult and young-farmers who were enrolled in five adult classes and three young-farmer classes in seven schools. None of these forms was filled out by the class numbers in two schools. One teacher taught both an adult and young-farmer class in his school. All teachers submitted Form I which was an overall rating 0f the television programs and reference materials, and the I'8tings were based upon their combined uses of these with.§ll classes: -adult, young-farmer, and high-school, where appli- Cab13.' ‘ Six of the teachers submitted Form J which included the farming practices adopted by the class members in five adult- 5h farmer classes and two young-farmer classes. One teacher only used the programs with.the high-school classes, and the other three teachers stated that very few, if any, practices were adOpted by the class members and also that they had no way of knowing which practices were adopted. The data which.were largely secured by observing the classes and by interviewing the teachers were recorded and described in a narrative report on each school. These are reported in Chapter V. These data were also grouped and summarized to point out the differences and similarities in the activities and practices used in the various schools. Activities and prac- tices were utilized in some schools, and situations existed which were specific to one school only. It was also deemed desirable to list the practices which were used in organizing the classes and in instructing when the television programs and prepared reference materials were used. In addition, the data which were secured by the forms and instruments were also Summarized and analyzed. Ratings of the programs, reported limitations, and recommendations for presenting future pro- grams were compared. The adoption of farming practices re- lated to topics with which television programs were and were “‘03; 293d were also compared. These summarized and analyzed data and the more detailed description of the methodology of the analysis and comparison are presented in Chapter VI. 55 Scope of Study Because of the uniqueness of this Project and the fact that, as far as the writer had been able to ascertain, this was the first tame that a project of this type had been under- taken, there were many facets that could have been investi- gated. waever, as other personnel were concerned with cer- tain aspects of the Project and all of the facets could not be included in a study of this scope, the study was only concerned with the following: 1. The study included the activities of the ten par- ticipating teachers and the data which.were secured from them and the class members in selected classes. However, some limited information which was considered pertinent was secured from.other teachers during the visitations that were made to select these participating teachers. This informa- tion included only the physical limitation which prevented their using the television programs. 2. The study included only the data which were based upon the use of programs telecast from October 6, 195k: to May 11, 1955. as a part of the Project. .However, other pro- 3?&ms were used by the teachers, and this fact is reported in the appropriate parts of this study. 3. Various teachers and class members viewed and used dirferent television programs in varying numbers. The data rePorted on the ratings forms were, therefore, limited to these 3°lected programs. 56 h. The approved practices which were reported as "partially or completely in use since class started" or "have decided to use practice" were limited to those ini- tiated from.October 6, l9Sh, to the time that Form J was submitted (approximately May 1 to June 15, 1955). S. The hypothesis was held from the beginning that the type of programs and subject matter that were to be pre- sented would be more desirable and suitable for adult and young-farmer class members than for high-school pupils. Therefore, the data that were secured from the high-school pupils were limited to the Form.H's which.were filled out by these pupils and the Form.E's which were completed by the teachers on the programs used with this group. However, the fact that programs were used with these boys and that forms were completed by them.is reported in the narrative presenta— tions on each school in Chapter V. Limitations of the Study The write acknowledges certain limitations to this study. A8 one of the criteria upon which the teachers were selected "as that they were using the television programs, the number °f"teachers who participated was rather small. It seemed r easonable to conclude that the newness of the Project was responsible for the lack of the use of the programs by some °f"the teachers. In addition, it is known from the information 57 that was secured during visits to certain schools that the following factors caused other teachers not to use the pro- grams: (1) the programs were telecast by an UHF station in one area, (2) some schools were located beyond the distance of the broadcast signal, and (3) the hour or the day of the telecasts did not coincide with-the hour or the day that the classes met. The number of programs and the programs used in the various schools differed. Therefore, the data which were secured in this study were based upon different programs and different total numbers of programs. As no forms were available which were suitable for this study, they had to be designed by the investigator. There- fore, the study was limited by any weaknesses that were present in the various forms, and the validity and reliability of the forms were not determined. Many items. required a subjective evaluation by the respondents and were subject to their inter- Pretations of the items and terms and any biases which these Persons may have had. The rating forms which were filled out by the teachers and class members required an overall rating of the programs viewed and used. The respondents' ratings necessarily were baaed upon recall, and the last program viewed was probably more firmly entrenched in their minds. Even within a given 8c‘-hool, the class members differed as to the number of programs 58 viewed. One school did not use the programs on an organized basis during the class meetings, but the class members had to view the programs independently away from.the school. In addition, a smaller number of respondents submitted the rating forms than the number of respondents enrolled in the classes. These forms were filled.out near the end of the series of class meetings by the adult and young farmers in same of the schools. In other schools the teacher had Form H filled out by some of the farmers during individual farm visits. Several of the Form H's had one or more items which were not rated by the respondents. The data which were submitted on the adoption of approved practices were also secured objectively near the end of the class meetings by some teachers, whereas others secured the information during individual farm visits. The reporting of these practices by the farmers were largely dependent on recall by them. There- fore, there was a possibility that the information submitted on these forms and the ratings were not representative of allclass members enrolled. The data submitted by the class menmwrs were also subject to the explanations and directions given by the teachers in administering the form although detailed directions were sent along with the forms to the teachers. The investigator was present when the forms were édmdnistered to one class and considered the eXplanation and I“easons given to the respondents to be somewhat biased. 59 Only four teachers submitted.Form.E on twenty-two individual programs, and only six teachers reported the adoption of any approved practices. Again, there was a possibility that these data were not completely represen- tative of all teachers and all adult and young farmers. Because of the natureof the research design there was a lack of exactness in the way in which.many of the data could be organized. Generally, the scope and nature of the study were rather broad which also limited the exactness and definiteness of analyzing and reporting the data. How- ever, the type of research design used was considered de- sirable as this study was a pioneer investigation of the use of educational television in vocational agriculture. Another limiting factor was that the time between the teaching of certain approved practices and the collection of the information on their adoption was relatively short. It was to be expected that farmers could not adopt some of the more complex practices in the time period available. Perhaps, if this study were to be followed up in later years, additional evidence of the adoption of practices would be se- cured. Any weaknesses which were inherently present in the interview and case-study techniques were further limitations. As this method of investigation was selected as being'most desirable, only limited statistical treatment could be given 1“) the data because of the many variables which were present. 60 As the Project was new, many changes and variables were in evidence and these could not be controlled. Further, no control groups were utilized. The small number of teachers involved would also have limited the statistical analysis that might have been made of these data. However, it is the belief of the investigator that the major purposes for conducting the study could not have been accomplished if all of the data had been secured in such a way that they could have been quantified and tested statistically for significance. Perhaps, one of the major limitations was the use of the interview technique. Other investigators might have organ- ized the interview schedule and reported the interview data differently. The interview data reported by the teachers were of necessity based to some extent upon recall and were subject to the understanding-and interpretations given to certain statements by the investigator. The organization, analysis, and reporting of the data were subject to the treat- ment given to them by the writer. There is the possibility that some of his biases were present in the interview and in the organization and analysis of all data, findings, and con- ~ clusions. However, as reported previously, the investigator labored assiduously in trying to keep out as much bias as possible. The findings and conclusions have not been interpreted in a cause and effect relationship. The data that were re- ported were probably caused by many interacting factors, some 61 of which were not even reported in the study. The results should not be necessarily interpreted as being caused directly by the use of the television programs and reference materials. Certainly, there was probably a diversity of differences in the abilities of the participating teachers, and no consider- ation was given to these differences in analyzing the data. Finally, this study included ten teachers of vocational agriculture in Michigan and their class members in selected classes of vocational agriculture. Any interpretation of findings, conclusions, and recommendations are necessarily based upon the findings of these teachers and class members. Consequently, these data should be interpreted in light of this limitation. It is possible that the findings of this study have application to other teachers of vocational agri- culture, but they should be used with caution. Other limitations as related to specific items, activities, and the way in which the study was conducted are presented at appropriate places in the context. Assumptions It was necessary that certain assumptions be made in order to establish a frame of reference upon which this study might be based. These assumptions were: ~ 1. That classes of systematic instruction for adult and young farmers were desirable and a responsibility of 62 public schools under the supervision of the local teachers of vocational agriculture. 2. That instruction could be evaluated most effec- tively by determining the amount of understanding developed and the degree to which the individuals continued their learning on the farms and put their knowledge into practice. 3. That the evaluation of the Project should be based upon the entire series of class meetings of which the televised programs with the concomitant reference materials were a part and were used as instructional aids and not just on the television programs‘pgg 52. h. That the most effective way of evaluating the Project was to determine the degree and extent to which the television programs fitted into the instructional programs and met the needs of the teachers and class members. 5. That the adoption of approved practices by farmers was desirable, where applicable. 6. That the television series and programs as planned were more suitable to the needs, knowledge-levels, and age- levels of the adult and young farmers than the high-school boys in vocational agriculture. 7. That the items and the information which were re- quested on the various forms were those which were the most desirable for accomplishing the purposes of this study and that they satisfactorily measured what the programs should be expected to accomplish. 63 8. That the data which were reported by the teachers and class members either on the forms, during the interviews, or informally were valid, reliable, and correct to the best of their knowledge and beliefs. 9. That the problempsolving method, as generally understood and used by educators in agricultural education and teachers of vocational agriculture, was presently the most effective methodology for teaching vocational agricul- ture. 10. That the research design, as planned and used, was the most desirable method for accomplishing the stated and implied purposes of this investigation. 11. That the point-values assigned to selected items on Forms H and I were satisfactory and provided accurate results. 12. That the use of an Augmented Guidance Committee was desirable and that these persons were well—qualified to advise as to the research design and the forms and instru- ments . A Other assumptions as related to specific situations and activities are presented at appropriate points in the context. CHAPTER IV REVIEW OF LITERATURE The purpose of this chapter is to present a review of selected research and literature which were related to this investigation. The research which.seemed.more important for this study is reported at the beginning of each of the following sections and in greater length than those of les- ser importance. The annotated bibliographies of studies in agricultural education which.were reported in publications entitled Summaries of Studies in Agricultugglggducationl‘were reviewed. However, no studies were reported on any phase of educational television in these Summaries. t: IWries of Studies in Aggicultural Education, U. 3. Office of Education, Vocational Education Bulletin go. 180, Agricultural Series No. 18 (Hashington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1935), 196.pp.; Supplement No. 1 (Danville, Illinois: Interstate Printers and Publishers, l9&3), 199 pp.: Supplement No. 2, U. S. Office of Education, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 237. Agricultural Series No. 57 (Hash- ington: U. S. Government Printing Office, l9&8), 120 pp.: Supplement No. 3. U. 8. Office of Education, Vocational.Divi- sion Bulletin No. 2&2, Agricultural Series No. 59 (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1950), 61 pp.; Supplement no. &, U. 8. Office of Education, Vocational Division Bulle- tin Ro. 2&6, Agricultural Series No. 61 (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1951), &8 pp.; Supplement No. 5, U. S. Office of Education, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 2&8, Agricultural Series No. 62 (Washington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1952), 62 pp.; Supplement No. 6, U. 8. Depart- ment of Health, Education, and Welfare, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 251, Agricultural Series No. 63 (Hashington: U. S. Government Printing Office, 1953), 100 pp.; Supplement No. 7, U. S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Vocational Division Bulletin No. 253, Agricultural Series No. 6& (Hashington:‘U. S. Government Printing Office, 19S&), 75 pp.; Supplement No. 8, U. S. Department of Healt? Education, and Re are Voggtional Division Bulletin No. 2 6, ricultural Series fio Hashington: U. S. Government Prin ing Office, 65 The first section of this chapter includes the research on educational television. The categorization of these studies is explained in the introductory part of the section. The studies are followed by a summary of the research on educational television. The research on instructional films is reported in the second section which also includes a summarization of this research. A final section includes a listing of the unique aspects of the Television Project and of this investigation. Research.on Educational Television A large number of books, articles, and miscellaneous publications have been written by educators and specialists .in the field of communications concerning the use of educa- tional television, and many opinions have been expressed by these persons.2 Seemingly, more materials were written on this subject from.l950 to 1953 than at any other period. On March 22, 1951, the Federal Communications Comissiom I'pr‘oposed that 209 of the television frequencies be tentatively set aside for establishment of non-commercial education.”3 Eight hundred thirtybeight schools, colleges, and educational ' organizations filed statements with the.Commission in support 2Carroll V. Newsmm (ed.), A Television Polio for Educa- tion (washington: American Council on.Education, 1952), 265 pp. 3Harold E.‘Higren, "Educational Television - Some Sugges- tions," Teachers College Record, 514:2}, October, 1952, p. 2&. 66 of the educational reservations.h The above activities were, perhaps, largely responsible for a large majority of the publications about television. A consensus of the major thoughts and statements are subsumed in the followings: 1. The educators are responsible for providing a better way of life and television can help speed up this objective. 2. Television is a medium of great impact and im» portance for educational purposes. 3. low that the medium is available for education, what is going to be done about it? &. Programs can be designed for adult education, -youth education, extension courses, credit courses, and "captive audiences.“ 5. Television should have first priority in the thinking and activities of educators and educational organ- izations. 6. The medium cannot do the complete instructional Job but should be an aid to class instruction, adapted by the good teacher to the needs of the students. 7. The number of persons who may be reached is very large. :Ibm. 151). the Twentieth to Twent oThird Yearbooks :(195% w? of 2tfie pEnstitute for Education b yRadio; 0.1son (Columbus, Oh 0: Ohio State 6University Press ; various articles in The American Schooli ard J W, Adu t Educatio , Higher Education, 8 orgducati:n by Radio and Television magazines from 19§lol9gfio 67 8. Sinee either the televised programs may be the primary source with.the classroom.instruction built around this source, or the programs may be prepared to fit into af previously established.methodology and subject-matter area, which shall it be? 9. Television may be used for telecasting educational programs to the general public, for telecasting special events to school groups, and for telecasting specially prepared programs for school groups. . . ’10. Educational television programs will be viewed by people without any organized or promotional_activities. 11. The mediumbis'the solution to the problems involved in educating the masses and in making education a continuous process throughout life.. Most of the Sormal studies concerning television were designed to determine the viewing habits of audiences.6 Comp paratively speaking, very little_research has been conducted on the use and evaluation of educational television. The re- search.which has been reported can be categorized into these five groups: . 1. Comparisons of the television medium.with other methods of training large numbers of Armed Forces personnel-- these studies were the most formal, with controlled variables, that were reported. 2. Doctoral dissertations by Hard, McKune, and Higren. 3. The use of television for the dissemination of informp ation to a mass audience by the Cooperative Extension Service. ' 5.1.0. Finn, ”Television and EducatiOn:'A Review of Re- Research," Audio-Visual Communication Revieg, 1:106, Spring, 1953- 68 u. Telecourses at Western ReserVe University and the University of Houston. 5. The actual use of television where the assumption seemed to have been made that it was effective and the studies were made to determine ways of using it more effectively --for example, the Kansas Medical School, Philadelphia Public Schools, Seattle Public Schools, Michigan State College, Los Angeles Public Schools, and New Jersey Teachers College at Montclair. ‘ §§g§iggpconducted by_Armgg;Fo£ce§ A reeearch.project was conducted by the Special Devices Center, U. 8. Navy to compare the effectiveness of teaching officers and enlisted men by television, television recordings, and regular classroom procedures. Personnel at three Navy stations each were taught by these three methods, and the of- ficers and enlisted men were in separate groups and.were taught a different course. The same lesson plans were used for all methods of instruction, the groups were equated statis- tically, and a pretest and a post-test were administered. It was found that: (l) "80 percent of comparisons showed television as good as or better than local instructors,"8 (2) "75 percent T o . . hese research studies are documented in the next section When each study is individually reported. ‘ aggginingby Television - The Comparative Effectiveness or. Instruction by Television, Television Recordi s and C723- zentional lassroom rocedureg, U. 8. Navy, Human Engineering Project ZO-E-Sa, SDC.Report h76-02-2 (Port Washington, L. I., New York: Special Devices Center, E). d] ), .p. 15.“ " ’ - 69 of comparisons showed recordings as good as or better than local instructors,“9 and (3) ”8h percent of comparisons showed recordings as good as television."10 is to what makes the difference between poor and good television programs, it was found that: (1) direct narration was effective, (2) animated.films seemed to be effective, and (3) the poorest television lessons were programs which spent much time dramatizing the lesson material while the instructor, describing the action, was not shown on the screen. The viewing personnel found three programs too theoretical and insufficiently practical and three other programs too long. Small but significant numbers criticized insufficient use of visual aids and too little opportunity for asking ques- tions. The evaluation staff criticized certain production tech- niques: (l) the camera angles, (2) changing the screen presen- tation, (3) angle shots of blackboards and.charts, (h) too little tame on the charts and models, (5) too little attention on the density of words or new ideas, and (6) the conveying of meaning was often times overlooked. They further concluded othat the television picture of a speaker is better than the voice alone; but when showing a model or mechanism, it is better to show it rather than the instructor.11 The Naval Advisory Group recommended that more and better visual aids should be used and that better instructors should __. 91bid., p. 16. 1°Ib1d.. p. 17. 111bid., p. 21. 70 be selected who were free from. peculiarities in speech and annoying manneri ems . 12 The study did not present any information as to the proficiency of the instructors using the different methods, whether the better instructors were used on the television programs, whether the televised programs were rehearsed, or what visual aids the classroom.instructor had used in comp parison with those used on the television programs. The statement was made that "traditional“ and ”lecture” procedures were used by the classroom instructors, but the explanation did not clearly state the method of presentation that was used by this group. The pretest and post-test consisted of multiple-choice questions which only measured the increase in the amount of factual information. No attempt was made to determine the changes in behavior as evidenced by the adoption of recommended procedures. Another study was conducted by the Special.Devices Center to determine the amount of learning and retention from.view- ing televised programs. Three thousand reservists in an un- selected sampla, ranging from Private to Colonel, in 160 13 groups viewed eight television programs. They were pre- tested and post-tested with three groups of questions. A special staff prepared each lesson and professional actors were used. 121bid., pp. 21-22. 13Traini b Television - A Studygin Learni and Retention, U. S. Navy, Human.Engineering Project ZO-E-Ea, SDC Report E75-02-3 ogt Washington, L. I., New York: 5pecial Devices Center,]§.d3 L p. 71 Officers had a gradual loss after six weeks but retained 85 percent of the material learned, and the enlisted men had a 65 percent retention after a lapse of six.weeks. The per- centage gains in answers based upon treatment were: (1) nar- ration alcne--Zl.8, (2) narration plus meaningful filme-Bh.2, (3) narration plus atmospheric filmp-lu, (h) narration with drama-~28.S, and (5) drama aloneo-ll.5. The percentage gains based upon how the topics were treated were: (1) explicit-- 19.2, (2) sketchy-~2.l, and (3) not covered-~2.l. The following criticisms were made concerning the tele- vision programs: (1) the visual aids in the first five pro- grams needed improvement; (2) there was too much material in a one-hour lesson; (3) the purpose of the course was not clear, and the programs became a combination of an orientation and technical course; and (h) too many topics were covered, the maps and charts were hard to read, and the lessons were presented too rapidly. The evaluation staff, in studying the differences be- tween good and poor teaching,conc1uded that for the best teaching: (1) it should be clear and direct, (2) visual aids should be used, (3) the lesson and materials need to be pre- sented in logical order, (h) the professional writers need the help of psycho-educational specialists for they tend to i lose sight of facts and ideas which are to be taught, and (5) "filler" materials need to be removed as they interfere with the lesson materials. 72 The authors drew three conclusions which.were pertinent to the Television Project: (1) more than half of the re- servists prefered television to conventional c1assroom.pro- cedures and said that the programs were more instructive than the average training films, (2) the most effective teaching methods used were narrative combined with drama or films that explained and amplified what the narrator was talking about, and (3) the amount of learning was directly related to the explicitness of the treatment. The Quartermaster Training Command conducted a study to determine, in part, the effectiveness of instruction via television as compared to regular classroominstruction.1h The experiment consisted of sixty ROTC Quartermaster students in the control group who were taught in the classroom, forty- seven students in the experimental group who were taught by television, and ten students who were studio participants. Fortybtwo known reservists also participated although five hundred reservists of all ranks, branches, and services were invited to participate. Four programs were presented on four successive days and the same instructor, methods of instruc- tion, scripts, and audio-visual aids were used with both the control and experimental groups. However, the television groups were shown a two to three-minute introductory film on 11Enema-master Trainingcommand Educational-Tglevigion Stud , Quartermaster Training Command, Army - Fort Lee, Va. - 1 ~1h-Jun~§h-h00 (Fort Lee, Virginia: Quartermaster School, 195h). 5 pp. with Annexes. . 73 the first and last days which showed soldiers in combat feeding under extreme, cold-weather conditions. The in- structor was inexperienced with the television medium.and used four students in the studio to give himself a feeling of security. A thirty-two-item.objective test was adminis- tered on the Monday following the last program on Thursday. The average score of the classroom.(control) group was 27.7 or 86.7 percent and the television (experimental) group's score was 26.5 or 82.8 percent. when the studio-participating students' scores were averaged with the experimental group scores, the percentage increased to 87.8 percent. As reported in the study, the ”academic percentile rank averages" of both groups were later computed, and the television group's average of h0.h7 correlated +.ll with the scores on the - test; the classroom.group's "percentile rank average“ of hh.95 correlated +.Ol with their test scores. As would be expected by examining the above figures, there were no signi- ficant differences between the scores of the two groups. A large majority considered the television programs about the same or more interesting and effective than classroom.methods and rated the programs as generally ”very good", with a smaller number of students rating the programs as either "superior” or "fair". The findings of this study do not agree with those of the Special Devices Center, U. 8. Navy. The investigators of this experiment drew three conclusions which also seemed pertinent to the Television Project: 7h (1) the effectiveness of instruction by television seemed to beoequal to classroom methods fit should be recognized that this effectiveness, however, was based upon the immediate learning of factual informatiofl ; (2) the television programs were at least equal to or more interesting than classroom instruction, and one hour was the maximum recommended viewing time; and ( 3) instructors needed to know simple but important techniqueswand the differences in instructing by television. Certain recognized weaknesses included the following: (1) the instructor at times moved too quickly; (2) he did not allow sufficient time for note-taking and needed to get used to the camera being close to him and eXpect certain ac- tivities to go wrong; and (3) some printing was too small, incorrect colors were used, and there was a ”halo“ effect when black and white colors were used together. - In a three-month test of trainees in the U. 8. Army Signal Corps at Camp Gordon, Georgia, the Human Resources Re- search Office of George Washington University found that: (1) Normal instruction time in one electronics course was cut in half when the course was presented on TV with visual gimmicks, _e_. g., close-ups, cutaway models; ( 2) TV students remembered what they had learned as well as and often better than, students taught by regu- lar classroom instructors; and (3) men with low I. Q.'s benefited most, did far better on xaminations than their counterparts in regular classes. No information was given about the research design, whether or not the compared groups were equated, or how the regular classes were taught. 13111“, 65:72, March 28, 1955. 75 The findings of this study and the Special Devices Center Studies--namely, that personnel learn more, remem- ber it better, mud require less thme for instruction when television is used than when regular classroom procedures are used--did not seem consistent with the findings of come munications research, namely, that "face-to-face” contact was more effective than indirect contact. Doctoral Dissertations . McKune reported his study in which a series of tele- vision programs on guidance and counseling were telecast by. Iowa State College to highpsohool pupils. He used two ex, periments to evaluate the effectiveness of these programs: The first experiment was a kind of measure of delayed recall. Data for the study were obtained from.atudents in consolidated and small-town high schools. The sub- Jects were divided into three general groups. The first, or Group A, was composed of 126 students who had viewed all of the "Guideposts' telecasts, the live performances used for this study;.the second, or Group a B, 1&6 students who had not viewed "Guideposts" but had watched a guidance program of another type over the same station; . . . the third, or Group C, lhh students who had no access to the prigram being tested or other televised guidance series. {Phe primary tool used in the evaluation was a sixty-one item, multiple-choice test which, as it was administered, was recog- Izized by the author as having certain weaknesses. The test scores were treated statistically to determine if there was f6Lawrence E. McKune, ”Same Problems in Writing, Produc- izion, and Evaluation of Television Programs for In-Class ‘fiewing“ (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, The State Dni- ‘rersity.of Iowa, Iowa City, 1953), p. 37. 76 a significant difference. ”Since these data yield no statis- tically significant difference and the nature of the experi— ment was exploratory, no further interpretation was made."17 A second experiment was conducted in an attempt to learn something about the immediate recall_of viewers of the I'Guide- posts“ programs. Pretests were administered to sixty-seven students prior to the viewing of six kinescOped recordings, and post-tests were administered immediately thereafter. HoKune reported that “results show that for each of six.kine- scepes the mean gain in test score was greater than can be attributed to chance variations in testing."18 Hard conducted a study to manure the effectiveness of the use of three definite quantities of scientific concepts. A television program was produced, and a kinescoped recording was made and shown to matched groups cf freshmen divided into three segments. The first segments were shown fifteen terms in fifteen minutes, the second segments were shown twenty terms in nineteen minutes, and the third segments were shown twenty-five terms in twenty-five minutes. Each of the experi- :mental groups had the above terms superimposed upon the kine- scoped recording.19 An.immediate ”recall" test was administered after the recordings were viewed. Three minutes, four minutes, and 1723.49... p. 39. 181mm, p. Ln. 190. Gustav Hard, "An Adaptation of a Course for Television Teaching of Horticulture“ (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, ‘Michigan State College, East Lansing, l95h), 109 pp. 77 five minutes were allowed the fifteen-term, twenty-term, and twenty-five-term segments respectively. A "comperhensive" test in which the students were asked to select the term.” which best fitted the explanation or definition was conducted immediately after the ”recall" test. The segments were pro- vided nine, thirteen, and seventeen.minutes respectively to complete the examination. Hard found that superimposition did not alter significantly the percentage of terms compre- hended or recalled and concluded that superimpositions were not worthwhile. The author did not explain the technique that was used to match the groups, nor the basis for deciding upon the addi- tional time that was permitted the groups which.were shown more terms. His findings and conclusions were contrary to most of the research and accepted conclusions of cemmunication- research.apecialists, namely, that superimpositions are sig- nificant for learning and retention and are worthwhile. Wigren, in another doctoral dissertation, investigated the uses of educational television and made recommendations concerning ways in which it might be used effectively. He states:. 'Specifically, . . . , programs need: to involve the learners more in what is being taught; to give the learners the opportunity to participate in as many ways as possible; to be careful not to teach too much at one time; to remember that proper pacing is impor- tant when presenting information; to build on the preceding one, thus making it possible to relate the present telecast to what has gone on before or to 78 what is to come later; and to suggest ways in which the learner can keepzsight on learning when the program is over. In helping the viewer to understand the program.ccn- tent and in making it more meaningful to him, Wigren recomp mends: First, cover onl ‘g few points pp any one program . . .nggcond, c oose vocabulary wisely and i2 termp _c_>_f_ the particular audience to whom the program 2.8.. aimed. . . Third, start wiuH’what the viewer knows and move out to what he does not know. . . flourth, make use 9; pummarizations. . .21- lgtudies Conducted by Personnel in the Deeperative Extengipp Service A study was conducted by the United States Department of Agriculture to determine the effectiveness of an eleven- program.series of twelvenminute demonstrations entitled, "Let's Make a Dress."22 Considering all eleven programs in the series, the average ”attendance“ was ho percent of the total audience. Seven out of eight women said that they learned new things about dress making, and eight in ten re- ported that the demonstrations helped with things most needed. The personal interview-data indicated that the television demonstrations, supplemented by a bulletin and printed mater- ials, were highly effective in teaching dress-making ideas 2°Harolde. wigren, ”Planning fer the Development of Educational Television in Houston, Texas” (unpublished Doctor's dissertation, Teachers College, Columbia.University, New York City, 1953)! PP. 82-830 21Ibid'., pp. h6-h8. 22Meredith C. Wilson and Edward 0. M08, Effectiveness of WW.-oeareno A riculture Extension Service Circu a N 66 ( ashington: U? S. Government Printing Office, 19%13, 33 gp. . 79 and improved practices. The data further pointed out the importance of a bulletin or other printed matter as a supple- ‘ment to the television demonstrations. The audience was very strongly of the cpinion that twelve-minute demonstrations were of insufficient length for optimum results. One prac- tice which was learned had actually been used by h6.§ percent of the viewers, and the percentage using practices increased from.31.6 percent for those viewing one to three programs to 59.h percent for those viewing seven to eleven programs. Al- :most 98 percent of the women interviewed wanted more tele- vision programs on sewing. The investigators concluded that the high.interest of this limited audience in more television programs on sewing indicated the potentialities of television as an effective medium for conducting an adultueducation pro- gram. Gauger reported a study in which four programs on corn production were televised on four consecutive Tuesday nights on‘WOI-TV.23 Each county was urged to develop its own plans for coordinating the television program.with local county programs. The project was promoted through the use of news articles, radio, circular letters, publication packets, and contacts with groups. After each program a discussion was held in which viewers gave their reactions to the television program and the information which was telecast. An opinionnaire h.“ 23C. J. Gauger, "Evaluation of Results of the 'Gorn Pro- duction' TV Pro ram.in Story County, Iowa," Report ST-h93 (Nevada, Iowa, n. d] ), 27 pp. (Duplicated by Ditto process.) 80 type of evaluation sheet was mailed to the viewers to be filled out and returned, along with an invitation to request pertinent bulletins. A "Final Evaluation Blank“ was sent to all persons who had sent in one or more reports on indi- vidual shows. The form asked for such information as the suitability of the thus of the telecast, plans for using the ideas presented, problems, values of the series, and sugges- tions. Responses were made by 226 individuals who returned hh5 reports on the individual television shows as well as 152 final evaluations. Gauger presented seven conclusions which seemed pertinent to the Television Project for they embodied certain cencepts which seemed.to represent a consensus of opinion of the persons involved with the Project: 1. Television is unquestionably an effective way of getting new ideas to farm people. . . . 2. It would seem to be most effective as a motivating device rather than one which we can depend on to do the entire Job of teaching new techniques. 3. The people who answered our questionnaire felt definitely that followbup meetings and publications are important to getting the most out of the programs. . O C O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O O 5. It you wish a coordinated program, then it is essential to bring together all the folks involved at the planning stage. . . . g 6. It would appear, based upon our limited experience in Story County, that discussion meetings can best be set-up as part of the regular programs of existing groups. e e e 7. It is essential that planning be done well in advance of programs so that coordination can be accom- plished. . 8. we cannot sit idly by with expectations that television will do the Job for us. . . .Achieving its full potential challenges the best effortzhand creative ideas of all agricultural educators. . . iIbide g ppe 20-210 81 In a study by Williams at Iowa State College an attempt was made to determine the effectiveness of television as a medium.for teaching clothing construction. Nine programs entitled "Make a Dress, TV" were telecast to four viewing groups: Group A received television only: Group B received television and printed materials; Group C received television and assistance by the home demonstration agent; and Group D received television, printed materials, and assistance by . the home demonstration agent.25 She found from.the data, collected by personal inter- view, that better knowledge was received concerning clothing construction processes by a sizable number of women. There appeared to be little difference in the results obtained by using the four different methods. Thirty-five percent com- pleted the entire series and the number of viewers gradually decreased. Group D viewed more programs than any other group. Williams concluded that a shorter series which included less subject matter might cause more women to participate in similar programs in the future. Most of the women considered a thirty-minute program to be of a satisfactory length. Mulder conducted a study in which four television pro- grams were televised to seventeen viewing groups consisting of 110 women in six counties on the subject of "Understanding nglsie K. Williams, "Effectiveness of Television as a Medium.for Clothing Construction" (unpublished Master's thesis, Iowa State College, Amos, 1953.). 82 ‘Your Children."26 She feund that sixteen women completed the twenty-four itdm pretest and post-test with a 1 percent in- crease in the mean scores on the post-test. ‘Uhile the data were not tested statistically, cursory examination would indicate that they were not significant. She concluded that: (l) the preconditioning period was a crucial point in the success of the viewing group method, and during this period the purpose and scope of the project must be understood by all those interested in organizing a viewing group; (2) under more favorable conditions it appeared that the viewing group method had potentiality for extension teaching; and (3) the extension specialist would be able to reach more peeple in less time and travel and with less cost, and a segment of the population not ordinarily available through normal extension channels could be reached by tele- vision. Davis reported a study conducted at Iowa State College in February 1952 in which 800 women in Franklin County, Iowa were organized into "coffee groups" to view a series of home economics television programs entitled "Sizing Up'Your'Win- 27 dows.“ No evaluative information concerning the effective- ness of the series was presented in the report. A television audience survey was conducted by McAllister (and Whitcomb at‘Hilmdngton, Delaware to determine the interest ‘EEDorothy Mulder, "An EXperiment in the Use of Television for Organ zed Viewing Groups' (un ublished Master's thesis, Michigan tate College, East Lans ng, l95h), 97 pp. 27James Davis "A Re ort of Four Educationa Television Programs " Iowa State Co 1e e, Ames: wOI-Tv, 19 2, cited by Dorothy fiulder, Ibid., p. 1%. . 33 in a series of television lessons on homemaking subjects.28 Sixty percent of the women interviewed expressed an interest and listed home furnishings as their first choice, followed by child care and foods next in order of preference. The evening hours were suggested as the most suitable time, and the hours from one to three o'clock in the afternoon was their next choice. A program: of thirty-minutes length was suggested by a.majority of the interviewees. ‘gpggarch on Telecoursgp_Conducted by Universitigp In a study at the University of Houston three groups of students were given a course in introductory psychology. Group A viewed the course by television and attended a semi- nar at the campus,based upon the assigned readings and tele- vision programm; Group B viewed the televised programs and completed.home-study problems in a manual; Group C received the regular classroom instruction. The mean scores on the same final examination were: (I) Group Ao-99.0h, (2) Group B-o98.00, and (3) Group C--96.ll.29 The differences in the mean scores were not statistically significant; and as nothing was reported concerning the equating of the groups, it ap- peared that the groups were selected, based upon their en- rollment in a given section of the course, without considera- tion of individual or group differences. makeig?‘Ugivgggityagfngngirg,wgggggzg’C¥¥EHIEFQ§%%%%%E3¥Q%%5ark: ggp crativiéExtensien Service, 1951, cited by Dorothy Mulder ._._._0s Po 0 . 29Richard I. Evansfi "Summary of Research Findings Concern n Ed ti nal TV t the ive sit of H uston " Houston: Universi y oru gusgon, 1953. cited by Soroth 3 Ibid., p. 13. ‘ y Mu der, 8h Millis of Western Reserve University reported the results of a telecourse in general psychology which was pre- sented on the Cleveland station. Sixty-six persons en- rolled in the course with thirty-four completing the course and taking the final examination. The median test score 'was sixty-seven compared with a median score of fiftybfour for the students taking the regular course at the University using traditional classroom procedures. However, it was recognized that the people taking the course by television were self-selected and hand-picked and were older and more 30 It also appeared experienced than the regular students. that no technique or statistical design was used to equate the two groups. Michigan State College reported its policies concerning educational television and telecourses; and stating its con- cepts of the way to utilize the medium, the All College Tele- vision Committee "recommended that the school and departments consider the television courses as an integral part of their educational responsibility."31 Studies Concerning‘Ways of Improving the Use of Educational Television Personnel in various schools and school systems have undertaken research programs in the effective use of educational 30John S. Millis, "Formal Education By Television," A Tele- xision Policy_for Education, Carroll V. Newsmm, editor (Washing- ton: American Council on Education, 1952), pp. hO-hl. '31"Report of the All College Committee on Television Courses for Credit" Efiichigan State College East Lansing: The President‘s AQ,Hoc Committee on Television, 195 , Po h. (Mimeographed) 85 television and have utilized it as an instructional aid. As the television activities in the Los Angeles school system were based upon concepts similar to those which were used as a guide in the investigation and evaluation of the Television Project, the plans and purposes, as reported by Lange, are presented in detail. The Los Angeles schools in 1952 preposed an experimen- tal project in television in.which twenty-five elementary schools were to participate. The supervisors, administrators, and teachers participated in the programpplanning and in writing study-guides so that the specific needs of teachers and classes would be met.32 Another project was proposed for the experimental use of television in the secondary schools and stated as its purpose: To study the value of television as a teaching aid to be used by the teacher to bring to the classroom. facilities and experiences not otherwise available. The facilities and experiences are to be closely re- lated t3 the current instructional program of the class. 3 The committee reported the following standards for tele- vision planning which seemed pertinent: I l. The telecasts should be developed out of the curriculum. 2. The telecasts should be a part of the instructional program and should bring to the classroom material not available otherwise, ' 32"A Plan for the Experimental Use of Television in the Los Angeles City Elementary Schools" (Curriculum.Division, Los Angeles City School Districts, Los Angeles: The Television Committee, February 11, 1952.) , p..2. .(Mimeographed) 33Ibid., p. 1. 86 3. The telecast should include three parts: a. The introduction should state the objec- tive of the telecast and its place in the instructional program of the subject. b. The main body of the program should utilize excellent teaching practices, concepts, American ideals, and be in keeping with the Point of View of the Los Angeles City schools. . c. The conclusion should summarize important learning outcomes and show how the original purpose of'the telecast has been accomplished. h. The AUDIO-VISUAL SECTION will be responsible for the preparation and distribution of study guides well in advance’of the program. In order that the use of television would be properly integrated into the educational program, these standards for classroomxuse were established: 1. The telecast should be viewed in a regular class situation with the regular teacher of the class. 2. The telecast is to be used only if it has a definite place in the current instructional program of the class. 3. The telecast is to be used only as an aid to implement the regular instructional program of the class. h. The participating teachers will be responsible for the proper use of the study guides in preparing the class.fo§5the program.and in conducting follow-up activities. The committee recommended that "a continuing and adequate appraisal of both the instructional value of the telecasts and their effectiveness as a teaching aid should be made by the participating teachers in close cooperation with those responsible for the planning."36 Probably,the most extensive research program in the effective use of educational television was that undertaken 3&12i9o: p. 2. 35Ib1d., p. 3. 36Ibid. 87 by the New Jersey State Teachers College at Montclair. Du- mont reported the two general aims and the ten specific ob- Jectives which were developed by the personnel of the college.37 Kelly and Conrad reported a five-year project started at the same college in November 1953. A project called "A Study of the Effectiveness of Television in Relation to Current Problems in Teaching“ was initiated to formulate and test basic principles relating to the impact of television on the following twelve impact areas: (1) the pupil, (2) the individual teacher, (3) the teaching profession, (h) methods of teacher education, (5) school administration, (6) the con- stituent community, (7) ancillary educational specialties, (8) the curriculum, (9) school architecture, (10) educational television.equipment, ill) educational television transmission, and (12) educational television production.38 Among twenty general evaluative statements, based upon all of the separate problems and projects studied up to the present time, the in- vestigators reported that "classroom television need not replace fiLms, filmstrips, slides, or radio in the schools. On oc- casion, it should make masterful use of all of these media of instruction." 3:Allen B. Duflont, 'Educational Television,“ A Television Polio for Educgtion, Carroll V. Newsom, editor (Wishington: American COuncil on Education, 1952). PP. 17-18. 38George A. Kelly and Lawrence H. Conrad, "Report on Classroom Television l95hv" New Jersey State Teachers College at Montclair (Montclair: The Montclair State Teachers College Television in.Education Project, 19Sh), p. 1., (Mimeographed) 39Ibid., p. 28. 88 Conrad reported a special one-day project which was also conducted at the New Jersey State Teachers College at Montclair. Eight television lessons were transmitted to specially prepared television receivers in thirteen public schools in the towns of Montclair and Bloomfield on April 30, l952,from,8:50 A.M. to 3:20 P.M. The evaluation was based upon 50 forms turned in by educational visitors who were present to view the activities; 60 score sheets filled out by participating teachers; 1650 evaluation forms filled out by the viewing students; a discussion at the end of the day with educators, participating teachers, and the investigator's own staff; and letters.“0 The investigator reported what was learned about educa- tional television that: (1) it is most effective when it brings experiences, materials, and demonstrations not readily available; (2) the telecaster must possess enthusiasm, a knowb ledge of teaching principles, and special qualities of voice and.manner; (3) teachers should be planners; (h) the programs should be limited and not include too much materials; (5) pre- paration before classroom reception is always desirable; and (6) the twenty to thirty-minute program.fits best and leaves proper discussion time)"1 King,.in reporting activities of the New Jersey Research Project, stated that teachers participating in the project have a: noLawrence H. Conrad, Educational Television Moves Forward, New Jerse State Teachers 01 e e at Montclair Montclair: The Montciair State Tea hers olege Television in Education Project, pril 30, 1952, 39 pp. hlconrad,._p.‘g;§., pp. 37-38. 89 . . . strong desire to use TV as an integral part of their regular classroom teaching, rather than as a 'frill". Teachers are looking upon TV as one more audio-visual.aid afigilable for use in their regular teaching program. There seemed to be a consensus of opinion among the elemen- tary administrators concerning the contents of effective edu- cational programs that: (1) teachers want the contents of the program.to be authoritative, and they want the person presenting the program.to give the information in such a way that desirable learnings will result, (2) the content of a good educational program should be such that a teacher cannot duplicate it, (3) the content should be presented in such a way that it leads to inquiry, and (h) a good television program must be one which acknowledges the child as being of prime importance. Based.upon the experimentation, the inves- tigators discovered that: (1) the background of a good edu- cational television program.must have eye appeal, the camera work must be as accurate as a teacher's pointer, and the sound and voices must be easily understood; and (2) educational television programs must be planned by and for teachers and must be a part of the regular school curriculum.in order to be successful.”3 ‘ Thorn and King evaluated one of the programs in the Television Project entitled "Bulk-Handling of Milk" by administering a thirty-three item.pretest and postetest, haWilliamfl. King, "What Teachers EXpect from Educational Television,” The Instructor, AV Supplement, June, l95h, p. 7. h31bid., p. 8. 90 based upon the prepared script, to the class members in four classes of vocational agriculture. While recognizing that several limitations were present, they found that the gain in the mean scores in two of the schools was significant and that the gain was 223 significant in the other two schools. A rank correlation of +.SS was obtained between the indivi- dual scores on the pretest and post-test. They concluded that: (1) ”the knowledge of the subject matter known by the respondents prior to the TV program was rather high, and (2) the subject matter presented by the TV program was, therefore, below the general knowledge-level of the class."uh' The University of Kansas School of Medicine has been experimenting with closed-circuit television since l9h9.h5 The Philadelphia Public School personnel have probably util- ized the television medium to a greater degree than any other public school system,h6 Mchle, in reporting the EhBurton K. Thorn and Charles E. King, "An Evaluation of the Television Program - 'Bulk-Handling of Milk'," Michigan State College (East Lansin : Department of Voca- tional Education, February 28, 1955?. p. 9. (Duplicated by Ditto process.). hSPaul W. Schafer, "The Kansas Television Experiment,“ (Reprinted article with.additions from The Journal of the. American Medical Association, June 6, 1993. Vol. 152, pp. ESE-EEV), 12 pp; Paul W. Schafer, “Television at the Uni- versity of Kansas Medical Center," The Journal of the American Medical Association, 152:78, May 2, 1933. uéReport of the Television-Radio Activities, School- Community Relations Office, School District of Philadelphia, The Board of Education (Philadelphia: The Board of Education Print Shop, September 1953), 35 pp. 91 television activities of the Seattle Public Schools, stated that 176 programs involving 1511 teachers and school children were produced during the 1953-5h school year.u7 Educational broadcasters, as reported by Cooley, have defined their pur- 3 48 While the types of re- poses in six statements of aims. search and the techniques and methods of evaluation differed, the over-all objectives, as also reported in the previous studies, seemed to be that of improving the instructional program of the schools. The general conclusions which seemed to have been drawn were that: (1) television could.not do the entire job of teaching, (2) teachers must participate in the planning of these programs, and (3) a continuous ap- praisal should be made of the television programs by the pro- ducers and by the teachers who used them. §§mmary of the Rpggarch on Edgcational Tglevision Generally, the research that was reported has been of these types: d 1. A comparison of results by using tests which were designed to measure factual information. 2. Weaknesses in the production and programming techniques. 3. A comparison of viewing kinesc0ped recordings vs. incidental, unplanned learning. 17min B. McDole, "Seattle Public Schools Complete Three Years of Telecasting," Seattle Public Schools (Seattle, Washington: Department of Public Relations, June 18, 195h), 10 pp. (Mimeographed). l*BHazel Cooley Vision in Television (New'York: Channel Press Publishers, l9527} p. 33.. . 92 h. A comparison of a subsidiary study of super- impositions. 5. A study of the reactions of groups of people to educational television programs. 6. A study of what educational television is and recommendations for its use in an instructional program. 7. In one study only, the number of practices that were adapted as the result of television viewing. Some of the research appeared to have certain limita- tions, for groups were not equated, and it seemed to be somewhat evident in some of the studies that special prepara- tion was made by television instructors and special visual aids were available, although not directly reported. The formal studies measured the results of television viewing ‘pgg.§g but seemingly did not consider it as an instructional aid to be used with the class by the instructor during a part of the class meetings. None of the studies reported the way in which television was used by the teachers in a class situation. Some of the studies also reported somewhat generalized findings, such as more people could be reached by the use of television, and viewing personnel though edu- cational television programs were a "good idea". While some of the studies recommended that the viewers and teachers who used the programs should participate in the planning of the television programs, only one of them actually reported 93 that this was done, and none reported in what way these persons were to participate. Several predictions are made by the investigator about educational television which were supported by the research. The medium will command attention as, perhaps,no other teacher, and people will learn from it. People will learn not only facts but also attitudes, some motor skills, some- times critical thinking, and problempsolving. If educational television is properly used, it may be expected to impart facts and demonstration procedures at least as effectively as an average classroom.teacher. Perhaps, it may be as ef- fective as an excellent teacher. However, the effective use of educational television is considerably different from the effective use of commercial television and, therefore, re- quires different methods. Basically, it will require the utilization of desirable teaching principles and the use of the medium.as a part of an "educational package". Teachers will need to be involved in the planning and evaluation, and additional instructional aids will need to be used to supple- ‘ ment or to complement the use of the medium. Up to the present time the special characteristics of educational television have not been utilized to their best advantage, and much of the various presentations could have been broad- cast by radio. However, as educators learn to use the medium, they will pass beyond the stage of "photographing illustrated lectures" and will learn how to combine and to harmonize the 9h auditory and visual communications. This amalgamation is the essence of both educational television and instructional films. There are other conclusions which appear to be justified from the research although they have not been specifically pointed out by the studies reported. The television medium has certain advantages and special characteristics, but it also has some disadvantages. While it has a definite place in the instructional program and in the educational process, it is only one of many instructional aids which teachers may use. Although it is an aid to classroom instruction, it is not a replacement of the teachers. The medium.has excellent public relations value for education and can stimulate, motivate, and cause a desire for inquiry. Outstanding teachers can be made into effective “television teachers“ with only minor training, and the intercommunication aspects of learning and of teaching can be preserved by use of the proper techniques. Educational television appears to be an effective medium.for the mass training of Armed Services personnel and for continuing the education of all people by either formal or informal learning. Most important, i; should pg recognized.that‘iggrggfectivenegg depends 2233 EEEEWlé placed before th2,cameras‘§ggrhgg the teachers and viewing pggggnnel utilize.;§. The literature also, either directly or indirectly, indicated several questions which needed to be answered 95 although it was not the purpose of this investigation to answer any or all of them directly or completely. These are subsumed in these interrogations: l. Hhat should be the content of various educational programs and who is to make the decisions? 2. Should the televised programs be used for motiva- tion, information, problempsolving, summary, and/or instigating additional study and learning? 3. How can the programs be integrated with classroom teaching and activities? h. How can the instructor best follow up the presen- tation to help students continue the learning, which was initiated in the class, out on the farm? 5. Under what circumstances is television better than some other visual aid and under what situations can it be used most effectively? 6. wa often should televised programs be used? 7. What effect will the programs have upon organized instructional programs for adult and young farmers? 8. To what extent will the programs determine the course content? 9. Can televised programs replace the instructor, at least in part, since farmers can independently receive the programs at home? 10. How can television programs and their use be best evaluated? 96 Research on Instructional Films The research on the uses of educational television was somewhat meager, and, therefore, studies involving the research on instructional films were reviewed. In addition, it may be assumed that there are no essential differences between educational television and educational sound films so far as the learning process is concerned except two: (1) the greater immediacy and liveness of television and its vastly greater potential audience for any one showing, and (2) the greater degree of control (interviewing, repetition, timing) which the teacher has. When allowance is made for these differences, the research on sound film can be added to that on educational television and a twenty-year baseline can be established from which the potentialities of this medium can be prognosticated. Hoban and Van Ormer reported a study in which all instruc- tional film.research from.1918 to 1950 was reviewed.”9 They presented five values of instructional films which are quoted, in part: ugCharles F. Hoban, Jr. and Edward B. Van Ormer, Instruc- tional Film Research 1918-1250, U. S. Navy, Navexos P-977. Technical Report No. SDC 2 9- -19 (Port Washington, L. I., New York: Special Devices Center, Octoberl951), pages numbered in nine sections. .This report is the most complete and ex- tensive review of the research on instructional films, and the project was carried out during a two and one-half year period by the Instructional Film Research Program at the Penn- sylvania State College, jointly sponsored by the Department of the Army and Department of the Navy. The study included a review of 301 articles, books, abstracts, and other materials (see pp. B-l to B-lh for the bibliography) and 18 Technical Reports of the Instructional Film Research Program (see p. C-l). "l'llll l ( q 97 1. People learn from films. 2. Hhen effective and appropriate films are properly used, people learn more in less time and are better able to retain what they have learned. 3. Instructional films may stimulate other learning activities. h. Certain films may facilitate thinking and problem solving. 5. Appropriate films are equivalent to at least an average teacher, and sometimes even to an excellent instructor insofar as the instructor's function is communic ting the facts or demonstrating the procedures. It was evident from.the studies on film.research that the influence of motion pictures on behavior was dynamic. Film.influence depended upon the content and.use.of the film, the psychological make-up of the audience, and the social and instructional characteristics of the situation in which the film was presented. The investigators reported ten summary principles governing the influence of films which they developed from. their extensive and intensive research, covering a period of two and one-half years, and, in part, these are presented below: 1. PRINCIPLE 0F REINFORCEMENT: Films have greatest influence when their content reinforces and extends previous knowledge, attitudes, and.mmtivations of the audience. They have least in- fluence when previous knowledge is.inadequate, and when their content is antagonistic or contrary to the existing attitudes and motivation of the audience. 2. PRINCIPLE 0F SPECIFICITY: The influence of a motion picture is more specific than . general a . Eirbide, pp. 9-1 and 9-2. 98 3. PRINCIPLE 0F RELEVANCE: The influence of a motion picture is greater when the content of the film is directly relevant to the audience reaction that it is intended to influence. h. PRINCIPLE 0F AUDIENCE VARIABILITY: 'Rihctions to a motion picture vary with.most or all of the following factors: film literacy, abstract intelligence, formal education, age, sex, previous ex- perience with the subject, and prejudice or predisposi- tion toward the subject. 5. PRINCIPLE or VISUAL PRIMACY: The influence of.a motion picture is primarily in the strength of the visual presentation, and secondarily, in the narration or comentary. It is relatively unaf- fected by ”slickness" of production as long as meaning is clear. - 6. PRINCIPLE 0F PICTORIAL CONTEXT: An audience responds selectively to motion pictures, reacting to those things which it finds familiar and significant in the pictorial context in which the action takes place. 7. PRINCIPLE 0F SUBJECTIVITY: Ifidividuals.respond.to a motion picture most effi- 'ciently when the pictorial content is subjective for them. 8. PRINCIPLE 0F RATE OF DEVELOPMENT: Rate of development influences the instructional impact of a picture on its audience. 9. PRINCIPLE 0F INSTRUCTIONAL VARIABLES: Established instructional techniques, properly built into the film or applied by the instructor, substantially increase the instructional effectiveness of a fihm. 10. PRINCIPLE 0F INSTRUCTOR LEADERSHIP: The leadership qualities of the instructor affect the efficiency with which his class will learn from the film or filmstrip. 51 Hoban and Van Ormer reported four general conclusions or observations concerning the influences of motion pictures and a way of improving films and their instructional use. These statements, in part, included the following: 1. When NECESSARY and DESIRED learning is dependent upon ya background of experience possessed to only a slight de- gree by the learner, the advantage of the film over other media, especially for rapid mass instruction, may be most evident. g1Ibid., pp. 9-3 to 9-8. 99 2. The actual influence of a given motion picture is frequently less than its anticipated influence. 3. If motion pictures are to teach, they must be made as tools of teaching, rather than merely as examples of cinema art. k. If the effectiveness of motion pictures in in- struction is to be increased, improvement must be 52 made by all involved, not simply by the producer. Schuller presented a summary of some of the principal conclusions concerning educational motion pictures based upon the research of Dale, Hoban, Knowlton and Tilton, Roulon, Arnspiger, Wise, Van Ormer, and Wittich and Fowlkes: 1. Films app effective in conveyipgwfactual informatign. 2. Films sijnificantly aid the _pupil in underpianding information. a. Films increase retention 9P knowledge. . Methods 2P_usi§g films substantially affect learning result§_achieved throggh their Egg. . . . The evidence strongly indicates that the following techniques, PP properl§3applied, significantly increase learning from films: a. Orienting the group on what it is going to see and/or summarizing what it has seen. b. Announcing that a check-up or test on learning will be given after a fihn. c. Reviewing the important points (with variation) within the film.and/or showing the film, in part or as a whole, more than once. d. Carrying on group participation of some kind . during or after a film showing. e. Informing the learner of how much he has learned. Giving test results or answerguor making appli- cations as soon as possible. The way in which an instructor teaches and uses visual aids is more important than what he uses. Meierhenry reported several studies in a four-year research project involving up to seventy high schools and E Ibid., pp. 9-8 to 9-9. p \ 53Charles F. Schuller (ed.) The School Administrator and §$£_AEQ$2:!;pual Program, National Education Association (Wash- ington: Department of Audio-Visual Instruction, l95h), pp. 11-16. Shlbid., p. 16. 100 more than twenty thousand pupils in Nebraska. The studies during the l9u6-h7 and l9h7-h8 school years used two types of tests, namely, a standardized subject—matter test and a fiLm test. The same test was used as a pretest and a post- test, and all of the tests were statistically reliable. In summary, the amount of subject matter learned was about the same, based upon the results of standardized tests. The film group learned more of the material presented by the film. The value of the films seemed largely to be an enrichment value in that visual presentation could be made which, otherwise, would only be available through verbaliza- tion. The conclusion was made that selected motion pictures demonstrated clearly, "as measured by the film tests, their usefulness in supplying a significant number of learning ex- periences not ordinarily made available to the students in these subjects."55 0n,most-subjects there were no significant differences in the standardized groups, although the insig- nificant differences more often than not favored the experi- mental groups. The project was continued during the school years 19h8-h9 and l9h9-SO to determine if motion pictures modify beliefs and to determine the effects of intelligence. Experimental and control groups were selected, and the experimental groups “SHesley C. Meierhenry, Enriching_the Curriculum.Through flotion Pictures (Lincoln, Nebraska: University of Nebraska Press, l9§2 , p. 87. 101 were shown a series of films about the United Nations, while the control groups were taught in the usual way. However, many of the control groups received some instruc- tion about the United Nations. The change in beliefs of the experimental groups was significant. One conclusion drawn from.the interviews with the randomly sampled inter- viewees was that study-guides could increase the effective- ness of motion pictures. A further study was made to determine the effects of the following factors upon the students' learning by films: (1) teaching experience of the instructors, (2) educational level of the instructors, (3) school size, (h) class size, and (5) preparation of the teacher in the use of audio-visual materials. None of the above factors was found to be statis- tically significant. Motion pictures did not seem.to have the same effects in all subjects. This may have been due to the nature of the motion pictures available in each subject and to the types of audio-visual materials used in the class in addition to the films. A study conducted by the Research Branch, Information 43nd Education Division of the War Department attempted to *iasess the effects of various special films, radio programs, :and devices. Experimental and control groups varying from five hundred to fifteen hundred soldiers were used. Three functions of the films were tested: their ability (1) to communicate certain background facts of the war, (2) to 102 induce more favorable opinions and attitudes, and (3) to increase the motivation and willingness to serve in the Armed Forces.56 It was found that two films were no more effective than one in the ability to persuade and that all of the media were effective in connmmicating information. No significant difference was found in favor of the films for "motivation" and for causing "willingness to serve in the army.” h The investigators concluded that all media and devices were effective in communicating information and in imparting skills and that all were much less effective in modifying Opinions or in increasing motivations. The filma were found to be less effective for motivation than for general opinion. Weaver and Bollinger reported a study carried out at Yale University to determine the influence of motivation and Participation on the teaching effectiveness of a film. Four different versions of the film were prepared, each giving eRactly the same factual presentation with identical materials and accompanying commentary, but either "motivating" and/ or "Participating" questions were inserted into three of these VBI‘sions. The-investigators concluded "that even the rela- tlvely crude procedure used for increasing pupil participa- t"ion can materially increase effectiveness of an educational gCarl T. Hovland, Arthur A. Lumsdaine, and Fred D. Sheffield, Experiments on MasisgCommunications (Princeton, New Jersey: ~Princeton University Press, 19W), 3115 pp. 103 film."57 The results also suggested that: (l) the inser- tion of orienting questions preceding the presentation of the factual material may aid in learning, and (2} the teachers may use existing films to advantage by interspersing questions before and between sections of a film; a film may also be shown twice to obtain the advantage that can be pro- duced by this method. Bentley made an experimental evaluation of certain audio- visual aids in vocational agriculture as related to the home garden, swine production, and pasture production enterprises. He found that the mean of the experimental group was signifi- cantly higher than the mean of the control group in only two out of eight comparisons.58 Sumner}; of F3131!" Research Certain limitations were found in reviewing the litera- ture on instructional film research which should be recognized in evaluating the general conclusions that were presented: (1) many data were not treated statistically to determine if the improvement by the films was significant; (2) non-discrim- 1nating terms, for example "relatively", were used in des- cribing the findings; (3) the control of pertinent variables and the experimental designs were questionable, (14.) over- ( Gilbert G. Weaver and Elroy W. Bollinger Visual Aids New York: D. Van .Nostrand Company, Inc., 19195, p. 3. 58Ralph R. Bentley, “An Experimental Evaluation of Certain gnaw Visual Aids in Vo-Ag," Agricultural Education, 20:136, armary, 19148. - . 59Hoban and Van Ormer, 93. cit., Foreword. 10h. generalizations were made from limited data, and (5) the way in which the films were used by the instructors greatly deter- mined the results. While the reader should keep the above limitations in mind, the research showed definitely that experimental groups exceeded the control groups on film tests where the control groups secured their information by incidental methods. On standardized tests measuring the amount of factual information learned by both groups, the increased scores of the experimental groups were not significant. Films changed beliefs and opinions, but generally there was more of a modification than conversion. No research was found where a comparison was made of the effectiveness of teaching certain information by films and by the "regular" classroom procedures with all other variables held constant. In many of the studies the films were used as a supplement to certain materials, textbooks, or classroom instruction. Therefore, it was to be expected that the results from Viewing films would show greater gains for the experimental groups. In evaluating the use of films it should be recognized that certain films can present what otherwise would not be available because of timeliness and cost. In addition, the enrichment value of films, such as broader concepts, motiva- tions, and development of interests, are hard to measure. Films themselves do not provide the solution to all instructional 105 problems; but, rather, the way in which the instructor uses the films i3, erha s, the most pertinent factor ig_deter- mining what thquesul s will Q2. Uniqueness of the Television Project and This Study As reported in previous chapters, no experimental re- search on the uses of educational television in the area of agricultural education has been reported, as far as the in- vestigator could determine. After careful review of the literature, this statement was still found to be correct. Personnel responsible for radio and television education and selected personnel on the television-station staff of the College also concurred in this finding, especially as to current research which has not been reported. Therefore, the Television Project and this investigation seemed unique in respect to the following seven factors: 1. The problems and needs of the viewers were determdned arui then a television series and specific programs were pre- Pared to attempt to meet these needs in part. Teachers parti- c~1pated in the planning and organization of the series. 2. Source units were prepared and mailed to the using teachers prior to the beginning of the programs. A script of the program and other reference materials were mailed to the teacners weekly and prior to each program. 106 3. The television programs were organized into three continuous series and a fourth series was added later. h. The subject-matter area of the programs was agri- culture. 5. The television programs--thirty minutes in length-- were used as one of several instructional aids in class meetings lasting approximately one hour for high-school pupils and two hours for the adult and young farmers. 6. The evaluation was based largely upon the under- standings developed, decisions made, and the progress that ' farmers made toward the adoption of approved practices. 7. Each class was visited by the investigator and a tape recording was made and later replayed to study the use of the programs. The participating teachers were interviewed at the conclusion of the series to determine the ways in which the programs were used and to determine the teachers' evaluations of these programs and reference materials. CHAPTER V THE USE, EVALUATION, AND RECOMMDATIONS OF THE TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS BY SCHOOLS The data on each school are presented in this chapter. As reported previously, the teachers in each of the ten par- ticipating schools were interviewed by the investigator and notes were written on the interview schedule.‘ A tape re- cording was made of each interview except one, and a narra- tive report was written on each school from.the notes and the tape recording. This report was largely the basis for the individual reports by schools which are presented herein. Ebwever, they have been supplemented by the information which ‘was secured by observing a class meeting in each school ex- cept one and by a discussion with the teacher during this visitation. No explanation is made of the methodology of using the television programs with the high-school boys except for the one teacher who only used the programs with this group. HOWever, the fact that the programs were used with these puPills is pointed out, where applicable. Form H, the rating r°Pm of the television programs filled out by class members, "as submitted by. the high-school pupils; and this fact is also reported, where applicable. The investigator has endeavored to present the data from eaeh school objectively without any evaluation or interpretation 108 on his part. All. evaluative statements ghigh, _a_r_e' presented .ig _t_1_1_9_ reports, 9}; 933g school gr__e_ £112 opinions of th_e_ r3; portigg teacher, 53 f3; 93 correctly interpreted by 3:313 interviewer, Mg otherwise specified. The data appear to be more complete on some schools than others. This can be accounted for by, at least, three factors: (1) some teachers made more use of the programs thanothers, (2) data were submitted by certain teachers on some of the forms and instruments which the other teachers did not secure, and (3) a part of the teachers reported more detailed information during the interviews than did others. School A Types of Farmigg The area in which this school was located has been classi- fied as Area 8.1 The area was an outstanding crop producing area, both for cash crops and feed crops. When adequately drained, the soils were highly productive. The yields for 1"he cash creps, such as field beans, sugar beets, and wheat, were some of the highest in the state. Some of the farmers had gone to a strictly cash crop farming program. However, most of them still raised more feed cropsncorn, oats, and forage. \: 1The Department of Agricultural Economics has Classified :29 state of Michigan'into Areas 1 to 17 based upon the types farming and the types of soils which are most prevalent in Galeh area. 109 Dairy was the major livestock enterprise. On the forty- two farms which submitted a report to the Department of Agricultural Economics in 1953. 95 percent had dairy cows, 52 percent had hogs, 69 percent poultry, 21 percent beef, and only 10 percent had sheep. _ o The farms were usually small with three-quarters of them containing no acres or less. About 70 percent of the farms were classified as commercial farms. The percentage of far- mers working off the farms in this area was relatively low. More specifically, the farms in the school service area were located close to a fairly large city. As would be ex- pected, the part -time farming in this area was somewhat high. Much of the land was a sandy or poorly-drained, clay soil bordering on a sub-marginal use for cultivated crops. _. _ . Cash crops of sugar beets, field beans, and vegetables were raised on the farms having a relatively high fertility level. Dairying was the major livestock enterprise. Personal Information , _ At the time of the interview the teacher in this school "83 3h. years old and held the Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education. He had completed six quarter-hours or courses in.technical agriculture and twelve hours of pro- f°Oaional education courses. beyond the Bachelor‘s degree, \ E zJohn C. Doneth, Farming Today, Department of A ricultural cohomics, Michigan Sta—fillege, A. Ec. 538‘, Area (East sing: Cooperative Extension Service, 19513.), 2).; pp. 110 but he had not taken any audio-visual courses. He taught institutional-on-the-farm trainees for three years and vocational agriculture for three years, all in the above school. This year he taught one general science class, - three high-school classes of vocational agriculture with an enrollment of fifty-five, and two adult-farmer classes with an enrollment of one hundred fifty. Six adult-farmer classes were taught prior to this year on the basis of two classes per year. One young-farmer class was also taught previously. Eight out of eleven in-service meetings were attended by this teacher. Interpretation and Relationships The television schedule was duplicated and distributed . to the members of the adult class and to the high-school boys in vocational agriculture. It was also published in the local newspaper. The principal was kept informed by visits from staff members in Agricultural Education and by the investigator who discussed educational television in general and the Project with him during each visit. He also received letters concerning the television activities and visits to the school. He attended the in-service television meeting which 'was held at this school. 111 Content and Methodology A duplicated list of subject-matter areas and specific topics under each area were distributed to the adult farmers at the first meeting, and their selections of topics for the series were checked by them. At the second meeting the tabulated and summarized results were presented, and dates for each.meeting were decided upon. The television schedule was presented and discussed, and four of these programs were selected. The dates of various meetings were re-arranged in order that the selected programs might be viewed prior to the.meetings in which the selected topics were studied and discussed. _The television programs were not viewed as a part of the class meetings because of the time that they were broad- cast.o The farmers were told about the selected television programs which would be telecast between meetings and about specific points and information to look for. Some of the class members viewed the programs independently at home or went to the home of a friend. The teacher next prepared an outline to be used in teaching the class. The reference materials were studied and used by the teacher in preparation for the meetings. Selected parts or questions based upon the reference materials were duplicated for use with the class. Generally, the teacher tried to secure additional copies of certain bulletins which seemed desirable for class distribution from.the local county agent. However, they were usually not available. 112 In teaching the classes the instructor usually prepared questions based.upon the reference materials. These were considered with the class in a question and answer discussion. Several resource persons were invitedin for some of the meetings, and a part of these meetings were turned over to them.. At the meeting attended by the investigator the fol- lowing materials were distributed to the class: (I) a bulletin, (2) a reprinted magazine article, (3) a duplicated article on the topic, and (h) duplicated sheets of pertinent points. Two resource persons were present. Five of the class members had viewed the television program which was based upon the topic under discussion. However, no special use was made of the people or their information, and the fact that they had viewed the program.was not evident except for a showing of hands in response to the specific question concerning the number of viewers. The average number of per- sons who viewed the four selected programs was eight. This procedure was somewhat different from.previous years. Comments were made by the teacher concerning informa- tion which had been presented on the televised programs. Reference materials and scripts had been received and were available for the selected topics which were studied. Follow-up activities consisted of tours and farm.demon- strations. The teacher also made farm visits and aided in- dividual farmers in implementing approved practices. 113 The reference materials which were mailed to the teacher were utilized for informing the farmers about the content of the television programs, for preparing the outlines for the class meetings, and for preparing the questions described previously. _Smme of the materials were summarized, including pertinent facts, and were duplicated for class distribution. Additional copies of some of the reference materials were secured for the class members. .An evaluation sheet was prepared and was filled out by the class members at the last meeting. A sheet of approved practices was also filled out. A subjective evaluation was i made by the instructor based.upon attendance, comments, and general reactions of the members. The teacher had the forms which were used in this study filled out or secured the nec- essary information to fill out the forms himself. These were studied by him. Evaluation The main value of the television programs was that they seemed to cause a closer coordination and a better understanding between the teacher, class members, and the information pre- sented by the programs. It was recommended that the reference materials be mailed earlier and that the source of additional copies of referenceabe included. ‘It was also suggested that these references be made available from this source. 11h Certain criticisms of the television programs included the following: (1) many of the charts were either too small or so constructed that they could not be read, (2) there was too much lecturing, and (3) the camera was often not on the charts which.were being discussed. It was suggested that these criticisms be corrected. In addition, recommendations were made that the time of the telecast be changed to a night hour and that the name_of the television series be changed. The camera should be on the charts while they are being dis- cussed rather than on the person who is talking. The topics should be more timely and seasonal. Television programm were requested for next year for high-school classes of vocational agriculture and for adult- farmer classes. The subject—matter areas which were requested included, in order of priority, crops and soils, livestock, vegetables, marketing, and landscaping. Special Problems Encountered The reference materials arrived too late during the latter part of the series to permit effective planning. Other bulletins or reference materials listed in the refer- ences were needed but were not available from.the county agent. Only about one-third to onegfourth of the class meme here had seen the selected television programs. Others wanted to view them.but were unable to do so because of the time of broadcasting. 115 ct vitie S cial to Ca e3’ h This was the_only school which did not view the programs on an organized basis. This was also the only case in which all of the viewing of the television programs was done inde- pendently and away from.the school. The reception of the programs on the sets in this area was excellent. A duplicated television schedule was prepared and distributed to all class members. Evaluation sheets were distributed to the class, and the meetings were rated by thmm. In addition, the adop- tion of approved practices was secured by having a check-list filled out by the members. In the opinion of the investigator, more reference materials were duplicated or secured from.other sources and distributed to the class than by any other teacher. Reference materials were considered to be very important and essential as instructional aids even if the television programs were not used. All of the materials and scripts were filed for future use. The teacher viewed most of the television programs al- though he used only three with the class. As reported pre- viously, the programs were not viewed in an organized fashion. No special use was made of those persons who had viewed the television programs unless some reference was made to the 3The television programs used in each of the ten schools is shown in Appendix R. 1"The data on the numbers of class meetings, class members, and the titles of class series taught are shown in Table II, Chapter VI. 116 program or questions were asked. This situation did develop on several occasions. . The teacher felt that he needed additional help and understanding of educational television and its use in an instructional program. He recommended that a special course be offered in the near future on the preparation_and presen- tation of television programs and the effective use of tele- vision by the teachers. He also felt that the Project had certain ”indirect" values which.included the in-service meetings on television and the discussion concerning the use of television with the investigator. School B Types of Farming The area in which this school was located has been clear sified as Area 5, and dairy and general farming predominated. The important secondary enterprises were hogs, poultry, and sheep. Most of the_crops grown--hay, pasture, corn, and oats--were for feed. While wheat was the major cash crop, white field beans and sugar beets were important on some farms. Wheat acreage had nearly doubled during the last ten years and the acreage of hay and pasture had declined. The _number of farms had declined, especially general famms, and there was greater emphasis on fewer but larger enterprises. 117 The soils were medium.to high in fertility. Lansing, Flint, and Jackson were the major markets for whole milk. Much of the milk and other products went to Detroit and Grand Rapids,which were outside the area. One hundred thirteen acres was the average size of farms in this area. About 30 to ho percent of the farms were classified as part-time and residential.5 The service area of this school was located near a large industrial area, and the part-time farming in the area was rather high as many farmers worked in the indus- . trial plants.» Generally, the soils in the area were of average orelightly above average fertility. Dairying was the major livestock enterprise followed by hogs and other types of livestock. Personal Information When the interview was made, the teacher in this school was thirty-three years old and heldthe Bachelor of Science degree in agriculture. He had completed all of the profes- sional courses in agricultural education required for a teaching certificate after receiving this degree. In addi- tion, he had completed six quarter-hours of professional courses and a three quarter-hour course on educational television. He had taught vocational agriculture for eight years, all in the above school. This year he taught one 3John C. Deneth, Farming Today, Department of Agricultural Ecdnomics, Michigan State College, A. Ec. 536, Area 5 (East iLansing: Cooperative Extension Service, l95h), 2h pp. 118 biology class, three classes of high-school vocational agri- culture with an enrollment of forty, and one adult-farmer class with an enrollment of thirty-four. Five classes of adult farmers and one young-farmer class were taught prior to this year. Eighteen out of twenty-two in-service meetings were attended by hims Interpretation and Re a ionshi A . . The superintendent was informed of the television ac- tivities by discussing the television schedule with.him. He secured a television set for the school, and the teacher was instrumental in influencing the superintendent to secure the set and to try the television programs for this year. The television in-service meeting was attended by him. The various scripts were discussed.with him, and he agreed to teach the biology class on special days when it was desirable that the high-school boys view special television programs. However, no programs were used with the high-school boys al- though plans were made to that effect. A few favorable comments were made by other teachers and students about the use of television. No comments were made to the teacher by people in the community. At least, no ad- verse comments or complaints were heard by him. Content and Methodology The teacher selected the television ”Marketing” series and sent letters to the adult farmers announcing the series, 119 the topics of the meetings, and the date of the first meeting. The specific topics were based upon the television programs in the above series. .A meeting was held bi-weekly, and the television programs of the above series were telecast monthly.‘ The class meetings which.were held between each television program.were largely used in presenting and dis- cussing subject matter which was to be telecast on the next program. _ _ . A The teacher secured statistical data, in preparing for the meetings, to show a need for the information presented. The source units were utilized, and any reference materials which were available were studied. The scripts and other mailed reference materials were the major source of informa- tion except when theydid not arrive in time. i _ . In general, the class was sethor 8:00 P.M., but only about one-half of the group had arrived by 8:15, and some did not arrive until 8:30.‘ Usually, a discussion was started and specific points to look for in the television programs were pointed out. The class moved from the agri- cultural room.to the study-hall to view the programs. On one night a film.was shown, and the group then viewed the program.without any orientation. After the television pro- grams, comments were secured. Questions were usually asked by members of the class or the teacher. Ideas were exchanged and if any additional data were available, they were presented 120 and discussed. Approximately thirty minutes were spent in a discussion of the television programs, and then some other topic was discussed. On the night that the investigator was present the script was utilized for presenting pertinent facts and information, and the charte in the script were_projected ontothe screen by the opaque projector and were discussed. The additional discussion after the television program.was on liming. The teacher agreed to decide later what the topic of discussion for the next meeting would be and to put a notice in the local paper. ‘ The activities to bring out discussions and ”get the facts” were similar to previous years. Since the references were mailed to the teacher, there was less difficulty in se- curing and planning the needed reference materials. More references than previously were also available. Having television programs and moving the group to the study-hall were also different situations from.previous years. . 'Usually, the discussion ended without too many decisions but was ”tied together"at the next meeting as a follow-up activity. The nonetelevision meetings were used to plan the meetings when the television programs would be used. Additional follow-up activities included individual farm visitation, at which time other information and assistance was provided . 121 The source units and other reference materials were used by the teacher in preparing for the meetingsand be- coming familiar with the subject matter. They were also used as source materials during the meetings. . The instruction and class meetings were evaluated previously by determining the practices adopted, through the discussions with the individual farmers. An effort was made to visit the farmers at least twice per year, but . some had not been visited once in two years. An attendance record was kept each year. The same procedure was used this year. In addition, the forms which were utilized in this study were a source of evaluative information. Evaluation. . The programs provided.much helpful information. The reference materials were valuable aids in preparing and teaching the classes and were considered to be very adequate. It was recommended that the reference materials be sent out two weeks in advance of the telecasts. . . The programs had several strong-points which.included the use of visual aids, the visual presentation of informa- tion, and the use of the interview method as a type of format. The major criticism was that the programs did not hold the interest of the class. It was recommended that the series be concentrated over a shorter period of time. Programs were requested next year 122 for high-school classes in vocational agriculture, adult farmwrs, and young farmers. The two recommended subject- matter areas were farm.mechanics (gasoline engines) and soil and water management. Problems Encountered Farmers desired to view certain prOgrams at home but were unable to do so because the programs were telecast on an UHF channel, and the sets were not converted to receive this frequency. Reference materials were received too late for use with several of the mmetings. The major problem was determining in advance what subject matter the television programs would present and deciding what part of the informa- tion that the teacher should prepare for and plan to present. The attendance gradually decreased until only three or four farmers were present at the last few meetings. There was mechanical difficulty with the set during one of the meetings, and the program could not be received except for approximately the first ten minutes. Activities §pecific to_$his gage The teacher desired to use a few of the television pro- grams in the ”Getting Started in Farming“ series with his high-school boys, but the plans did not materialize. The Ineetings were held in the agricultural room, and the class Inoved to the study-hall in another building touview the programs. The quality of the reception was most satisfactory 123 except for the one situation explained in the previous para- graph. This teacher was the only one who selected one of the four television series and used it exclusively and con- sistently. The superintendent secured the loan of a television set from a local dealer, and the board of education bought the antenna. The set was installed in the study-hall in the main school building. School C Types of Farming This school was located in the northern tip of Area 6 which was the metropolitan area of southeastern Michigan and contained Detroit and a number of smaller cities. The off-farm work opportunities and the nearby markets were the best of any area in the state. The topography varied from.hilly to level. The average size farms were about one hundred acres. The major feed crops were corn, oats, wheat, and hay. Relatively less corn and more hay and pasture were raised because of the heavier and wetter soil in the eastern part. Field beans, sugar beets, wheat, and garden and truck crops were the major crops grown in the area for cash. The most important enterprise was dairying, and fluid milk was almost the only source of income on many farms. The second most 12h important enterprise was cattle, most generally a by-product of dairying.6 There were three types of farming in the service area of this school. The soils in one of these three areas was very sandy and was close to being sub-marginal for cropping purposes, and dairying was the major enterprise. The second area had a rather heavy type of soil, and the topography was hilly or rolling. Dairy was also the major enterprise. The third area was a flat, highly fertile area in which cash crops of field beans, beets, and wheat were raised. The part-time farming in this overall service area was relatively low. Egg-sonal Inform At the time of the interview the teacher was twenty-seven years old and held the Bachelor of Science degree in agricul- tural education. He had completed one course in audio-visual education, twelve quarter-hours in technical agriculture courses, and twenty-eight quarter-hours of professional edu- cation courses. He had taught vocational agriculture for four years--all in the same school. This year he taught three high-school classes of vocational agriculture with an enrollment of sixty-seven students, one farm mechanics class with an enrollment of eighteen, and one young-farmer class 6John C. Doneth, FarminggToday, Department of Agricultural Economics, Michigan State College, A. Ec. 537. Areas 6, 7 (East Lansing: CoOperative Extension Service, 195a), 2h pp. 125 with an enrollment of twenty-one members. Young-farmer classes had been taught for two years previously, but no adult-farmer classes had been taught.' He attended eight out of thirteen in-service meetings which.were held during the time that he had been teaching. interpretation and Relationghipg After becoming aware of the proposed television pro- grams, the teacher planned to use selected programs with the combined class of junior-senior boys and discussed these plans with the principal and the superintendent. The super- intendent favored the suggested use of the programs, but the principal seemed to have some reservations. Approval was given to make arrangements with.the "TV Center"7 to utilize their facilities. The superintendent watched two television programs with the high-school boys and was favorable toward the study-guides prepared by the teacher. Announcements con- cerning television programs in other subject-matter areas were placed in the school mail-boxes of the appropriate teachers by him. Other teachers and students were kept informed about the television activities by articles in the school paper and one article in the county paper. Announcements were made :A local television appliance firm located approximately two miles from.the school and in the same building in which the farm.mechanics shop is located. 126 over the public-address system.of the school to inform.the boys of the junior-senior class to report to the bus for transportation to the "TV Center". These also made personnel in the school aware that television programs were being used. Other teachers asked the teacher questions about the use of television and how and why the programs were being used. Approximately five teachers expressed an opinion that tele- vision.9might be a good thing". _All of the highpschool boys in vocational agriculture werekept informed stout the tele- vision programs by the teacher. ' Parents_and other farmers asked the teacher questions about technical subject matter based upon their knowledge that he was using certain television programs which should have provided answers to their questions, for example, ques- tions on social security. Content and Methodology _‘ ._ An organizational meeting of the young-farmers was held, and the class members suggested topics in which they were interested and.hsd a need. They first recommended a series of meetings on animal sanitation, but later decided that they wanted to use four television programs. The teacher planned a series of fifteen topics and dates based upon their recomp mendation. A The teacher read-the script and reference materials which he received in preparing to teach a given class. He secured 127 such other reference materials as might be available in the department or at the county agent's office and at times conferred with persons to secure special information. This procedure was generally the same as that followed in previous years except that the prepared television script and other reference materials had not been sent to him. In this school the young-farmer class met on.Honday nights and the television programs were received on Wednes- day's at 1:00 P.M. At the class meeting prior to the tele- vision program.the class-members were informed about the program,that was to be telecast. A study-guide or list of questions,based upon.the script, reference materials, and the teacher's study and observation, was distributed to than. They viewed the program.on‘wednesday at the ”TV Center” or independently at home. Usually about 65 percent of the class viewed each program. The study-guide or list of questions was used as a basis for discussion at the next meeting, and the problems of the members were studied. At times a re- source person was brought in to provide additional information. Functional forms and other materials were utilized with some of the programs. It was generally felt that the members who had viewed the programs were more advanced than the others. Their responses during the meetings were usually voluntary although at times the teacher asked somewhat leading questions to bring out what they had learned concerning given problems 128 from.the programs. This procedure was different from.pre- vious years as study-guides and television programs were not used then. Follow-up activities were carried out by the teacher by giving individual instruction on problems encountered, such as social security’and incometax. In addition, tours were made and members were given on-farm.instruction and help in planning farm jobs. . Reference materials were used in the preparation for the class meetings as described previously. In addition, some of the materials were duplicated or additional copies were secured and distributed to the class members. [The instruction was evaluated in previous years by the information which was submitted to the Division of Agricul- tural Education in the annual report form for young farmers. This year's instruction and class meetings were evaluated by the information secured from.the same report, personal contacts, attendance, and on-farm instruction. In addition, the ratings and information reported on Forms H and I and the approved practices reported on Form J were utilized. Evaluation . _ The specific values of the television programs were that they kept the teacher informed, that they provided individual information or help, and that they showed the possibility of a new field of audio-visual education. 129 Recommendations were made concerning the reference materials. It was suggested that the sources of additional references which might be utilized should be added. The order in which the scripts were to be used on the programs should also be made clearo-for example, the telecaster some- times_started in the middle of the script and "went both ways”. V . The strong-points of the programs were the excellent presentations which were made by some of the persons appear- ing on them. Some of the criticisms which;were made included the following: (1) some of the programs were uninteresting, (2) certain telecasters lacked showmanship, (3) in some situations the class members had trouble understanding the information presented, (A) the program.formats were generally lacking in action and were not comparable to the farmers' situation, for example, two men sitting at a desk smoking and discussing poultry, (5) at times the presentations were somewhat removed fromtthe topuzunder discussion, and (6) generally, too much subject matter was covered on each of several programs. It was suggested that these criticisms be corrected to improve future programs. In addition, the recommendations_ were made that the order in which the script was to be used be made known and that less material be covered in one pro- gram. The time of the program was satisfactory for the 130 higheschool class, but a series of programs was recommended for night broadcasting to be used with the young-farmer class. Television programs were requested for next year for. use with the high-school, adult, and young-farmer classes. Subject-matter areas which were recommended included,in the order named, soil conservation, farm.mechanics, forestry, dairy, swine, and beef. Special Problemg Encounteggg f At times the reference materials were not received early enoughto permit effective planning. In addition, there was a problem.in preparing questions and study-guides when the reference materials were late or were inadequate in materials and information. The change in the program.con- tinuity from the order of the script sometimes presented a problem, as reported previously. _Both visual and audio reception were poor at times. Spacing the class members so that all could see_presented a difficulty. The outside light also caused reflections on the television screen and interfered with the viewing. As reported previously, only about 65 percent of the young farmers viewed the programs, and this factor was some- what of a problem in conducting the class meetings. Activities Special to This Case . The teacher felt that he needed additional help on se- curing supplemental reference materials and suggested that 131 more of these materials be prepared and sent to the teachers prior to the programs next year. The opinion was expressed that the programs had certain "indirect” values, namely, other teachers became interested in the possibilities of a new field of audioevisual education. The meetings in which the televised programs were used consisted of three phasest. an orientation of the program and the preparation and distribution of a study-guide at the meeting prior to the telecast, viewing the program.out- side of the regular class meeting, and the meeting after the télevision program at which the topic and problems were dis- cussed. Special.visual aids were generally prepared for use during the ”third-phase” meeting. This school was the only one in which the method of viewing described previously was utilized. The programs were viewed by a part of the young farmers and the high-school boys at the "TV Center." 'Other young farmers viewed the programs independently at home or in the homes of friends. This was the only school in which the programs were viewed in this manner. This teacher was also the only one who prepared study-guides for the use of the high-school boys and young farmers. The reception was generally rather poor as to both the audio and visual signal. Seemingly, this fact cause the class members to have difficulty in understanding the informa- tion which was presented. 132 The interview with the teacher in the school was the only one of which a tape recording was not made.. Tine of the programs were used with the junior-senior class, and the teacher had the boys respond to three ques- tions about the programs. The results of these ratings are shown in Table I. School D Types of ngg This school was also located in Area 8 whose types of .farming are described previously under school A. More specifically, the school service area was located on the periphery of the area from.which personnel drove into a large industrial area for employment. The part-time farmp ing was rather small. . ' . The soils were generally ofca lighter, sandy type, and were very suitable for hay and forage crops. Dairying was the major livestock enterprise. The area could be described as a "good" farming area. {eggpnal Information The teacher was twentygeight years old and had received the Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education, at the time that the interview was conducted. He had come pleted three quarter-hours of technical agriculture and twenty-four quarter-hours of professional education courses. 133 TABLE I OPINIONS OF JUNIOR-SENIOR CLASS MEMBERS IN SCHOOL 0 OF SELECTED TELEVISION PROGRAMS* Times Reported Question and Opinions by Class Members (N = 25) I. What Are Your Main Gripes? Too dry, no humor or life 18 Too fast 17 Too short 10 Too complicated 6 Can't hear 6 Not enough facts 5 Incomplete program 3 Poor reception 3 Information of no use 2 Too long ‘ 1 Not interested 1 II. ‘Hhat Are the Points You Favor? An interesting way to learn 16 Interesting 11 Hill profit me in the future 10 Good information 9 Programs apply to my situation 6 Learn valuable facts 5 III. What Kind of Programs Would You Prefer to View? CrOps , 13 Farm.mechanics 11 Conservation 10 Dairy 9 Soils 7 WildIife 6 Animal husbandry 2 Forestry 2 Fruits 2 Farm Management 0 sThis rating was secured by the teacher prior to and independent of information requested by the investigator for his study. 13h while he had not completed any audio—visual courses, he was enrolled for credit in a problem course in the use and evaluation of educational television as a member of the Television Study Group. He had taught vocational agricul- ture for four years--all in the above school. He taught four higheschool classes of vocational agriculture with an enrollment of fortygthree, one adult-farmer class with an enrollment of twentyeseven, and one young-farmer class with an enrollment of sixteen. He taught three adult and three young-farmer classes prior to this year. He attended thir- teen out of fourteen in-service meetings. Interpretation and Relationships . t The television schedule was published in the local paper, and all of the boys in the higheschool classes of vocational agriculture, as well as the young-farmer and adult-farmer f class members, were told about the programs and activities. Persons outside of the school asked several technical ques- tions about television, about the UHF channel, and abdut cone verting a television set to receive this channel. Two articles were written by the Information Specialist at Michigan State College, and one of the articles was published in‘a national magazine, while the other one was published in a state farm magazine. Similar types of articles were also published in the two small-town newspapers which were subscribed to by persons in this area. Other teachers of vocational agriculture asked questions at various times about television and the ways in which it was being used in this school. 135 The superintendent periodically visited some of the classes in which the television programs were being used. The teacher continually discussed the uses of the tele- vision programs with him. The investigator also conferred with the superintendent on.most of the visits to this school and discussed educational television with him.and left selec- ted materials for him to read. The superintendent attended the television in-service meeting held in his school. . _ The kindergarten teacher used the television set to view five or six programs of "Ding-Dong_8chool"8 with her class. The set was also utilized by the sixth-grade teacher with her class for one program. The superintendent and a select group of students, not in Vocational agriculture, viewed a special television series on the improvement of one's writing. Content and Methodology . A five-man, adult steering committee was used to plan the topics and the class meetings., The topics for the series were based upon observations, suggestions of the teacher, felt needs, and what had been taught in previous years. Two tele- vision programs were selected. The recommended topics for the series of meetings were presented to the class on the first night. The members made such additions or deletions as they desired. Another television program in which there ¥ BA television program telecast nationally. 136 " was selected was special interest, "Farm.Commercial License, later. The class met weekly starting inJanuary and con- tinued meeting until the number of meetings specified by the state requirements had been met. Television programs were also used with the young- farmer class. A three-man steering committee was used to plan the series of meetings in a manner shmilar to that of the adult group. Three programs were selected, and the meetingsnstarted in November and continued for nineteen meetings. .The meetings were discontinued in the spring when interest decreased and farm.work increased. In preparing for the meetings the teacher read the scripts and reference materials and secured other needed and available references after studying the received mater- ials. _The lessons were planned "around the television pro- grams". This procedure was not different from.previous years except that the television programs were a different type of instructional aid as compared to previous aids, such as the blackboard, a film, or a resource person. Prior to viewing a program, a discussion was held and questions were asked by the members, or the teacher ”tried to stir their minds or to raise questions in their minds". After the television programhwas viewed, it was discussed; and additional information was presented by the teacher. He also used the information presented by television, in classes attended by the investigator, in solving some 137 particular problem of the class. For example, after viewing the "Income Tax Tips" program, the young farmers worked on their record books and started filling out their income tax foams. The procedure that was used in the classes this year was different from previous years for the television pro- grams were not available then. 'Usually, in former years a given meeting would start with the information or facts, and questions were not raised for discussion. This pro- cedure was somewhat reversed during the present year. Each.program.was almost a separate unit, and the pro- grams ”were not carried forward or tied together" except in isolated cases as a means of follow up.. However, tours and field trips were made and on-farm instruction was given by the teacher. ‘Different farmers asked questions at various times on certain topics, for example, social security and the bulk-handling of milk. _ The reference materials were used in preparation for the class meetings. The scripts were used to answer questions when the answers were not known or were in doubt. Additional reference materials or additional copies of the materials were secured and either distributed to the class members as their personal copy or were distributed for use during the class meetings. The activities of the classes and the instruction were evaluated by the results of on-farm visits, observations, 138 and questions that were asked. In addition, agreeing in class on the practices and on their desirability and making decisions were also used as a basis of evaluation. All of the forms which the teacher used as a part of this study were tabulated and summarized before they were submitted. Evaluation The television programs had three specific values: (1) they provided more information in a quicker time, (2) information was provided which was not otherwise avail- able, and (3) television seemed to be appealing to the young farmers. _ Generally, an excellent "Job was done" in supplying reference materials. At other times the materials made no reference to bulletins. It was recommended that the materials include the name and the bulletin number of the available and relevant bulletins. The major criticism was made of the visual aids used, especially the charts. Some of the charts did not seem.to be too well thought out and could not be read. Too much information was included on the charts and slides, and the background of the charts and letters had "fancy" designs which made them hard to read or unreadable. In some situa- tions no reference was made to the charts nor were the perti- nent points of the charts pointed out as they were being ex- plained. In addition, there was a general lack of showmanship 139 by many of the persons appearing on the television programs. It was recommended that these criticisms be corrected and that future television programs be "put on” by the School of Agriculture. The television programs provided technical information and made the subject matter available to many people. The Opportunity to have access to many resource persons was considered as another strong-point of the programs. Television programs were desired for another year for all three types of classes. _The subject-matter areas desired for the adult farmers included: (1) swine management and beef management, especially feeding, (2) fertilizers, (3) tillage, (h) marketing, and (5) a comparison of diesel and gasoline engines. Information on establishment in farming was selected for the young farmers. For the high-school boys in vocational agriculture, information on tractors and farm management was needed. Probleme Encountered The reference materials and scripts generally arrived too late. They should be received at least a week in ad— vance to provide an Opportunity for effective planning. Activities Specifitho This Case The teacher was of the opinion that additional in-service training meetings were needed to develop ways of using tele- vision as a part of an instructional program, to become informed 1&0 as to how television programs are produced, and to learn the problems involved in television production. In addi- tion, he desired a weekly or monthly television guide listing all of the agricultural programs which.were to be telecast by stations in the area. The television programs definitely had certain “in- direct" values.{ The in-service meeting on television and the reference materials were helpful. The programs caused the teacher to dola fibetter Job of preparation for teaching" for he knew that many questions were going to arise from .these programs that would need answering. The attendance was estimated to be somewhat the same as in previous years. It also seemed to be about the same regardless of whether or not television was used. The main factor which seemed to affect attendance was whether or not the class members were interested in the particular topic that was to be studied at a given meeting. The set was bought in this case and was installed in the agricultural room. The Future Farmer chapter paid one hundred dollars, and the school board paid the remaining one hundred thirty—five dollars, which included the antenna. The dealer sold the set and the antenna at a wholesale price mnd the Future Farmer boys installed.them. No future plans were made for paying the necessary maintenance cost. Two of the programs were used with the junior-senior vocational agriculture class. In addition, two programs of lhl the state Future Farmer convention were viewed by the entire class. Five of the "Town and Country"9 programs were viewed independently by one to five boys who had enterprises in their farming programs that were being discussed on these programs. _ The school was so situated that it could receive both the "live" programs from one station and the kinescoped recordings of the programs, which were telecast a week later, from.another station. Therefore, this was the only school which used a television program with two different groups on the same day. 'This was also the only teacher who used tele- vision programs with both the young-farmer and adult-farmer groups. Because of this unique situation the investigator visited three classes in this school, whereas only one class was visited in each of the other schools. Additional evaluative forms were developed and adminis- tered by the teacher. A detailed summary and analysis of these forms and those supplied by the investigator were made. Other teachers in the school and the superintendent made somewhat extensive use of selected programs. The in» vestigator is of the opinion that more use of television was made by the teacher of vocational agriculture and other teachers in this school than by any others who participated in this study. More publicity concerning the use of television was probably received by this school than by any other. 9A forty-five minute agricultural televiSion program telecast daily at 12:h5 P.M,,Monday to Friday, by WKAR-TV- 114.2 School E 212°! of Farming This school was also located in Area 8. The soil was somewhat better than that reported for School D. Field beans and sugar. beets was raised on some of the farms, and dairying was probably the major. livestock enterprise followed by beef cattle and hogs. This school's service area was also located on the periphery of the area from which employees in the industrial plants were drawn. Personal Information _ “The teacher was fifty-nine years of age and held the Bachelor of Arts degree and also the Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education. He had not completed any additional course work. He taught science and social studies for five years and had taught vocational agriculture for twenty years. He had been in this school for the last thir- teen years. He taught three high-school classes of vocational agriculture this year with an enrollment of fifty-four and one adult-farmer class with an enrollment of twenty-five. He had taught eighteen adult classes during the last fourteen Years. Eight out of thirty-two in-service meetings were attended by him. Wretation and Relationships The desirability of using the television programs was discussed with the superintendent and advisory committee. 11+3 The superintendent was kept informed of the television ac- tivities by discussions with the teacher. On two occasions the superintendent made long-distance telephone calls to get the teacher on the mailing list for the reference materials and to have specific reference materials sent out to him for use with one television program.” A Announcements of the television programs and the ac- tivities of the teacher were reported in the weekly bulletin of.the, school. These bulletins were read to all of the high-school pupils in vocational agriculture, and they were kept informed by this method. Three other teachers used the set to view other tele- vision programs. Content and Methodology The advisory council met, set-up the series of meetings and the individual topics, and selected the television programs that were to be used. Ten meetings were planned with additional meetings dependent upon the attendance, the interest of the group, and the weather in April. The recommendations of the c<>uncil were accepted as the basis for the meetings and were not referred to the other class members. The reference materials were used for developing the questions and becoming informed about the technical subject matter. At times, the planned topics were changed'when the reference materials did not arrive in time for use. In pre- vious years the meetingswere prepared for by planning a question and answer program, and the teacher had to do re- search to "fortify" himself. A discussion was held prior to the programs to prepare the members, and lists of questions based upon the script ‘were written on the blackboard. [The programs were viewed. There were then some leading questions on the blackboard, and the discussions were based upon the Scripts and problems that the farmers brought up. Two speakers were brought in during the series. If the members wanted to go off the television topic, the teacher "let them go”. . An effort was generally made to try to "tie-up“ each meeting with the one that followed if there were any "possible tiedup at all". Lists of questions based upon the subject matter presented in one or more meetings were distributed to the farmers and answered, but they were not turned.in. Ques- tions were not prepared for a few of the meetings. Other followbup activities included farm.visits at which times questions which the farmers asked were answered. ‘ The reference materials were used to put topics and questions on the blackboard to be sure that everything in the television program was covered, in addition to the uses reported previously. They were filed for future use. The teacher discussed the programs with the class near the close of the series to secure their reactions and evalua- tions. Form H was carried by the teacher to the individual farmers who filled them.out. The farming programs and 115 practices were "looked-over". "The farmers said that they got a lot of good out of the meetings." The practices which ‘were discussed in class were followed.up out on the farm. .HOwever, the teacher felt that it was quite a problem to know what was responsible for the adoption of the approved practices by the farmers. Evaluation The teacher stated that the television programs had three specific values: (1) they brought problems to the :minds of the farmers which needed solving and showed them.a need for keeping reeords, (2) they "openedpup" the farmers' thinking, and (3) the farmers realized that there was a ' state college and that they could get help from the college personnel. In addition, the programs caused the farmers to recognize that there were many problems and much to be done in agriculture. Much information was received from the television programs. The program which discussed the packaging of farm products and the dramatic type of program in which the "producer's share of the consumer's dollar" was discussed were considered to be the strong-points of the televised programs. The programs did not generally meet the farmers' ex- pectation. They did not solve their problems and give them the answers. While the programs provided much information, they did not give "the way out". Farmers "who were doing a me good job in a given enterprise“ should have been used on some of the programs. Much of the information that was presented had already been read in the paper or magazines. The telecasters should have presented information which was not available in print and should have brought in resource persons. One major recommendation for improving the programs was made: that farmers who had had successful experiences be included on future programs. The criticisms made in the previous paragraph also needed to be corrected. Television programs during the next year were requested for adult-farmer and high-school classes on the dairying, swine, and beef enterprises. Problems Encountered The only problem of any consequence was that the reference materials arrived too late. Activities Special to Thipfigase The major "indirect“ value of the programs was that they made the farmers aware of the state agricultural college. The television set was purchased by the board and was installed in the agricultural room. Several programs from two different stations were used with two of the higheschool vocational agriculture classes on a twice-weekly basis. This was the only school which utilized an advisory coun- cil in planning the series of meetings and prepared questions which were answered by the farmers. 1h? Scnool F Types of Farming This school was located in Area 5. The amount of part- time farming, the soil types, and the farm.enterprises were comparable to those reported for School B. ‘gpgponal Information The Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural educa- tion was held by this teacher, and he was twenty-five years old. He had completed five quarter-hours of technical agriculture and eleven quarter-hours of agricultural educa- tion beyond the degree. He had taught vocational agriculture for three years and all of the teaching was in this school. He was a h-H club agent for six months prior to the time that he started teaching vocational agriculture. This year he taught one biology class, three high-school classes of voca- tional agriculture with an enrollment of fifty-two, and one young-farmer class with six persons enrolled. Two young- farmer classes were taught prior to this year. Two out of nine in-service meetings were attended by him. Integpretation and Relationshipp The plans for using the television programs were discussed with the superintendent, and he gave his approval. He was kept informed about the television activities and how and what was being done. The problem of attendance was frequently discussed with him. lhB Five or six newspaper articles were published to in- form the high-school boys in vocational agriculture and the public about the use of television. The articles were used as a means of public relations with the local television dealer who had loaned a television set. In addition, they explained why a television set was in the school, how it was used, and what it was used for. The way in which the television programs were being used and their purpose were explained to the high-school boys. They were asked to inform their parents and the young farmers about the television programs. Content and Methodology The class series for the young farmers was determined by the television programs on economics. The teacher selected the television programs and told the young farmers what the topics would be. In previous years he had tried to work out the topics with the class members, but they seemed to feel that the teacher knew what topics and information should be taught. Fifteen meetings were planned. The teacher "went over" the scripts and other reference materials, which.usually were received on a Monday or Tuesday prior to the telecasts on Wednesday, and marked pertinent points in preparing for the meetings. In addition, parts of the materials were selected and marked for discussion after the television programs. These materials saved much time and work in preparing for the classes and required "less digging". 1&9 There was usually recreation on class night until about 8:20 P.M. (the teacher stated that he felt that recreation held them together better than anything else). The telecast which was to begin at 8:30 was discussed and points to look for were enumerated. The television program.was viewed, and then a fifteen-minute newscast which followed was viewed. After the television programs the teacher took the script and brought out key-points, asked questions, and discussed the script, all of which usually required about forty-five minutes. More recreation was participated in, and then the group departed. This procedure was different from last year's activities. Farm mechanics was taught then; and since the content was on skills, no recreational activities were planned. There was better attendance last year, and the class members seemed to have more interest, which was probably caused by the teaching of welding. It was felt that the first year's teaching was quite academic and a somewhat formal situation prevailed. . Questions were prepared in advance and new bulletins were used in finding the answers to these questions. There was not as much interest as in the next year when the farm.mechanics course was taught. There were no follow-up activities except after the program.on the bulk-handling of milk, In that situation two farm.visits were made to help class members with plans for the pole-type barns. 150 In evaluating the instruction, the teacher devoted much thought to trying to determine why there was not greater attendance. Most of the evaluation was of a subjective nature. Evaluation of last year's class included the in- formation on numbers and attendance reported on the annual report form to the Division of Agricultural Education, but no approved practices were listed. Evaluation One of the specific values of the television programs was their ability to provide motivation. The programs also provided an opportunity for the class members to see the television personalities ”first-hand" and presented current information in the field of economics. It was recommended that sufficient copies of the reference materials be provided so that each person could have a copy of selected references, for example, the lease forms. The script would be just as satisfactory if it were prepared in outline form. The strengths of the programs included: (1) the "authority" that the subject matter had because it was presented on tele- vision, (2) the current information on marketing and the bulk- handling of milk, and (3) the opportunity of meeting the tele- casters first-hand. Some criticisms, however, were made about parts of some of the programs. It was felt that more visual aids should be 151 used and that most of the straight lecture-type programs should be omitted. At times the presentations were "too deep", for example, the programs on parity and tax eduali- cation; and too much information was presented in too short a time. More enthusiasm and a more dramatic approach was needed to the programs, such.as the ”detective" type of format that was used on the ”consumer's share ofthe pro- ducer's dollar" program. The programm should involve more people. ' Several recommendations were made concerning future programs. The criticisms described above needed to be cor- rected, and the programs should be designed to a greater degree toward explaining and providing information for the adoption of approved practices. The programs should also include demonstrations and explanations of how to do specific Jobs. Greater improved attendance and reception would re- sult if the programs were telecast at 7:00 or 7:30 P.M. on a VHF channel. Television programs should be telecast next year for the adult-farmer classes. Suggested topics included dairy- ing (milking practices), creps and soils (fertilizer appli- cation), and farm mechanics. A few programs were also desired on economics. Problems Encountered Generally, the television scripts and reference materials were received too late for the most effective planning. 152 Attendance’was rather small and much.time was expended in trying to improve it. Locating the set so that extraneous and background light was removed created a minor problem. The television picture was generally "snowy", and the re- ception could only be rated as "fair" to "poor". This quality of reception was probably caused by the fact that only an inside aerial was used. Activities Special to Thiggcase Additional assistance was requested on how to use television more effectively. The television programs had several "indirect" values. The reference materials were a desirable aid in preparing for and in teaching the classes, and information was received at the in-service television meeting which helped in the planning and the using of the programs. Beth the reference materials and the programs increased the technical agriculture knowledge cfthe teacher. These programs may also have ini- tiated a desirable step toward the future use of television programs by the schools. The teacher contacted the local television dealer who loaned a set to the school. He brought it out to the agri- cultural building, which was located approximately one mile from the main school building, and installed and adjusted the set. The superintendent had agreed to pay for the antenna and its installation, but only a small inside aerial was con- sidered to be necessary when the set was installed. 153 Three of the “Town and Country" programs were used with the junior class in vocational agriculture. The refer- ence materials were also used by the teacher with the senior class of vocational agriculture when teaching economics sub- ject matter. Four of the scripts were used specifically with this class. One of the senior boys gave a talk in English class which was based upon the information in the script on parity. The report was not submitted on the approved prac- tices which were adopted by the class members. The teacher stated that as far as he knew, no practices were adopted and ihe had no way of knowing or determining which practices were adopted, especially as a result of the instruction and class meetings. It was felt that there was little need or use for a young-farmer class in this community. Much of the evaluation was of a subjective nature and consisted of trying to determdne why the attendance was small and how it could be improved. School G Types of Farming The service area of this school was also located in Area 5. and the types of farming in the area were very similar to those also reported for school B. 151+ gppppnal Infopmation The teacher in this school was twenty-seven years old and held the Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education. He had completed one course in audio-visual aids and materials, ten quarter-hours in agricultural en- gineering, and thirteen quarter-hours in agricultural edu- cation. He taught institutional-on-the-farm trainees for one year and had taught vocational agriculture for two years. All of his vocational agriculture teaching was done in the above school. Three high-school classes of vocational agri- culture with an enrollment of thirty-two, and one adult- farmer class with an enrollment of seventeen were taught by him this year. He attended five out of eight in-service meetings. Interpretation and Relationships The planned use of the television programs was discussed with the superintendent, and he was kept informed through the discussion of the meeting and of the number of farmers that were in attendance. He appeared to be in favor of having the programs used. I Three or four articles were published in the local paper about the use of television in the class meetings, and two announcements were made over the local radio station. The television activities were explained to the high-school classes in vocational agriculture, and they were requested to 155 inform their parents. The senior boys were urged to attend one of the meetings which was considered to be of value to them, and several of them did attend. The other teachers in the school seemed to know that the programs were being used, and questions were asked by them. However, they gave no indication of any particular feelings either for or against the activities. The board of education was definitely in favor of an adult-farmer pro- gram. Content and Methodology At the first class meeting of the series the television schedule was studied by the class members and desirable programs were selected. These programs were the basis of the instruction during the year. Meetings were held until the spring weather was warm.enough for farm.work and until the farmers generally stopped attending the meetings. In preparing for the meetings the teacher read the reference materials and tried to get any additional refer- ences that were available. He also tried to secure a re- source person for the meetings when it was possible to do so. This preparatory procedure was different from previous years for television programs were not used then. The general procedure used last year was to "figure out" the topics that were desired with the class, and several resource persons 156 were used. It was more difficult to prepare for the class meetings then for the reference materials and subject matter had to be "dug out" by the teacher. Generally, the class started about 8:15 P.M., and an explanation was made to the class about the television pro- gram. After the program.was viewed, the resource person explained and discussed some of the information received from.the program.and presented additional information which was omitted by the program. Five resource persons were used 'in this manner on different nights. When a resource person was not present, the teacher discussed the programs‘and pre~ sented additional information. Bulletins, scripts, and other reference materials were used in supplying this information and in "tieing the television program together", and some materials were distributed to the farmers to take home. One additional resource person was used at one of the meetings at which a television program was not used. This procedure was different from.last year as no tele- vision programs were used. The instruction last year was largely lectures, and the farmers asked some questions near the end of each meeting. Generally, no follow-up activities of the instruction were carried out. However, a speaker was secured for the next meeting after the television program on cooperatives. There was no planned evaluation of the class activities and instruction last year. The forms prepared by the 157 investigator for this study which called for an evaluation of the television programs were used this year. The class members were also requested to list the approved practices which they had adopted, at the end of the rating form. Evaluation The class members generally liked the television pro- grams, and they saved the teacher time in preparing for the instruction. Much of the needed reference materials was also prepared for him. The information which was presented on the television programs was considered to be more "author- itative". The recommendation was made that the reference materials should be mailed earlier. General questions should also be prepared to present to the class members at each.meeting. Suggestions were also needed for introducing the topics and the television programs. Some of the programs were considered to be too specific and did not fit some of the areas, especially the general farming areas, for example, the program on fruits. The pro- grams which were included in the fourth (miscellaneous) series . were of little value. Many of the programs consisted of too much lecturing, and some of the telecasters seemed nervous. The use of the interview format made the programs more interesting. In addition, the use of "several props" and a 158 "dramatic approach“ created an interest for the viewers, for example, the "detective" technique on the “producer's share of the consumer's dollar“ program. Generally, the materials, charts, and other visual aids "showed-up pretty well“. There was good reception for all of the programs. It was suggested that the limitations described pre- viously be removed, if possible. The series of programs should be presented in a continuous, organized, and pro- gressive sequence. Topics which are more closely related should be selected. Less tbme between the programs of each series would be desirable, and the television program should be concluded by the middle of April. A series of programs was desired next year for the junior and senior classes in vocational agriculture on getting started in farming. Programs for the adult farmers were requested on the subjects of livestock, crops and soils, marketing, and getting started in farming, especially financing. Problems Encountered Generally, the reference materials and scripts arrived too late. The teacher felt that he did not know the agri- cultural-policy subject matter well enough for effective teaching. The instruction and class activities were not followed up very thorougly, and there was little response to the request for the farming practices adopted. Securing and maintaining attendance was also a problem of some concern. 159 Activitiep;Special to This Qgpg The teacher stated that he needed help on determining the approved practices that might grow out of the television programs . The prepared reference materials and the source units were considered as "indirect" values of the television pro- grams. Receiving these materials in advance was also a great assistance in preparing for the class instruction. The television set was brought to the agricultural room by the local television dealer, and it was removed by him.after each program. The antenna was installed by the dealer for the first meeting and left there continuously. The reception in this school was excellent. More resource persons were used in this school, in the opinion of the investigator, than in any other, and the series of meetings were based upon the television programs. This was the only school that made announcements of the meetings on the local radio station. School H Types of Farming The types of farming in this school service area were very much like those of School B also. The school was located in Area 5. 160 Personal Information This teacher was twenty-six years old and graduated with the Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural educa- tion. He completed a three quarter-hour course on the problems of beginning teachers but had not taken any audio- visual courses. He had taught vocational agriculture for only one year. This year he taught three high-school classes of vocational agriculture with an enrollment of fifty-five, one adult-farmer class with an enrollment of twenty, and one class of young farmers with an enrollment of ten. He attended one out of three in-service meetings. Interpretation and Relationshipg The possibility of securing a television set in order that the programs might be used was discussed with the super- intendent. The plan for using the programs with the young and adult-farmer classes was explained to him. and he thought that "it might be a good idea." No discussions were held with other teachers as to what they might have thought about the use of television, and no activities were planned or carried out to inform people outside of the school. There did not seem to be any adverse reaction, and the people were probably indifferent about its use. No comment had been heard either for or against the use of television. 161 Content and Methodology The farmers were called together, and the different approaches which could be made to the class meetings were explained. The television programs were explained to them. The programs were probably used because the idea of using television as an instructional aid was new, and the teacher wanted to try out some of the programs. At the first meeting, the farmers selected four programs that they wanted to use and planned the meetings and topics until February. In February the class presented topics in which they were inter- ested and left the planning of the topics and dates, at the most convenient time, to the teacher. The class met bi- weekly, but held one meeting per month during the summer. The script was read and the other reference materials were studied by the teacher in preparing for the instruction and in informing himself on the subject matter. A short introduction was made prior to the start of the programs, and the teacher tried to get the farmers to ask questions. The programs were viewed, and the television materials were discussed. At times, charts were prepared and they were discussed, for example, the marketing program. A specialist was brought in to present information and answer questions after the program on social security, and pamphlets and circulars on this topic were distributed to the class ‘members. No follow-up activites were planned. 162 Pertinent parts of the reference materials had been marked previously and were used as a source of information after the programs, in addition to the uses described pre- viously. The charts explained in the above paragraph were based upon materials or charts in the various references. Information which was put on the blackboard at times was taken from the scripts, for example, an explanation of parity. Evaluation The teacher was undecided as to whether the television programs had any specific values. He wondered if he were using them because they were available or'because they met a need. The programs were not closely related, and it was some- what boring to watch a person lecture for thirty minutes. More visual aids were needed, and the charts that were used were not clear. More people were needed on some of the pro- grams. Generally, it was felt that the meetings would have been as successful and as much.would have been accomplished without the television programs. It was recommended that these criticisms be corrected to improve the programs and that a definite, closely-related series be telecast. The most important phase of the television activities was the reference materials. However, the programs were valuable for presenting ideas and providing subject matter. The specialists who appeared on the programs could present 163 "better" information and additional information which the teacher might miss. In addition, more complete information was provided, and it was "covered" more thoroughly than the teacher could present it. The programs improved as the series progressed during the year. Television programs were requested for next year for adult and young-farmer classes and for the high-school classes in vocational agriculture. The requested subjects, in the order named, were dairying (feeding, roughage, breeding); soils (fertilizers, fertilizer placement, soil testing); and soil conservation (land-use capabilities). Eggplems Encqpptered The reference materials for the television programs were received too late, and the farmers did not arrive early enough for much discussion or orientation prior to the programs. There was a tendency for some of the members to discuss some phase of the program as it was being telecast. There was a question in the teacher's mind as to whether the television programs caused a decrease in attendance, and the class "did not seem to care too much for the tele- vision programs." - Activities Special to This Case The television dealer in a nearby town brought a set to the school on the nights that the programs were used and removed it after the meetings. The quality of the reception was excellent. 16h The young-farmer class met with the adult-farmer group for the meeting on social security. The adult-farmer class and the teacher from another school also were present for this meeting. School I Types of Farmipg This school was located in Area 8, and the types of farming in this area are reported under School A. Probably the service area of this school was the ”best“ farming area of all of the ten school areas. The soil was level, well -drained, and highly fertile. A very high percentage of the farmers were engaged in full-time, commercial farming. The major crops were field beans, sugar beets, and wheat. Personal Information At the time of the interview the teacher had received the Bachelor of Science degree in agricultural education and was twenty-nine years old. He had completed a three quarter- hour audio-visual course, nine quarter-hours of technical agriculture, and three quarter-hours of agricultural educa- tion beyond the degree. He had taught vocational agriculture for four years, the last two years in this school. This year he taught one general shop class with an enrollment of twenty- seven, three classes of high-school vocational agriculture ‘with fifty-two pupils enrolled, and one adult-farmer class. 165 Previously, he had taught one adult-farmer and one young- farmer class. He attended three out of seven in-service meetings. Interpretation and Helgtionships The possibility and desirability of-using the television programs were discussed with the superintendent. He thought that this "would be a good idea if it did not interfere too much with the school program“. The teacher also explained that this was "something new in the field of education, and I wanted to try it out." The adult-farmer class was told about the programs and was urged to view them. At one of their meetings they were questioned as to how many had viewed a certain program, and five persons stated that they had viewed it. The high-school boys were also urged to inform their fathers and to ask them to view the programs. The other teachers were rather curious about the tele- vision activities and asked questions about the set and the use of the television programs. No comments were made to the teacher by people in the community about the use of television nor were any reactions heard or observed. Content and Methodology The information about the television programs and the schedule were received. The schedule was written on the ‘blackboard, and the boys asked questions about the program 166 titles and the probable content of the various programs. They selected three programs in which they were interested and which they thought would have value. The teacher thought that three programs was about the number that would be desir- able and reasonable as the boys had to be taken out of other classes to view the programs. The reference materials were read and studied in pre- paring for viewing the programs, and an outline of pertinent points was made. Lists of questions and pertinent points to look for were developed from the boys and the script. The programs were viewed and a brief fifteen-minute dis- cussion was held, which was all of the time left in the period after the conclusion of the programs. The television programs and the materials were discussed with the individual classes on the days following the telecast. An effort was made to ”tie-in" the television programs with the regular teaching plans. . This procedure was different from.previous years for the television schedule and dates were definite. Topics and teaching plans could be planned specifically for and around the television programs. When films had been used, they were not received at a time that their use would coincide with the teaching materials and planned topics. There were no follow-up activities other than the dis- cussions of the programs and the information presented on them. 167 No particular activities or devices were used to evaluate the results of the instruction and the class meetings,other than attendance which has been used as an indication of the success of the meetings. Evaluation The concomitant reference materials were of great assis- tance in planning and presenting the instruction and in viewing and using the television programs. The fact that the programs would be telecast on specific dates which were known in advance was of great importance in planning the instruc- tion. It was also desirable to have the information presented by "experts.“ Generally, the charts were too small and the presentation was too academic. The telecasters were usually dressed in suits, and there was a lack of a "farm atmosphere." The view- ers were not "taken out on the farm” by the use of pictures or other techniques. The reception was poor and the use of a table model set made it hard'for the boys to view the pro- grams. However, the programs had some strong-points. The use of visual aids and illustrative devices made the information more clear and understandable. The presentations were gener- ally "right to the point" and provided specific answers and definite subject matter. 168 More farm Operations needed to be presented on the pro- grams to improve them. A more desirable time for telecasting the programs would be 8:00 P.M. or 11:00 A.M. Programs were requested next year for the high-school classes and the adult farmers. In order of priority, the subject matter areas were cash crOps (beans, sugar beets, wheat), dairying, and soil conservation (erosion control). Problems Encountered The reception was somewhat poor, especially the audio phase, as only an inside aerial was used. The location of the set and the extraneous and background light made it difficult for the pupils to view the programs. Some of the boys had to sit at such a viewing angle that they could not see the picture very well. The poor quality of the recep- tion and the inability to see affected the interest and the understanding of the information. The time of the telecast was undesirable as the pupils had to be released from other classes, and this action cre- ated a minor problem. Some of the boys were also absent either when the programs were telecast or when the discussions of the programswere held. Therefore, they did not develop the understanding of the subject matter that the others did. Activities Special to Thip_9ase The teacher desired additional help on how to use tele- vision programs correctly as an instructional aid. He also 169 'wanted some factual information which could be used as a basis for deciding whether or not to purchase a set for the school. The most important "indirect" value of the tele- vision activities was the reference materials which.were pre- pared and mailed to the teachers. This was the only school which used the television pro- grams exclusively with the high-school boys who were enrolled in vocational agriculture. It was also the only school which had all of the pupils in vocational agriculture view the programs and which did the viewing simultaneously. Because of the method of viewing the programs, the dis- cussion of the programs and the information presented was conducted in two class meetings on days after the programs were viewed. The local television dealer loaned a set for the first program. and the teacher brought his own set to the school for the last two programs. This was the only school where this was done. The investigator did not visit a class in this school or make a tape recording of a class meeting. School J Types of Farmigg This school was also one of the six schools which were located in Area 5. The farms were somewhat smaller than those 170 of the more commercial farming areas. The types of farming in the school service area were comparable to those which are previously reported for the other schools in Area 5. Pepgppal Infprmation The teacher was thirty-four years old and had received the Master of Arts degree in education. He had completed a three quarter-hour course in technical agriculture and twenty- five quarter-hours in education beyond the Master's degree. One audio-visual course had also been completed by him. He had taught vocational agriculture for eleven years, the last three in this school. He taught two high-school classes of vocational agriculture with an enrollment of twenty-seven, one adult-farmer (married couples) class with an enrollment of twenty-one,and one young-farmer class with an enrollment of fourteen. He taught eleven adult-farmer classes and seven young-farmer classes previous to this year. Eight out of eleven in-service meetings were attended by him since coming to this school. Interpretation and Relationships . No special activities were undertaken to inform others about the use that was being made of the television programs. The teacher stated, "I consider television as another aid in teaching just as fiLms are. I do not inform my superinten- dent each time that I use a film." The superintendent 171 generally knew what was "going on about television" and attended the in-service television meeting held in this school. Content and Methodology The planning committee set up the series of meetings at the first instructional meeting. The teacher was absent from this meeting this year. The class selected the speci- fic topics, and the series of meetings were built around these topics. Both the class and teacher suggested other topics to fill out the series. The class selected four or five television topics in which they were interested. This number was later decreased to three, and these programs were used. 4 y In planning the meetings the teacher used the discus- sions held at the previous meetings and farm visits to deter- mine the problems. Some thought was given to what the problems might be,and other sources of information were selected. The scripts were read and adapted to the meetings (somewhat as a teacher might do with a film). This procedure was dif-‘ ferent from the procedure used at first when it was thought that television might "do the whole job”, and little lesson planning was done. However, this procedure did not work, and the teacher went back to his regular teaching method and used the television programs as resource materials. 172 In teaching the class the teacher defined the problem area and specific problems. Reference materials were used and.discussed in solving the problems, and approved practices ‘were developed. An effort was made to try to secure some commitment as to the adoption of the practices. The tele- vision programs were used as resource information for solving the problems. The same follow-up activities were carried out as would have been done had no televisionprograms been used. Tours were conducted after the ”bulk-handling of milk" program, and pn-farm.instruction was given. The scripts were read and studied thoroughly, and the source units were used initially in planning the entire series of meetings. The evaluation of the instruction and the class meetings was based upon the approved practices adopted as reported on a check-list whichwwas filled out at the end of the series. Evaluation The television programs were another source of reference, if the subject fitted, and presented timely topics, especially when reference materials were not yet available. Information was presented which was not otherwise available, and it was psychologically more "authoritative". The demonstrations and illustrations made the information and subject matter more clear and understandable. 173 It was recommended that the reference materials be mailed earlier and that charts be prepared for use with the Opaque projector and mailed with the reference materials. Some of the programs were monotonous and dull, especially when not suitable, and inadequate visual aids were used at times. Incorrect visual aids were sometimes used, and there was generally a lack of the prOper use of visual aids. Charts were included which had little value, and they were not kept on-camera long enough to enable the viewers to read and com- perhend them. There was a difference in complexity of the various programs, and they were largelya waste of time if too far above or below the knowledge-level of the group. The major strong-points of the programs were the use of visual aids and films and movies to provide action and to present a visual explanation of the topic under discussion. It was recommended that the above criticisms be cor- rected to improve the programs. A continuation of more of the "good" programs was desired. The level of presentation of the programs should be maintained at about the same de- gree of complexity, and charts and materials should be pre- pared and presented which would not be available otherwise. A request was made for a continuation of the television programs for adult and young-farmer classes next year. De- sired subject-matter areas were production courses (corn, dairy) and farm mechanics (farm-machinery repair). 17h Problems Encountered Scripts and reference materials arrived too late for effective planning. Seemingly, the meetings were not as well attended when the television programs were used. Activities Special to This Case The television programs had several "indirect" values. The in-service television meeting was of value in that dif- ferent and, perhaps, better ways of using television were learned. The source units and reference materials aided in the preparation and teaching of the lessons. The programs increased the technical knowledge of the teacher, and new methods of teaching and presenting information were learned. This was the only teacher who taught an adult class of married couples. The class met in the home of the teacher for the meetings in which the television programs were used and viewed them on his set. The other meetings were held in the homes of the other members on a rotating basis. The scripts were also used fifteen to twenty times with the young-farmer and high-school classes as reference mater- ials even though the television programs were not used. The teacher thought at first, based upon discussions and activities, that the television programs would do the 'bntire job of teaching". He became more realistic and real- istic and realized that the programs were not worthwhile without proper planning and utilization. When television 175 was first used, the class viewed the program and then dis- cussed it, but this procedure "did not work". He generally held that television was another instructional aid,and, therefore, activities to keep administrators and other in- formed were unnecessary. CHAPTER VI PRESENTATION AND ANALYSIS OF DATA The analysis of the data is presented in this chapter and is divided into three sections: (1) data related to the use of television programs and reference materials, (2) data related to the evaluation of television programs and reference materials, and (3) data related to the crit- icisms of the programs and to the recommendations for future reference materials and programs. From the beginning of the Project, it was felt that the programs would be more suitable and desirable for adult and young-farmer classes than for high-school pupils. There- fore, the major emphasis in the study was placed upon the use of the programs with the former groups. As stated pre- viously, forms were sent to the teachers upon which they were to report certain information as to the use and criticisms of the programs and recommendations for improvement.1 Another rating form? was administered by the teachers to the class members, including the high-school pupils, near the end of the series of meetings. A comparison between the ratings, criticisms, and recommendations of the high-school pupils — 1Referred to hereafter as Form B. 2Referred to hereafter as Form B. 177 and the adult and young-farmer class members is presented in this chapter, although it is not one of the major purposes of the study. The teachers made a composite rating of all of the pro- grams used on another form which was sent to them.3 They also reported the approved practices“ which were adopted by the adult and young-farmer class members, but because of the purposes of the study, no report was made on the adopted practices of the high-school groups. Additional data were secured by observing a class meeting in nine of the ten schools and by making a tape recording. An interview with each of the ten teachers in the study provided still addi- tional information and data. The data which were secured by observing the classes and by interviewing the teachers were utilized for preparing the narrative reports by schools which have been included in Chapter V. In addition, the data from.each school were ana- lyzed on master sheets to determine: (1) the practices that were used, (2) the similarities and differences between the activities of the schools and the problems encountered, and (3) the limitations and recommendations that were reported as to the television programs and reference materials. This information was grouped into appropriate tables which are re- ported in this chapter. 3Referred to hereafter as Form I. 1*Referred to hereafter as Form J. 178 The data which were secured from Forms E, H, I, and J were also recorded on master sheets. The ratings of the television programs and methods for presenting future pro- grams, the reports on the adoption of farming practices, and the criticisms and recommendations were also grouped into appropriate tables which are presented in this chapter. where applicable, the presentation pattern consists of first reporting summarized data from which a comparison be- tween ratings by high-school boys, adult and young farmers, and teachers is made. These are followed by more detailed and specific data on each group. In other situations, data are generally reported in the order of high-school beys, adult and young farmers, and teachers--completely or par- tially-~where comparisons are not applicable or possible. The remainder of the data are included within the three sec- tions, named in the first paragraph of this chapter, at appropriate places in the context. Data Related to the Use of Television Programs and Reference Materials Table II shows the composite data as related to the number of teachers, the number and type of class members, the names of the class series, and the number of copies of the forms and instruments-by type upon which the data were submitted. Ten teachers used selected television programs TABLE NUMBER OF MEETINGS, CLASS MEMBERS, TELEVISION PROGRAMS SOhOOI glgggegr $35.2: Total Atzgzgznce $7. of Using TV Meetings Enrolled* Programs Held Used A Adult 15 52 16 3 B Adult 9 3t 10 9 C Young-Farmer 15 21 15 h High School 9 25 25 9 D Adult 11 3O 16 3 Young-Farmer 19 16 9 3 High School 2 l6 l6 2 E Adult 12 25 10 8 F Young-Farmer 1h 6 1h G Adult 12 17 11 H Adult 10 20 8 I' High School 3 52 . us 3 J Married Adult 16 22 8 3 Total 10 13 lh7 336 189 76 Mean -- -- 11.31 25.85 1h.5hee* 7.6** Range -- -- 2-15 6-52 3oh5 3-lh *Includes persons present one or more times. e%Mean number of programs used per school, nor per class. eeeThis figure is the mean of the average attendance reported in the above column. II 179 USED, AND FORMS SUBMITTED BY TYPES OF CLASSES AND BY SCHOOLS NOe or R6“ Highest No. of Teacher Teacher Name of No. Copies spondents Submitted Submitted Class gigging pf Submitting Form I Form J Series Program orm.E Form H 8 O 7 A Yes Yes Management Practices 3h 6 0 Yes No Marketing 19 1 12 Yes Yes Marketing 25 7 25 --- --- Farm.Management 18 3 10 Yes 'Yes Farm Management 13 2 11 um Yes $315333?" “t 16 2 12 --— --- Farm Management in 1 0 Yes Yes Farm.Management 6 O 3 ‘Yes No Economics 15 0 Yes No TV Series 20 O 13 Yes Yes Farm.Management 52 O 20 Yes --- ------ 12 O 9 “Yes Yes Farm Management 252 22 127 10 7 mm. 19.38 -- 9.77 --- --- --°-- 6-52 -- O-ZS --- --- ----- 180 with 13 classes: seven adult classes, three young-farmer classes, and three high-school classes with a total enroll- ment of 336 persons. FormbE's were submitted by four teachers on 22 programs used, Form I's were turned in by all teachers, and Form J's were sent in by six teachers. A total of 76 television pro- grams were used with a mean of 7.6 programs per schOOl. The smallest number of programs used by a school was three, and the largest number used was 1h programs. The largest number of persons viewing a program in one school was 52, and the .amallest number of persons was six. Other pertinent information can be secured from.Tab1e II although the figures presented below are not specifically ' shown therein. The total enrollment of the adult and young farmers was 2&3, and the total number of high-school pupils was 93. The average attendance of all of the adult and young farmers was 103, while all of the high-school boys had an average attendance of 86. The adult and young farmers submitted 70 Form H's, and the higheschool group submitted 57 copies of the Form, which was 70.0 percent and 66.3 percent respectively of the average attendance of these two groups. The respondents who returned this Form reported the number of television programs that they had viewed, although a few did not Smeit this information. The mean number of programs viewed was 5.68 for the high-school boys and 2.75 for the 181 adult and young farmers. The mean of the reporting respon- dents of all class members was 3.99. It can be seen from.Table III that a total of 31 programs were telecast, but only 21 were viewed and used by one or more classes. The total number of times that all programs were viewed by all viewing personnel in all schools was 951. The average number of viewers per program of the programs used was h5.3, and the average number of viewers per program per school was 12.51. The range of viewers per program used was three to 113. Although the programs started on October 6 and continued to May 11, only one school used one program prior to November 3, and the last program.was used on March 23. Use of Television Programs and Reference Materials ' Activities which were categorized in the administrative area were reported more times for interpreting and estab- lishing relationships as to the use of the television programs than the activities of any other area. The area which was next reported the greatest number of times, 26.5 percent, was that of verbally informing people. Nine teachers stated dur- ing the interviews that they kept the administrators in- formed, as shown in Table IV. However, it was evident from the visits to the schools, made by the Research Specialist, the Materials Specialist, and the investigator approximately two months after the programs started, that the administrators 182 .HN u z .cems mssnwosa cons oomwms** .nzonxns mm: condonopus when: mouse a“ new: we: AHH sands oomv condocoupw owmno>< .oocmnnonpd mesa» ooSoa> newswond wnazadauana hp pocHSnouon#* .m Macaomm4 .HHHAx.oHndB Eonu span penanwssdm cod: oceans maanm seaweed non enosoa> Ho omcsm Hm.NH Hoonon hon Eonmona non mno30a> no nonfina use: gm: QM Etienne: ssflmo be m m s as as m o ma 0 m Hm . an wnHSoa> h H m a m M a o m. _< comb unsomaoa Ho nomudflo nHooflom kn UOuD ufidfiwofim Ho b.0952 ghmofim nfidthhm EopH wsnmmw no .oz aeouoeeao no no .oz > sauce .02 Hence sauce L lull h. I‘qlllxlw' #waoomom Mm GZHRMH> mzcmmmm mo mmmzpz 024 nmmb mzdmmomm ZOHmH>mHMH ho mamZDz Q4808 HHH Manda 183 TABLE IV {6' ACTIVITIES RELATED TO INTERPRETATION AND ESTABLISHMENT OF RELATIONS AS TO USE OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS Times Percent of A°t1V1t1°3 Reported Total of by Teachers Times Reported I. Administrative: Informed superintendent or other administrators Superintendent attended television in-service meeting Superintendent gave special assistance Superintendent viewed a program .Sub-total S Inn—r4:- o 38.8 II. Action of Other Persons: Other teachers and students asked questiOns Other teachers used television set _Sub-total ski;- III. Verbalization: Informed high-school classes in vocational agriculture 7 Discussed activities with persons outside the school EXplained use of television programs to other teachers of vocational agriculture Distributed television schedule to class members Told adult farmers and urged high- school boys to inform father Sub-total w 5 I F’ P4 +4 26.5 IV. Use of Printed Media and Radio: Published articles in local paper Published television schedule in local paper Magazines carried articles on tele- vision activities Reported television activities in school bulletin Had announcement made on radio Sub-total V. Sfiecial: 0 activities carried out; considered television another instructional aid _; Sub-total . l 2.0 Total of Times Reported A9 Total Number of Activities Reported l7 * ese were secured as free-res onse an e - tion asked during the interviews? 3 sw rs to the general ques char-0 H m :— 18.h 18h were rather poorly informed as of that date. The one teacher who reported that he did not make any particular effort to inform his superintendent stated, ”No special activities have been carried out. I consider television to be another in- structional aid Just like a film. I do not inform.the super- intendent every time that I show a film." Four of the super- intendents attended the in-service television meeting, and four also assisted the teacher in their school in some special way; for example, by securing the television set, teaching a class under special circumstances, or securing special refer- ence materials. The use of articles and television schedules in news- papers were reported six times while the use of a magazine, school bulletin, and radio were only reported one time each. Informing other classes and persons outside the school were reported 13 times of which eXplaining to other teachers of vocational agriculture, distributing the television schedule, and urging high-school boys to inform.their fathers were each described once. Other persons in the school were interested in television. In three schools other teachers used the set to view selected programs, and in four schools other teachers and students asked the teacher of vocational agriculture about his use of the special programs. 185 As grouped in Table V, 25 different practices were used by teachers in organization, preparation, instruction, follow- up activities, and evaluation, and these have been described in detail by schools in the previous chapter. Three different methods of planning the series of meetings were reported: planning with the entire class, planning with a steering comp mdttee or advisory council, and planning by the teacher only. All of the teachers used the scripts and reference materials in planning for the meetings, but only two prepared study- guides or lists of questions. All of the teachers conducted an orientation or dis- cussion prior to the programs and conducted a discussion and used the reference materials after the programs. However, the pre-program.activities varied in degree from a detailed discussion and listing of problems to a brief statement as to the title of the program and the information that would be presented. The post-program.activities varied between schools, and one teacher generally shifted to a new or dif- ferent topic after the subject matter presented by the pro- grams was discussed. Four teachers reported that they used the programs and the information presented thereon as a resource for solving the problems of the class members. Ap- proximately 50 percent of the activities reported were those which were used in teaching the classes. 186 TABLE V . ACTIVITIES“ or TEACHERS IN ORGANIZING CLASSES AND PREPARING FOR, CONDUCTING, FOLLOWING UP, AND EVALUATING INSTRUCTION _ :—_‘ Times Reported Percent A¢t1V1t1°3 by Teachers of Total of Times Reported I. Organizing Course: Planned meetings and television programs with entire class Meetings planned by steering committee or advisory council Programs used as the course Course of study and programs selected by teacher Sub-total all” WM 0‘ lO.h II. Preparing for the Instruction: Used scripts and reference materials in preparing for claSs meetings Prepared special visual aids Prepared study-guides or lists of questions Sub-total pa +4 elm mo 13.6 III. Teaching Classes: Conducted a discussion after the programs 10 Viewed television programs as a class activity ' 9 Conducted an orientation or discussion before programs 10 Used reference materials after programs 10 Used programs with adult-farmer class 7 Duplicated or distributed reference materials to clasSes ’ 5 Used resource persons 5 Used programs as resource for solving problems of class members )4 Programs used with young-farmer classes 3 Teaching procedure same as in previous years 3 Shifted to additional topics during meetings _; Sub-total 67 53-6 187 TABLE V (Cont.) Times Reported Percent by Teachers of Total of Times Reported Activities IV. Followéng Up Instruction: Used follow-up activities--tours, field trips, on-farm.instruction Had class answer questions on informal tests Sub-total «I». o 5.6 V. Evaluating Instruction: Submitted list of approved practices adopted ' Based evaluation upon observations, visits, and opinions Based evaluation upOn'obJective evidence --forms, checkplist, adoption of approved practices Prepared and distributed an evaluation form.at end of series of meetings Distributed an approved practice list . to be checked by class members Sub-total O‘O‘ Blue;- 16.8 Total of Times Reported 125 Total Number of Activities Reported 25 15’ *These were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. 188 Only six teachers reported that they used any follow- up activities. One of these prepared a list of questions based upon the information presented by one or more programs and distributed them to the class members for answering, although the questions and answers were not submitted to the teacher. Six teachers generally based the evaluation of the instruction and class meetings upon their Observations, farm visits, and opinions; whereas four teachers used more objec- tive information, such as forms, check-lists, and adoption of approved practices. An evaluation form was prepared and diatributed to the class members at the end of the series of class meetings by three teachers, and two teachers prepared forms and distributed them.to the farmers upon which they reported the approved practices that had been adopted or planned for adeption. Four teachers reported several reasons for using the television programs. The major reason given, as shown in Table VI, for using them with high-school classes was that they met the needs or fitted into the planned lessons. That the planned television schedule was being followed was listed as the main reason for using the programs with the adult and young-farmer class members. Other reasons listed were that class members wanted to use selected programs and that the teacher selectedtme programs to provide pertinent information which.was needed by the class. As this information 189 TABLE VI REASONS REPORTED BX TEACHERS* FOR USING TELEVISION PROGRAMS WITH HIGH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES Times Reported Total Per- High-School Adult and Young- cent Classes Farmer Classes Reason N ' 9 N = 13 NOe % NO. % Inspection of script, met needs, fitted into lesson plans 7 77.8 0 O 7 31.8 Following planned television ‘ schedule 0 O 6 46.2 6 27.3 Farmers wanted to use it 0 O 2 15.h 2 9.1 Adult advisors voted to USB It 0 O 2 lSeu 2 901 To convince class members to change practices 1 11.1 1 7.7 2 9.1 No real reason 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 Members wanted to know how to file income tax 0 O 2 15.h 2 9.1 Total of Times Reported 9 -- 13 -- 22 -- Total Number of Reasons Reported 3 -- 5 -- 7 -- *Refers to four teachers who submitted ratings on individual programs used on Form E. 190 was reported by less than one-half of the participating teachers, it should not necessarily be considered repre- sentative of the entire group. Problems Encounteggg Problemm encountered by teachers in using the television programs and reference materials are listed in Tables VII and VIII. Those listed in Table VII were reported by only four teachers and were based.upon individual programs. The total number of times that problems were reported with the high— school classes and the adult and young—farmer classes was approximately the same: 11 and 13 times respectively. How- ever, the major problems reported as related to the latter groups was that of preparation, namely, obtaining sufficient reference materials in advance and.receiving the scripts too late. All of the problems as related to the former group (high-schOol) were only reported one time each, and a majority of them were listed by one teacher. Again, because of the ‘small number of teachers reporting, these problems should not necessarily be considered as representative of all teachers in the study. During the interviews, the teachers were asked to re- port the problems encountered throughout the series Of meet- ings. A11 teachers reported, as shown in Table VIII, that the reference materials and scripts arrived too late which is 27.1 percent of the times that all problems were reported. 191 TABLE VII PROBLEMS ENCOUNTERED BY TEACHERS* IN PREPARING FOR, CONDUCTING, AND FOLLOWING UP INSTRUCTION WITH HIGH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES WHEN USING TELEVISION PROGRAMS Times Reported High-School Adult and Young- T°tal Per; Problem Classes Farmer Classes cen N = 9 N = 13 NOe % NOe % Obtaining reference materials; scripts were late O O: h 30.8 h 18.2 No preparation.made 1- 11.1 2 15.h 3 13.6 Finding a source from which to secure prior ’ ' information 1 11.1 2 15.h 3 13.6 Required considerable . ' ' study of details 0 O ‘2 15.h 2 9.1 Members were somewhat "cold” ' ‘ to the discussion 1 _11.1 1 7.7 2 9.1 General confusion caused by college people taking ' pictures 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Finding place to visit and ‘ view follow-up operation 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 Getting young farmers to ‘ ' view program 0 O 1 7.7 l h.5 Required a three-day period each week 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 Must prepare study-guides 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Must transport boys to shop to view program. 1 11.1 O O l h.5 Had to theorize considerably 1 11.1 0 ' O 1 11.5 Hard to get boys to see that any debt could be ' safe 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Finding someone to refer ‘ to for follow up. 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Had to go into great details on cycle and trends 0 0 1 7.7 1 h.5 Fetal of Times Reported 11 -- 13 -. ”2&7 -- Total Number of Problems ‘ Reported ll -- 7 -- 15 —- W f- aRefers to four eachgrs who submitted ratings on individual programs used on orm . .— ~_-__.__A _. .- . a. “5—— TABLE VIII 192 PROBLEMSw ENCOUNTERED BY TEACHERS IN USING TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND REFERENCE MATERIALS Times Reported Percent f T tal Problem. By Teachers 2f Times Reported I. Reference Materials: Arrived too late 10 Certain needed bulletins were not available Some of the reference materials were not sufficient 1 .1 Sub-total 12 32-h II. Physical Difficulties: Quality of reception or mechanical difficulty ' Extraneous light and placing class where all could see Time of telecast or UHF channel was rgwpguf ~..' undesirable or did not permit viewing ___ Sub-total no $? ~orv £1 0 w III. Preparing for and Teaching Classes: Some of the class did not view programs 3 Determining what information programs would cover and what teacher should expect to cover 1 Preparing study-guides or lists of questions when reference materials were late Differences in order of scripts and presentation on television ’ Did not know agricultural policies subject matter well enough Following up instruction and class activities . Little response to request for approved practices Members did not arrive early enough Sub-total 1 LJF' v4 04 w! +4 27.0 C IV. Attendance: Was small or gradually decreased Programs may have decreased attendance Some class members absent Sub-total alt-4 mu 16.2 Total of Times Reported 37 Total Number of Problems Reported 17 *These'were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. 193 Four reported difficulty with the quality of reception and mechanical trouble. Time of the telecasts and the fact that the programs were telecast on the UHF channel in one area did not permit viewing and were considered undesirable by two teachers. Extraneous light and placing the class where all could see the set were special problems to the three teachers who used the programs, telecast during daytime hours, with high-school classes. These physical difficulties account for 2h.3 percent of the total number of times that problems were reported. Some of the class members did not view the programs and three teachers, in situations where the viewing of the pro- grams and the discussions took place on different days, con- sidered this fact to be a problem in conducting the discussion of the programs. Attendance was either small or gradually decreased in three schools, and two other teachers were of the opinion that the use of the programs may have caused a decrease in attendance on the nights that they were used. §pecial Activitieg V The activities which were special to one or a few schools are shown in Table IX. Some of these have been sub- sumed in other tables in a somewhat different manner and discussed previously and, therefore, are not discussed at this point. The activities which were categorized as general represented h3.6 percent of the total number Of times that TABLE IX 19h SPECIAL ACTIVITIES* RELATED TO USE OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS REPORTED BY A MINORITY OF TEACHERS Times Reported Activities By Teachers Percent of Total of Times Reported I. Groups Viewing Programs: Used programs of Television Project with high-school classes Used Special, additional television programs with high-school classes TeleviSion programs viewed independently Used programs with both adult and young- farmer classes Combined young-farmer class with adult farmers to view one program Used with all high-school classes, viewed simultaneously, and used only with high- school classes Used with adult (married couples) class Sub-total II. Reference Materials: .Filed all reference materials ‘Reference materials of value without television programs Sub-total III. Use of Programs: Programs viewed and discussed on different days' Used one television series exclusively Sub-total IV. Attendance: Attendance decreased when television was used Attendance with and without television about the same Sub-total V. General: Need additional help on usingtzelevision programs .Submitted copies of Form E ‘ Had high-school boys fill out Form H Recommended a television workshop Use selected programs telecast on two or more statiOns Requested a schedule of agricultural pro- rams telecast by all local stations Me in teacher's and class member's home Sub-total 4:le win-J m glen-4 H H mu be u>ha to 30.8 7.7 10.3 7.7 Total of’TimesfiReported ‘ Total Number of Activities Reported agghgsg were secure roe-response answers Odin-aw m mow—*4? NW 0 P i, ||' ll’ A} I’ - Illll IIIIII IIIII 195 activities were reported, and those related to the groups viewing the programs made up 30.8 percent. Special, addi- tional television programs.which were not a part of the Tele- vision Project were viewed by the high-school classes in three schools. The following activities were reported once: (1) combined the young-farmer class with the adult-farmer class for one special meeting, (2) used the programs with high-school classes only and had all of the high-school classes view the programs simultaneously, and (3) used the program with an adult class which consisted of married.eouples. Four teachers stated that they needed additional help on how to use television.programs more effectively, and two teachers recommended that a television workshOp be offered for the teachers. One teacher was rather adamant in his de- sire for a weekly or monthly schedule of agricultural programs telecast by all local stations. Two teachers used television programs which were telecast on two or more stations, and the group of one school held their meetings in either the teacher's or the class members' homes. Locagggn and Method of Securing Television Set; Tables X and XI show how the television sets were secured and where they were located. Five sets were loaned by the local television dealers, and in six schools the sets were placed in the agricultural room. 196 TABLE X METHOD OF SECURING TELEVISION SETS REPORTED BY TEACHERSw . Number of Teachers Method Reporting Loaned by local television dealer Used teacher's set Bought by board of education and FFA chapter Bought by board of education \OIHHNUI Total *One school did not have a set or view the programs on an organized group basis. TABLE XI LOCATION OF TELEVISION SETS USED BY CLASS MEMBERS AND.TEACHERS* Number of Teachers Location Reporting Agricultural room 6 Study hall 1 Teacher's home or homes of class members 1 1 Agricultural shop (located in another part of town) Total 9 * —___ *One school did not have a set or view the programs on an organized group basis. II I'. ‘ jllllf It‘ll} I {LI-II 197 Data Related to the Evaluation of Television Programs and Reference Materials The overall ratings of the television programs by the class members can be observed in Tables XII to XIV. Form.H, upon which the ratings were made, provided for one of five ratings on each item shown in these tables. Because of the nature of the items one of four different sets of descrip- tive terms were listed under each item and included the fol- lowing: (1) "very much" to "not at all", (2) "very easily" to "with great difficulty” or Inot at all“, (31 "excellent" to "very poor", and (h) "very many" to ”none”. A value of four points was arbitrarily assigned to the highest rating by the investigator, while a descending consecutive point value was assigned to the other ratings with the lowest rating having zero value. Since the lowest rating was, generally, negative in meaning, it was felt that a zero value was more representative of the meaning of the term.than a value of one point. These data would necessarily be limited by the interpretations which the respondents made as to the meaning of the various descriptive terms. It can be seen from Table III that the mean value of the programs was 2.82 and 2.h6 respectively as rated by the adult and young farmers and by the high-school boys. As reported previously, the high-school boys viewed more programs than the adult and young fammers, and some of the .eocooamaoo no doped pcooaoaloco one no udoofimanmam ma monomau 03» Omega Geozpen oonenmuuao ceased 8 ml] .00. d a.“ once» games: .wnauon amazed on» now menace 0 one nmcduca O>HH no beeswan on» new menace : mo coam> a does become bo.m sasmm.m seeo:.m esoz mo.m me.m was we e:.~ oma mm ooaaa ma: oseoomxoao e no on some haoneom no new causes one means 0» seamen o~.N N®.N Nod mo om.N 03H km A mwnapoos Nassau oomezomao macaw Imeoo one mEOHnoaa o>Hom on condom Coama> Ioaop no concomoaa soameROHCa means on vacuum . . . mm 008 mm N 3N m hNN on m: N nma om he used Romeo one madman one one oommMWme no: pen: coca ooupam useamoa mean: on com oa mm.N hm.N HON .om -.N me mm nfionmoaa >8 no couscous on: maomnem m:.m sm.m was .a on mm.m oma em oooomsooes one .esom .s .ona on oaooo moan Heoma> mean: on common :m.m os.m mes s.oe so.a was em . . someone not economoso .,I condom mamawoaa aoamfi>oaop mean: on asepwm om.N mo.N mON .V.on om.N mod 5m oanmonmunaooas shoe mmooa some meaasewo one .ox naoaueapmsaaa .maooos .mpaono flown: on common os.m ao.m oma b_loo mm.m ems am assoaoaoea one ooosos so medamoaa noamaboaop on» mean: on common om.N om.N NON _o~ oa.N MNa mm mooumaoocs on canoe _bv oceanoeao hounds pecans» Sean: on poopnm Hm.m oa.m .eaw “sw.ow mo.~ oma om weasoosooca one: osasmoso on» nose: on cosmos was no IwOawOmsfionHe> soda!» museum #3033» send; moapom . Has mp Iss0: Hence .oz Hosea use: Hence .02 Hence EooH "msaeem mo maefiaom mono» one naso¢ lewwm oHoonom swam («IVUJDIIICIV osae> ado: mammzms mmdqo mmzmdmIGZDowonz¢ BADQ< mm Q24 Aoomomtmch Hm mzmumB mo m¢ZHBo HHK mqmde I I'll! I l Gel-ll I 1.1 I I ill I 'el- 1 {I1 I III .Illl\ III! I III l.i III II. I'll J!“ A I, 199 programs viewed by the two groups were different. However, since the respondents of both groups made an overall rating of the programs viewed, it was felt that the basis upon which the ratings were made was similar enough to utilize statistical treatment. When the "t" score was computed, the mean rating of the adult and young farmers of 2.82 was Significantly higher than the 2.h6 rating of the high-school boys at the one—percent level of significance. The reader is cautioned to examine these data in light of the above limi- tations and the assumption that there was enough similarity to test the data statistically for significance. The mean value of all respondents was 2.66. The "degree to which charts, models, illustrations, and examples made ideas more understandable" had the highest mean value of 2.86 as rated by the high-school boys, whereas the ”degree to which the programs were interesting" received the highest mean rating of 3.10 from the adult and young farmers. The latter item also received the highest mean rating, 2.91, from all respondents. The ”extent to which television programs raised questions for thought" received the lowest mean rating from.the high-school pupils, from the adult and young farmers, and from.the combined ratings of all respondents with a mean value of 1.97, 2.h6, and 2.2h, respectively. It can be seen that from one to four respondents failed to rate five of the items. 200 Table XIII shows the number and percentage of the high- school boys and their ratings of each item. Only three of the items had a rating by any of the respondents in the lowest category, and the highest category generally had the next smallest number of respondents. The largest number rated the items in the two categories below the top category, and approximately 60 percent to 87 percent of the reSpondents were represented in these two groups. The totals and the mean values .of this group of respondents are also shown in Table XII. Only one respondent in the adult and young-farmer group rated one item in the lowest category. The group generally had more ratings in the highest category than the high-school boys, as shown in Table XIV. Approximately 66 percent to 81+ percent of the adult and young farmers rated the items in the next two categories. The mean values of the rating and the total value are also listed in Table XII. The teachers also rated the programs on the nine items 8hown in Table XV. The items are somewhat similar to those on which the class members rated the programs but were worded in light of the teacher as a respondent, and, there- fore, a comparison of these ratings with those of the class menIbers is not possible. The mean value of the ratings of the ten participating teachers was 2.66. The "degree to “hi ch presentations were logical and coherent" had the TABLE OVERALL RATINGS OF TELEVISION Number of Hizh- Item Point 54) (3) No. % No. % Degree to which the programs were interesting 6 10.7 27 h8.2 Extent to which subject matter discussed could be understood 2 3.5 13 22.8 Degree to which television programs helped the individual 6 10.5 1h 2h.6 Degree to which charts, models, illustrations and examples made ideas understandable 15 26.3 21 36.8 Extent to which television programs raised questions for thought 3 5.3 13 22.8 Degree to which visual aids could be read, seen, and understood 2 3.5 20 35.1 Persons who appeared on TV programs 7 12.3 32 56.1 Degree to which programs fitted into what was discussed and done during the other part of the meeting 8 lh.3 lb 25.0 Extent to which information presented on television helped to solve problems and questions discussed during meetings 11 19.3 16 28.1 Degree to which the studio set or scenery used as a background was liked 10 18.2 20 36.h Mean #Maximum.score is b.00. ~— __.v‘ _.——-- -— —-. . 201 XIII PROGRAMS BY HIGH-SCHOOL PUPILS School Members Rating N '3 57 T01593- Total Mean Value of Ratinng Biting Value Values- (22 (12 . (9; o. - o. - No. __ 22 39.3 1 1.8 o 56 150 2.68 311 59.6 8 121.0 0 S7 123 2.16 31 SM; ' 6 10.5 0 57 1311 2.35 3.9 33.3 2 3.5 0 57 163 2.86 21 36.8 19 33.3 1.8 57 112 1.97 28 219.1 6 10.5 1.8 ‘ S7 130 2.28 17 29.8 1 1.8 o 57, 158 2.77 29 51.8 5 8.9 o 56 137 2.145 211 112.1 6 10.5 0 57 1116 2.56 15 27.3 6 10.9 7.3 55 136 2.17 2.116 TABLE OVERALL RATINGS OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS Number of Adult and Item (Point __(_11L_ NOe % N00 % Degree to which the programm were interesting 22 3l.h 3h h8.6 Extent to which subject matter discussed could be understood 20 28.6 2h 3h.3 Degree to which television programs helped the individual 10 lh.5 25 36.2 Degree to which charts, models, illustrations and examples made - ideas more understandable 17 2h.3 31 hh.3 Extent to which television programs raised questions for thought 7 10.0 30 h2.9 Degree to which visual aids could be read, seen, and understood 10 1h.3 25 35.7 Persons who appeared on TV programs 9 12.9 RS 6h.3 Degree to which programs fitted into what was discussed and done during the other part or the meeting 33 h7.1 22 31.h EXtent to which information pre- sented on television helped to solve problems and questions discussed during meetings 13 19.1 30 hh.l Degree to which the studio set or scenery used as a background was liked 9 13.2 35 51.5 Mean *Maximum score 18 heOOe 202 XIV BY ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASS MEMBERS ———=-_——— .- ”-5—— Young-Farmer Class Members Rating 1" " 7° Total Total Mean Value of Ratings) R1121 Value Value’é- (2) 11) 101 "8 No. 35 No. % No. ‘ 95 13 18.6 1' 1.11 0 0 70 217 3.10 211 311.3 2 2.9 0 0 70 202 2.89 31 1111.9 3 11.3 o o 69 180 2.61 22 31.11 0 0 0 o. 70 205 2.93 22 31.11 10 111.3 1 1.11 70 172 2.116 28 no.0 7 10.0 0 0 70 178 2.51. 111 20.0 2 2.9 0 o 70 201 2.87 111 20.0 1 1.8 0 o 70 227 3.2a 25 36.8 o 0 0 0 68 192 2.82 21 30.1 3 11.8 0 0 68 186 2.73 2.82 I, all“ (.I In" A ‘ ‘ II 1 OVERALL RATINGS OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS BY TEACHERS TABLE XV 203 I No. QQZTeachers Rating ”‘3’“ (Point Value of Rating) (11) Degree to which programs were interesting 1 Extent to which programs,- met class needs 1 Extent to which visual aids could be read, seen, and understood 0 Persons who appeared on TV programs 1 Degree to which presen- tations were logical and coherent 2 Extent to which ref actions of class members were favorable]. Degree to which infor- mation presented on television helped to solve problems dis- cussed with class 1 Degree to which programs fitted into what was discussed and done during the other part of the meetings 2 Degree to which class members understood the information presented by the TV programs 0 Mean N00 Rating 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 29 20 28 31 27 25 27 28 Total Total Mean Value Value* 2.90 2.h0 2.00 2.80 3.10 2.70 2.50 2.70 2.80 2.66 «Maximum score is 8.00. I. I} l. I “I .1 I 1' 20h highest mean value of 3.10, and the "extent to which visual aids could be read, seen, and understood" had the lowest mean value of 2.00. All of the respondents were requested to give an overall numerical rating, based upon all of the programs which they had viewed. The ratings as lasted on the instrument ranged from.one to ten. These results are shown in Table XVI. The mean value of the ratings by the adult and young farmers and the teachers were approximately the same, 7.35 and 7.33 re- spectively. The high-school boys rated the programs signi- 'ficant1y lower with a mean value of 6.57, and the mean value of the rating by all respondents was 6.97. When the ”t" score was computed, the difference between the ratings of the adult and young farmers and the high-school boys was significant at the one-percent level of confidence. Again, the reader is cautioned to interpret these data in light of the same limi- tations and the assumption which were reported for the statis- tical analysis of the data in Table XII. One high-school pupil gave the programs a value of only three, and two of the adult and young farmers rated the pro- grams with.a value of ten. Most of the respondents rated the programs as having a value of eight or seven. Slightly :more than 50 percent of the high-school boys and the adult and young farmers rated the programs in these,two categories, and.all of the teachers gave the programs these two value 205 .ooseeamsoo no Ho>oa usooamnIeso on» as useoauacmHm ma scheme“ 03» omen» sooSpon bosoaemmae ceases .mEeamoaa on» open pom vac genome» ences .oo.oa ma oaoom E:E«Ke2# s . m. «.2 m.ma m.:a m.mm 5.2m m.o 5.2 «a e wmm oma H m ea . as on mm as m Hence mm.e be m o o o o o o o o 0.00 b Afiom m o o o o seasonesoe . newness simmé :3 mm o 0 e4. m 0.3 e 0.2 e 0.8 S mim 3 12.3 a an m «38 85am. . . _ Imcfiow.ccm pasb< 114* . m. . a . m m. H o." .3 Ha NAN m." m. N H e.m N o o 3er02 23.3 R s so em s a s m a e 3 s 8628-22 .02 .oz .02 .02 _R .02 MW .02 .02 .oz ~mM NAM flwq 0 may «we ~mu Noam seas museum ammespsm no osaa> seamen *e:aa> ezad> .oz mcfiudm unenaem no 909852 22.: asses Hayes mmmmoMAMB mo mGZHedm A40Hmmzpz AAo H>Kemum¢a 206 ratings. Fifteen of the adult and young farmers did not fill in this item. A few wrote in "undecided" , and the others left the item blank. Some of the teachers reported that the class members thought that the later programs were greatly improved over the first few programs and that some of the programs were very good and that others were rather poor. Perhaps, those persons not rating this itemtmay have thought that they could not give an overall numerical rating because of this situation. The results of the ratings of the "quality of reception” andthe statement that "television programs should be used as a part of some meetings next year“ are shown in Table XVII. It has been pointed out in a discussion by schools in Chapter V that the reception on the sets on which the programs were viewed by two high-school groups was rather poor. There is evidence of this fact as born out by a mean rating of 1.8h by the high-school boys. The adult and young farmers' ratings had a mean value of 3.07, and the ratings of both groups had a mean value of 2.53. Approximately El percent of both.of the groups felt that television programs "definitely should be used" next year, and approximately 35 percent and 37 percent respectively of the high-school group and.the adult and young farmers felt that programs “probablv should be used" next year. Only approximately 9 percent were “undecigng, and only one person in each group felt that the programs "probably should not be used." 207 .00.: ea oaoom Edgaxezs --- 1-- 0NH 0 0 a.H m 0.02 Na 5.0m :0 ~.Hm m0 autos . hossem use» exec amaze» mwmauoee --- --- :0 0 0 0.2 H 0.02 a 0.mm mw 0.Hm mm 0: 020m 06 0000 e a me come pasc< on oafionm III I.-- O O 0 O O HN 0.” mm H00 0m ”grumOhQ mm m H a 0 m m m mm m m a an zofima>oaoa R .02 R .02 R .02 & .02 m .02 poz oasonm 0oz manonm vasonm oasonm aaopaesuon aaeaeoam 000200000 02000600 haopseseoo mm.m 0am mma N.m : m.n 0 0.:: 0m m.mm 0m 0.Hm am 20009. “loan W210. 40 _. , 0.26. .m l0l.-.l0 Tum ___.0.H___ Newmawm 0.0m. am. smashes _ snow . one pase< soauaoooa 00.2 202 m .m m . a 0 ~.ma 0 m.a 0 0 0 266 on to m 0 0.0 0 . 0 am husaasa K 002 R 002 w“ 002 R 002 R 002 Apsdoa 00 finance H0 Amended NV Ampcnoa my Amended :0 900m hao> noon , Adam 0000 pdeaaoexm genes: aedae> esHe> meapaoeom \wsaeem mmeao .BepH use: Hapoa .oz Hence no make mzdmoomm ZOHmH>MHmB mo mmD QB amadqmm m< mZmBH nmaomqmm zo mmmmzmz mmdqo mmxmR mumda 208 The opinions of the teachers on these two items and ad- ditional items which were not given value ratings can be seen in Table XVIII. Six of the ten teachers felt that television programs "definitely should be used" next year, while three teachers were of the opinion that programs "probably should be used." The mean rating on the quality of reception was 3.20 as compared to 1.8h for the high-school group and 3.07 for the adult and young-farmer group. Eight teachers con- sidered the knowledge-level of the programs ”about right". The teachers were divided as to ”the effects of prepared materials and‘TV programs upon the time required for class preparation as compared to past years". Two, four, and four teachers respectively checked the terms "more time needed", "about the same time needed", and “less time needed". The teachers were also divided in their opinions as to the "degree to which sufficient visual aid, illustrations, and examples were used" with four teachers rating them.'adequate". The opinions of the individual programs as expressed by the high-school pupils and by the adult and young-farmer class members were generally different. Nine opinions re- ported by the former group and five opinions expressed by the latter groups were different out of 18 opinions reported. Of four opinions which were listed by both groups, the state- ment that the program "was not of interest to class members" was stated six times. That the programs were ”good, well 209 TABLE XVIII TEACHERS' OPINIONS OF SELECTED ITEMS AS RELATED TO THE USE OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS Item Opinions and Number of Teachers Reporting Above Level About Below Level of Class Right of Class Degree to which TV programs fitted the knowledge-level of 1 8 1 class members Definitely Probably Unde- Probably Definitely Should Should cided Sh§u1d Sh uld Television programs 9” 9t should be used as 6 3 1 0 O a part of some meet- ings next year _ Mere-Time Ab-dut the Less Needed Same Time Time The effect of prepared materials and N°°d°d Needed TV programs upon the time required for class preparation as compared 2 h u to past years Too Very Adequate Limited Too Many Adequate Few Degree to which sufficient visual aids, illustrations, 0 2 h 3 l and examples were used Excellent Good Fair Poor Very Poor Quality of reception 3 6 l 0 -- 0 Mean rating = 3.20% _ *Maximum score is h.00. 210 illustrated, information of good use, understandable" was reported five times, as can be observed in Table XIX. Opinions of individual programs as reported by selected teachers are shown in Table XX. These teachers reported that they had the "same cpinion as class members“ on nine of the programs. Varied opinions were reported, and gener- ally, the opinions reported on the programs used with the high-school pupils were different from.those listed for the adult and young-farmer class members. Generally, teachers considered the reference materials that were sent to them.to be adequate for introducing and leading into the topic, adaptable to their area, and ade- quate for followdup. when the same point value was assigned to these ratings, as reported previously, the mean values were 3.20, 3.00, and 2.80 respectively for above items, and the mean value of these ratings was 3.00, as shown in Table XXI. Valugg of Television Programs Specific values of the television programs to the teachers and class members are seen in Table XXII. Those values which were pertinent for class members represent h6.7 percent of the total number of times that values were reported as com- pared to 23.3 percent for the teachers. Values which were related to the special characteristics of the television medium.made up 26.6 percent. Twenty different values of the TABLE XIX 211 OPINIONS OF HIGH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASS MEMBERS OF SELECTED TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS REPORTED BY TEACHERS * hTimes Reported High School Adult and Young- T°ta1 52:; Classes Farmer Classes Opinion N g 9 N a 13 N00 % NO. % Was not of interest to class members 2 22.2 h 30.8 6 27.3 Good, well illustrated, information of good use, understandable “he“ 1 707 S 2207 , Much impressed, well ' ‘ accepted, interesting 2 22.2 2 15.h h 18.2 Too detailed, too fast 1 11.1 1 7.7 2 9.1 Charts did not "show up" well 0 0‘ 2 15.h 2 9.1 Too many facts 1 11.1 0 O 1 8.5 Language too complicated 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Poor Visual aids 1 11a 1 0 0 1 LL05 Did not stay on topic 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 Persons appearing on program.pathetic 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Helped.students in planning their farming program. 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 Questions answered were logical 11.1 0 u.5 Has somewhat confusing - 1 11.1 h.5 Could read the same infor- mation in a farm.magazine O 0 l 7.7 l h-S Presentation only fair 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Did not meet needs 0 O l 7.7 l h.5 Should have used farmers on programs 0 0 l 7.7 l h.5 Raised many questions 0 O 1 7.7 l h.5 Total of times reported 18 --- 1h --- 32 --- Total number of Opinions reported 13 --- --- 18 --- *Refers to four teachers who submitted rating sheets on individual programs used on Form.E. TABLE XX 212 OPINIONS OF TEACHERSfi AS TO TELEVISION PROGRAMS USED WITH HIGH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES Times Reported High-School Adult and Young- Total Per- Opinion Classes Farmer Classes cent N 8 9 N 8 13 NO. % Noe % Same opinion as class members 7 77 e 8 2 15 cu. 9 “.0. 9 Programs were clear and understandable O 0 h 30.8 h 18.2 Presentation was un- inter58t1rlg 1 llel 2 150“. 3 1306 Created an interest 0 O 2 15-8 2 9.1 Poor visual aids 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 More facts were necessary 1 11.1 0 O l 8.5 Too detailed and tried to cover too much 1 11.1 0 O 1 h.5 Only discussed the most common problems 0 0 l 7.7 1 u.5 Suggestions were "fair" 0 O l 7.7 1 u.5 Interview did not work out well 0 O 1 7.7 1 h.5 Total of Times Reported 11 --- l3 --- 2h --- Total Number of Opinions Reported 5 --- 7 0-- 10 --- *Refers to four teachers who submitted rating sheets on individual programs used on Form E. 213 TABLE 1x1 RATINGS BY TEACHERS or“ ADEQUACY AND ADAPTABILITY OF REFERENCE MATERIALS ' No, of Teachers Rating (Point Value of Ratingsf Total Mean Very Ade- Lime Lack- Of No Value V81u8* Item. Adequate quate ited ing Value (A) (3) (2) (l) (0) Degree of adequacy for introducing and leading into unit to be discussed 2 8 O O O 32 3.20 Degree of adapt- ability to the area 3 u 3 O O 30 3.00 Degree of adequacy . for follow up 2 h h 0 0 28 2.80 M8311 3e00 *Maximum score is u.00. TABLE m1 211; SPECIFIC VALUESfi OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS REPORTED BY TEACHERS Times Percent Value Reported of Total by Teachers of Times Reported I. As Related to Teachers: Reference materials helpful Kept the teachers informed Saved teachers time in preparation of instruction Programs were telecast on planned tOpics and dates Sub-total ‘th' r4 04$? 23.3 II. As Related to Class Members: Provided much information _ Provided information not otherwise available Provided more information in a quicker time Provided motivation Program generally liked by class "Opened up farmers' thinking" Brought problems to mind and caused recogni- tion of fact that there were many problems Programs were another source of reference Presented timely topics Sub-total EHPPH HHHHmm Ae.7 III. As Related to Special Characteristic of Medium: Made subject matter more "authoritative" Television appealing to young farmers Class had opportunity to see television personalities "first-hand" Had access to many resource.persons . Made subject matter available to many people Demonstrations and illustrations aided _ understanding Sub—total cpll—I FJFJF’ tau: 26.6 IV. As Related to General Activities: Brought about more coordination between teachers, subject matter, class members, and information Sub-total P'L‘ 3-3 Total of Times Reported 30 Total Number of Values Reported 20 *These were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. 215 programs or reference materials were submitted. Generally, the teacher reported that the programs: (1) provided them and the class members with desirable information, (2) made this information available to many people, (3) brought out problems, and (h) gave more "authority" to the information. Four teachers considered the reference materials to be help- ful and adjudged them to be a part of the television pro- grams. That the programs "provided much information“ and "provided much information not otherwise available" 'were considered of value to the class members by five and two teachers respectively. Three teachers reported that the programs made the subject matter and information more ”author- itative"for the class members. Teachers were also asked to list the ways in which indi- vidual television programs were of the greatest use to them. In nine cases they again stated that "providing information and answering questions" was of most importance. ”Helping class members understand subject matter" was reported by the teachers for four programs used as shown in Table.XXIII. The strengths of the programs were listed by teachers on the individual programs used, and they were also asked during the interviews as to what they considered the overall strong-points to be. As shown in Table XXIV, "pertinent information" was reported eight times, and "well presented and organized” was listed six times. 216 TABLE XXIII HAYS IN wHICH TELEVISION PROGRAMS'USED WITH HIGH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES WERE OP GREATEST USE AS REPORTED BY TEACHERSfl- Times Reported Per- m mach grosrgms H3232?“ “32:56:“313222' Here of rea eat so N a 9 N a 13 NO 0 % NO 0 % Providing information and answering questions 5 55.6 h 30.8 9 u0.9 Helping class members . understand subject matter u uh.h ° 0 0 h 18.2 Creating interest in the subje ct 1 11.1 2 15.14. 3 13.6 Planning program of super- vised farming for boys with partnership 0 O 1 7.7 l h.5 Figuring the actual income tax form. 0 0 1 7.7 l h.5 Aiding in discussion 0 O l 7.7 1 4-5 Total of Times Reported 10 -—- 9 -—- l9 —-- Total Number of Ways Reported 3 --- 5 --- 6 --- -—_ *Refers to four teachers who submitted ratings on individual Programs used on Form E. TABLE XXIV 217 STRENGTHS 0F TELEVISION PROGRAMS USED WITH HIGH-SChOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES AS RETOHTED BY TEACHERSfi Times Reported High-School Adult and Young- Total Egg; Strength Classes Farmer Classes 9 = 13 NCO % NO. % Pertinent information 7 77.8 1 7.7 8 36.4 well presented and organized 0 0 6 A6.2 6 27.3 Held interest Of class 2 22.2 2 15.h h 18.2 Well illustrated 1 11.1 1 7.7 2 9.1 TOpics well covered 1 11.1 1 7.7 2 9.1 Relieved monotony of class- room activities 1 11.1 0 O l u.S Use of charts and visual aids 0 O l 7.7 l u.5 Had action and examples 0 O l 7.7 l u.S Total of Times Reported l2 --- l3 —-- 25 --- Total Number of Strengths 8 --- 7 --- --- Reported *Refers to four teachers who submitted ratings on individual Programs used on Form E. 218 Generally, based upon the interview information, teachers were of the opinion that the overall strong-points of the pro- grams were the visual presentation of information and the use of visual aids. The use of visual aids was reported the highest number of times, as shown in Table XXV. It can be observed from Table XXVI that nine "indirect" values of the television programs and reference materials were reported bythe teachers. Five reported the reference materials and scripts as one of these values, and four teachers listed the in-service television meeting. Adogtion of Approved Practice; The topics which were taught with and without the use of television programs and the practices and the number of times that these practices were reported by the adult and young farmers appear in Tables XXVII to XXIX. Although some of the figures presented below are not specifically shown therein, the practices related to the tOpics taught with the use of television programs were reported 737 times as put into use or planned for use after the classes started. The mean of these practices was 12.08 based upon the 61 practices which were reported, and the mean was 67 based upon the 11 topics which were reported, as shown in Table XXVII. The practices related to the‘topics taught without the use of television programs were reported 6u6'times as put into use or planned for use after the class started. The I... III .I'.’ 219 TABLE secV‘ " fl STRONG-POINTS» OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS AS REPORTED BY TEACHERS Times Reported ‘Strong-Point by Teachers Dee of visual aids 3 Visual presentation of information 2 USe of interview format 2 Use of several "props" and dramatic approach 1 Good reception . 1 More complete and better information 1 Programs improved as series progressed 1 Use of films and movies 1 .Excellent presentation by some of the telecasters 1 Presentation of ideas 1 Total of Times Reported In Total Number of Strong-Points Reported 10 «These were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. 220 TABEE XXVI ”INDIRECT” VALUES§ OF TELEVISION PROJECT AS REPORTED BY TEACHERS T R Value of Activity :38Tee:§:::°d Reference materials and scripts 5 In-service television meeting Increased technical knowledge of teachersa 2 Suggested possibility Of new field of audio- visual education 2 Provided Opportunity for discussing use of television with investigator 1 Other teachers became interested in television 1 Caused teachers to do ”a better job of teaching" 1 Made farmers aware of ”college of agriculture" I Learned new methods of teaching and presenting information 1 Total of Times Reported 18 Total Number of Values Reported 9 *These were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. TABLE NUMBER OF TIMES FARMERS IN SELECTED SCHOOLSi REPORTED PRACTICES Item. _ Number of Times Practice A C I. Topics Taught With Use of Television Programs: Practice already used when class started RS ho Practice is partially or completely in use since class started 26 3 Have decided to use the practice 109 76 Number of different practices reported 8 11 Number of different tOpics reported 3 a II. Topics Taught Without Use of Television Programs: Practice already used when class started 0 0 Practice is partially or completely in use since class started 0 0 Have decided to use the practice 0 0 Number of different practices reported 0 0 Number of different topics reported 0 0 III. Total Practice already used when class started AS to Practice is partially or Completely in use since class started 26 3 Have decided to use the practice 109 76 Number of different practices reported 8 11 Number of different topics reported 3 h «Refers to six schools in which teachers submitted Form J. **Some schools reported the same tOpics and practices. There- fore, the totals of the figures shown under each school do not agree with these totals. XXVII 221 RELATED TO TOPICS TAUGHT WITH AND WITHOUT TELEVISION PROGRAMS Reported by Farmers by Schoolg_ Total Mean A*** Mean Bases D B H J 110 23 7 61 286 h.69 26.00 189 6 O 17 2A1 3.95 21.91 27h 1h 0 23 N96 8.13 15.09 23 8 1 1A 61** --- --- 6 h 1 3 11** --- --- 13h in 15 31 19h 3.88 9.70 185 17 7 9 218 n.36 10.90 366 22 18' 22 A28 8.56 21.A0 29 5 8 11’ 50** --- --- 12 3 3 u 20*“ --- --- Zhh 37 22 92 sec u.32 15.u8 37h 23 7 26 AS? holh 1h.81 6&0 36 18 us . 92a 8032 29081 52 13 9 25 111*“ --- --- 18 7 h 7 31*“ --- --- sssBased upon number of practices reported. seseBased upon number of topics reported. 222 mean of these practices was 12.92 based upon 50 practices which were reported, and the mean was 32.30 based upon the 20 topics which were reported. _' H The practices related to topics taught both nigh and without the use of television programs were reported h59 times as put into use and 92h times as planned for use after the classes started, making a total of 1383 times both types of practices were reported. The mean cf the total of these‘ practices was 12.h6.based.upon 111 practices which were re- ported, and the mean was_hh.62 based upon the 31 topics which were reported.- The number of times that practices which were reported as put into use or planned for use after the class started was approximately three times as great as thenumber of times that practices were reported as already in use prior to the start of the class series. The reader is cautioned against drawing erroneous con- clusions from.these data. The topics and practices with which the television programs were used were generally dif- ferent from.those with which the television programs were not used. Both groups of topics were also interspersed.with each other, for example, a topic was taught using a television program, and at the next2meeting a different topic was taught without the use of a television program. Also only six teachers submitted data on the adaption of approved practices 223 by the farmers, and two of these did not submit any informa- tion as to the adoption of practices related to tOpics taught without the use of television programs. The tOpics taught gith the use of television programs and the number of times that the practices were reported are grouped be topics and can be observed in Table XXVIII. A total of 11 topics and 61 practices were reported. The largest number of practices per topic was 12, and the small- est number per tOpic was one. The same data are reported in Table XXIX on the tOpics taught without the use of television programs. A total of 50 practices and 20 tOpics were listed, and the largest number of practices per topic was six and the smallest number per tOpic was also one. Data Related to Criticisms of Television Programs and Reference Materials and Recommendations for Future Programs and Materials Criticisms¥Made by Teachegg The criticisms that were reported on the individual pro- grams are shown in Table XXX. There was little consistency in the statements as the highest number of times that any statement was listed was twice. The only item that was re- ported on both the high-school pupils and the adult and young- farmer class members was "could not read charts". Generally, 22h TABLEIXXVIII TOPICS TAUGHT WITH USE OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND RELATED PARKING PRACTICES ADOPTED B! FARMERS Times Reperted Practice Practice is Have Already Used Partially or Decided Topic and Practices When Class Completely to Use Started in Use Since the Class Practice Started .1. Marketing Livestock: Producing for price peaks 7 0 0 Using market reports 5 13 13 Grading animals 0 10 13 Using local markets instead of stock buyers 5 10 13 Using livestock cycles _g .__§ .ng Sub-total 19 A1 52 II. Farmers and the Social Security: . Get Social Security Number 11 0 22 Figure Social Security 1 21 21 Figure Social Security for employees 1 5 11 File Social Security 2 2 30 Plan retirement 0 2 30 Figuring cost 7 0 7 Figuring income 3 0 12 Determining eligibility i ___Q_ __2 Sub-total 30 30 1&2 III. Bulk-Handling of Milk: Oppose bulk tank for herds below 20 cows 6 0 0 Favor bulk system for herds over 20 cows 2 0 0 Make long-time plans for in- stalling bulk tank 2 O 1 Install bulk tank this year 6 2 10 Use cold-water rinse first 6 0 20 Use detergent soap when cleaning h 0 7 Produce Grade A milk 10 12 a Change to bulk-handling 0 0 2 Sell off the cows 2 u 0 Improve driveways 15 20 30 Build new milk house _Q’ __1. __Q Sub-total 53 39 7A 225 TABLE XXVIII (Cont.) Times Reported Practice Practice is Have Already Used Partially or Decided ToPic and Practices When Class Completely to Use Started in Use Since the Class Started Practice IV. Income Tax Tips: Filing a return for the first time 2 0 0 Obtaining outside help to file 1h 0 18 File a tax return 3 13 13 Keep records 3 10 13 Make inventory 0 l3 13 Figure depreciation 6 10 22 Computing tax 5 0 10 Figuring deductions _3' ‘__Q _;¥£ Sub-total 36 R6 103 V. Going Into Debt Safely: How much should I borrow 2 10 10 Where can I borrow 2 10 10 Figuring interest 2 10 10 ‘Hhat should I borrow for 0 10 0 HOw can I keep a good credit rating 0 10 13 Make a net worth statement 3 3 h Keep borrowed money from.ex- . ceeding net worth 5 1 2 Consolidate credit with fewer agencies 7 0 0 Keep creditors informed on financial status 7 0 0 Plan repayment schedule to suit farming program 6 O 2 Borrow freely for products that will increase production 6 3 0 Pay cash for luxury items A __Q ___3_ Sub-total RR 57 5h VI. Farm Commercial License: Use trucks for farm purposes only 15 2 10 Keep farm wagons off road 20 5 0 Pull only one wagon behind picker 20 O 0 Support tractor license __0_ J _3Q Sub-total 55 12 RC TABLE XXVIII (Cont.) 226 Times Reported PFactice Practice is Have Already Partially or Decided Topic and Practices Used.Hhen Completely in to Use Class Use Since The Started Class Started Practice VII. This Thing Called Parity: Improve understanding of parity 1 7 1 Make ideas on farm policies known to Congressmen and others 2 6 Interpret policy news more wisel 1 3 Attend arm.meetin s where farm policy is d scussed ._2 _Q ._1 Sub-total 13 10 11 VIII. Who Sets Milk Prices: Use of state milk—trend reports 0 Planned production __. _Q Sub-total l3 0 11 IX. Cost and Returns From Farming: Use better breeding 3 l 1 Use better feeding 2 1 2 Use better seed h 2 2 Use better soil-management _5_ ‘_g ._2 Sub-total 14 6 7 X. Producer's Share of the Con- sumer's Dollar: Marketing a better product 5 0 0 Using more cooperatives . _§, __0_ _Q Sub-total 9 0 0 XI. Acquiring a Farm: Learning how to expand a farm business _9, ‘_Q _42 Sub-total 0 0 2 Total Number of Times Practices Reported 286 2&1 R96 Mean (Based Upon Number of Different Practices Reported, N = 61) h.69 3.95 8.13 Mean (Based Upon Number of Different Topics Reported, N = 11) 26.00 21.91 h5.09 u-----‘ 227 TABLE XXIX TOPICS TAUGHT WITHOUT USE OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS AND RELATED FARMING PRACTICES ADOPTED BK FARMERS Times Reported Practice Practice is Have Already Partially or Decided TOpic and Practices Used When Completely in to Use the Class Started Use Since Practice Class Started I. Dairy Feeding:' Feeding supplements 7 O 0 Producing high quality roughage_3' _Q _Q Sub-total 10 0 0 II. Fertilizer and Fertilizer Placement: Soil testing 1 1 8 Side dress corn 1 0 10 Top dress wheat with N. 7 13 20 Use high analysis fertilizer 12 21 25 Use more organic matter 10 10 10 Sub-total 31 AS 73 III. Pasture and Pasture Management: Top dress legumes with 0-20-20 2 3 0 Out at 1/10 bloom 0 0 5 Use hand-seeding _Q. _Q, ‘_g Sub-total 2 3 7 IV. What's New in Machinery: What size tools should we buy 5 10 13 Use good used machinery 2 3 5 Buy machinery together 2 5 7 Rent or use custom.machinery _3' S 10 Sub-total 12 23 35 V. Cost and Returns From Farming: Borrow money for improved incomeil 3 5 Gross income per man of Sub-total 3 8 18 VI. Planning Our Farming Program: Increase our projects 0 10 10 Rent land away from home 5 10 10 Work on percent of income 5 _§ ._§ Sub-total 10 28 28 TABLE XXIX (Cont.) - “v-p—w—_ Times Reported {iactéce Pragiiii is David d - rea er a or ec e Topic and Practices Used Wgen Complete y in to Use Class Use Since The .Started Class Started ractice VII. Using Farm-Partnership: Make out a written agreement 1 5, 6 Sub-total l 5 6 VIII. Using Farm.Account Books: Keep farm account records 2 5 13 Make inventory _1 “_3 _5 Sub-total 3 8 18 IX. Individual Farm ShOp Projects: Repair machinery 0 10 0 Make basic welds 10 3 13 Make tool box _0_ _2_ _2_ Sub-total 10 15 15 X. Relationships Behind Dealer-Farmer: Buy service before product 15 0 30 Buy worn parts in Off—season ‘_5 _Q. 25 Sub-total 20 0 55 XI. Marketing and Grading Livestock: Use market reports 20 5 30 Grade their own livestock 5 15 25 Produce market demands ;Q_ 15 3Q Sub—total 35 35 85 XII. Tillage Methods: Use once-over method 2 5 10 Use wheel track planting ._l _g ._3 Sub-total 3 7 13 XIII. Analysis of Farm Business: Check production and yields 15 10 25 Keep accurate records 5 10 15 Test milk cows _ _3 _5 Sub-total 22 23 MS XIV. Should We Irrigate Our Farms: Use only high income crops 0 1 1 Get engineered plans and help _9 ‘_g ‘_2 Sub-total O 3 3 XV. Improving Livestock Health: Dehorn calves earlier 3 h 0 Improve control of lice, flies, Bruba .2 _l .1 Sub-total 8 5 l 229 TABLE XXIX (Cont.) T1523 Reported Practice Practice is Have . Alreawg Partially or Decided Topic and Practices Used on Comgm y to Use the Class se Since Practice Started Class Started XVI. Dairy Barns and Poultry House Ventilation: Install ventilating fan Make better use of natural ventilation Improve ventilation in home, barn, poultry house Make long-time plans for improving ventilation Sub-total kulo» c> b) <3 rulc> n) <3 <3 51L9 -P' as \» XVII. Crop Handling and Drying: Allow crops to mature as much as possible in the field Select varieties that will ripen before frost Install hay drying equipment Hire commercial drying of wet grain Clean and disinfect bins before storing Use fumigants to keep down insects, if necessary Sub-total 13 c> ever :r L. .6 0'0 0 O 00 0 VIII-4 H |--’ NO 0 XVIII. General Practices: Buy fertilizer during winter and take delivery early Sub-total 5 r'ha c>k3 XIX. Managing and Caring for Farm Machinery: Repair and keep machinery ‘3 Sub-total 3 F'h‘ elk) XX. Size of Farm.Business in Relation to Income: Enlarge farm business without adding more acres Sub-total Total Number of Times Reported 19k 218 h28 Mean (Based Upon Number of Different Practices Reported, N = 50) 3.88 n.36 8.56 Mean (Based Upon Number of Different Topics Reported, N = 20) 9.70 10.90 21.h0 (DIO O‘Kr O>K> 230 TABLE XXX CRITICISMS OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS USED WITH HIGH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES AS REPORTED BI TEACHERSR Times Reported T t 1 Per- High-School Adult and Young- 0 a cent Criticism Classes Farmer Classes N = 9 N = 13 NOe % N00 % Could not read charts 1 11.1 1 7.7 2 9.1 Not much action 0 0 2 15.u 2 9.1 Presented too fast 1 11.1 0 0 1 h.5 Telecasters do not create any enthusiasm 1 11.1 0 O 1 u.5 Uninteresting 1 11.1 0 0 l h.5 Omitted some pertinent pOIntS 0 O l 707 1 (.105 Covered too much subject matter 0 0 1 7.7 1 h.5 Interviews did not co- ordinate with problems 0 0 1 7.7 1 h.5 Did not suggest what could ' be done about problem 1 11.1 0 0 1 h.5 Discouraged farmers 0 0 1 7.7 1 h.5 Total of Times Reported 5 --- 7 --- 12 --- Total Number of Criticisms Reported 5 --- 6 --- 10 --- «Refers to four teachers who submitted rating sheets on individual programs used on Form E. 231 the criticisms were based upon the method of presentation, the appeal of the programs, and the type of information that was presented. Some of the same types of criticisms were made by the teachers during the interviews. These are grouped by cate- gories in Table XXXI: (1) charts, (2) visual aids, (3) Pro- gramming techniques and fermats, and (h) effects of the pro- grams. Those which were categorized under programming techniques and formats consisted of h5.2 percent of the total number of times that criticisms were listed, while these re- lated to charts and effects of the programs represented 26.2 percent and 21.h percent respectively. Four teachers reported that the charts were "too small and/or could not be read” and that there was a ”lack of coordination between camera and charts." These same types of statements were made to the investigator at various times by the class members and teachers when he observed classes or when they discussed the programs informally with him. Three teachers expressed an opinion that the visual aids were inadequate or improperly used. The other most common criticism of the programs was "too much lecturing and lack of action" which was reported by five teachers. It was felt that the “telecasters lacked Showmanship or seemed nervous" by four teachers, and two teachers thought that too much information was presented on one program. One teacher reported that the programs were too 232 TABLE XXXI CRITICISMSR OF TELEVISION PROGRAMS REPORTED BY TEACHERS Times Percent Reported of Total by Teachers of Times Reported Criticism I. Charts: Too small and/or could not be read Lack of coordination between camera and charts Were not explained Those used were of little value Too much information on one chart Sub-total DJFUJF' $? 26.2 H H II. Visual Aids: Inadequate or incorrect; improper use Sub-total 1» L» 7.1 III. Programming Techniques and Formats: Too much lecturing and lack of action Telecasters lacked Showmanship or seemed ' nervous Too much information on one program Presentation off the topic at times Did not involve or use enough peOple Did not use farmers Much of the presented information had already been read Programs were too specific, did not fit some farming areas Programs in fourth (miscellaneous) series of little value Too academic, lacked "farm atmosphere" Complexity levels varied Sub-total p \OFHH H H HHHNF m u5.2 IV. Effects of the Programs: Did not hold interest _ Class members had difficulty in understanding Did not meet expectations Did not solve problems and give answers Sub-total «DAFUJMJ #7 21.h Total of Tbmes Reported h2 Total Number of Criticisms Reported 21 *These were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. 233 specific and did not fit his farming area. However, be con- tinued to use the programs. Four teachers stated that the programs did not hold interest, while three reported that the "class members had difficulty in understanding". Two of the latter group of teachers used programs with high-school classes, and the reception on the sets was somewhat poor, especially the audio signal. This factor may have caused these teachers to express this opinion. It was reported by one teacher that the programs “did not solve problems and give answers". Seemingly, based upon the class visitation and the later interview, this teacher expected the programs to answer specific problems of the farmers in his class. Recommendationgfinade by Teachers and Clasg Membegs Recommendations were made for improving the programs by either teachers or class members on Forms E, H, and I and during the interviews and are reported in Tables XXXII to XXIV. Some respondents reported a certain opinion negatively as a criticism, while others eXpressed the same comment posi- tively as a recommendation. The data were grouped and organ- ized in these situations in such ways as were considered most meanirgful and as provided the greatest clarification. At times a few of these data may seem somewhat repetitious to the reader. The statements presented in Table XXXII are generally different for the high-school pupils and for the adult and 231+ TABLE XXXII RECOMMENDATIONS MADE BY TRACERRSe FOR IMPROVIRO TELEVISION PROGRAMS USED wITR RICH-SCHOOL AND ADULT AND YOUNG-FARMER CLASSES Times Reported T tal Per- 0 High-School Adult and Young- cent . Classes Farmer Classes Recommendation V N = 9 N = 13 No. % No. % Telecaster show more enthusiasm 3 33.3 0 O 3 13.6 Improve visual aids 2 22.2 0 O - 2' 9.1 Follow the script and stay on the subject 2 22.2 0 O 2 9.1 Present and work out actual case histories 1 11.1 0 O l h.5 Divide programs into two . teleca8t8 1 1101 O O l “-05 Bring in a few peOple and use discussion method 0 O l 7.7 l h.5 List special materials and code books as . reference a? O O l 7.7 l h.5 Total of Times Reported 9 --- 2 --- ll --- Total Number of Recommenda- tions Reported S --- 2 --- 7 --- *Refers to four teachers who submitted ratings on individual programs used on Form E. 235 young-farmer classes. Recommendations were made nine times on programs used with the high-school group, and only two were made on programs used with the latter group. It can be observed from Table XXXIII that many more recomp mendations were made by the high-school pupils than by the adult and young-farmer class members and that these suggestions were reported more times. The former group listed 26 recom- mendations, a total of 87 times, while the latter group re- ported 18 recommendations a total of Rh times. Both groups reported the recommendations as related to the programming techniques and fommats a much higher percentage of times than for the other categorizations, namely, 6h.h percent and 75 percent respectively, and the overall percentage for both groups was 67.9. Several recommendations were made by the former group which indicated that they were not familiar or aware of the physical limitations. For example, one pupil recommended that color television be used. The hypothesis was held from the beginning of the Tele- vision ProJect that the subject matter and information which were to be presented would be more suitable to the knowledge- 1eve1 of the adult and young-farmer class members. The data partially supported this thesis. Six of this group requested ”good topics and tOpics of more interest”, while eight recom- mended that programs be presented at a level that "the class m.m m o o m.NH u thon ones soapdanomnH ucenenm H.» o .2...” H 01:” m #30338 0.38 0.33 usHQNo «compasses? use mmmHo was» Ho>OH no.8dnwond anemonm my m.® HH o.N N, m.mH o secHsHm MHse .2 “upssaom one mosdanooa mGHEEdAwoum .HHH o.o ma m m Hepopaesm 9. AI. 0 .ml m.H ml. madnmoaa >8 mm: p.aon m. 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H :.H H o o sesfimcoo use seesaw Goozpon mCOHumHes Ae>oo m H 1 H H o o wanchen one HHoSm no mEeHnwmmgmwmoo n m. H :.H H o o acadumodd once xmm mpchHOHpnsQ e>om w_ m. H o o m.H H deacon :EpmuucOsuSO: Hoopoe 30am m m.N m m.N N wJH H meanwond on» so opossum oEom spam _ m.m m H.5 m o o moHc HmsmH> heaven no osoa cub o.HH :H m.:H 0H 0.5 : onbpoudH no :OHmmsoeHo Hence a on: m.:a ma o.oa 5 m.oa as masseuse ease» to mosses.osoe one m.N m o o m.m , . m sepho shoe msOprnpmoHHH one manage cub H.m j :.H H m.m m oHnmowon masons mama m. H o o mpH H eHdop on» e» thmOHo ence.MOHum m. H o o me H momma Hooves pcomeum m. H o o m.H H hpOHsm> egos o>em w. H o o m.H H spawn Hsdeon usemoam m. H o o m.H H mnonmsoch uHu on hseceom cub m. H o o w.H H coda mucosopwam anodosm m. H o o 04H H hooaoo OHupHH c ebmm o.H N o o mqm N GOHnm50mHv seasons a o>mm Sense: RES I. some season pace muonaoz sOHpsoceSEooom Umpmosoom pace ma them Imnsow them .mmmHo needs no name neaoawm one seamw P economnsmam Hence we Hopes maHaaoaom mosHa usoosom ‘ J‘ A. £33 5309 mum: 238 can understand and that tOpics be explained more completely". "Present information more slowly” was desired by seven Of this group. There was a reception problem in two of the three schools in which television programs were used with this group, as reported previously. Again, the data somewhat support this statement. Five pupils suggested that the reception on the set be improved, and nine listed "talk plainer” as 8 needed improvement. There was a possibility that some of the lack of understanding by the high-school classes might have been caused by the poor quality of reception, but this could not be determined from.the available data. However, some of the pupils like the television programs for seven wanted longer programs and four wanted more programs. Only three of the recommendations described in the two previous paragraphs were listed by the adult and young-farmer class members: five desired ”tOpics of more interest and pro- grams in the more common problems", two suggested "talk plainer”, and one requested that topics be explained more com- pletely. Seven persons of both groups wanted the programs telecast at a different time of day or in the evening. Four persons stated that the charts should ”be made more readable". Many persons wanted a different type of program format for 1h expressed a desire that a panel discussion or interview be used, and 18 wanted more motion or still pictures used on the programs. Several persons, in varying ways, made a 239 recommendation that farmers and/or more people be used on the programs and that those appearing on the programs be involved more in the presentations. All of the teachers recommended, during the interviews, that the criticisms which had been made at different times be corrected on future programs. ‘The recommendations as related to the programming techniques and formats were also reported a greater number of times by the teachers, 32.h percent of the total number of times reported, as was the situation with high-school and adult and young-farmer class members. 'A total of 22 recommendations were made by the teachers. As shown by Table.XXXIV, three teachers suggested a 'ehange to a night telecast”, and two wanted the series concentrated over a shorter period of time, while one teacher stated that the programs should be concluded by the mdddle of April. It was suggested by one teacher that the School of Agriculture should sponsor the programs next year. A total of ll different recommendations related to programming techniques and formats were made one thme each by the teachers. Table XXIV shows the recommendations that the teachers reported on Form I and these were subsumed in three categories: (1) external or physical changes, (2) organization of the series, and (3) Programming techniques and formats. Again, the recommendations related to the programming techniques and formats made up 65.6 percent of the total number of the 2RD TABLE XXXIV RECOMMENDATIONSfi OF TEACHERS FOR IMPROVING TELEVISION SERIES AND PROGRAMS Times Percent Reported of Total by Teachers of Times Reported Recommendations I. Correct Criticisms ‘IQ 29.h H O Sub-total II. External or Physical Changes: Change to a night telecast Concentrate series over a shorter period of time Change name of series Telecast programs on VHF channel Have School of Agriculture sponsor programs Conclude serie 3y mid e of fipril Change time to : O or :30 P. . Sub-total III. Organization of Series: Make topics more timely and seasonal Present programs in a continuous, organized, and progressive sequence Select more closely related topics Sub-total “earl IJFJRJ \» H O 29.h VJ has: 54 8.8 IV. Programming Techniques and Formats: Put camera on charts instead of person talking 1 Include less material on each program 1 Develop programs in same order as scriptsl Explain and provide information on approved practices 1 Maintain same degree of complexity 1 Continue ”good" programs 1 Present more farm operations 1 Present materials and charts not otherwise available 1 Get successful farmers on programs 1 Present information not already in print 1 Sub-total ll 32.u Tbtal of Times Reported 3& Total Number of Recommendations Reported 22 _sThese were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interview. 2&1 TABLE XXXV RECOMMENDATIONS* MADE BY TEACHERS TO IMPROVE FUTURE TELEVISION PROGRAMS A Times Percent Recommendations Reported of Total by Teachers Rgpgiggg I. External or Physical Change: Telecast programs in evening send reference materials earlier Make kinescepes available” Telecast later in the evening (8:h5 P.M.) Sub-total a>L4humLe 25 .0 II. Organization Of Series: Have a series more closely related Present a wider variety of subjects Some programs do not apply: present these which do . Sub-total uaLu sud 9.u III. Programming Techniques and Formats: Make programs more interesting Be a little more "frank" Provide more specific information Present programs at level that class can understand Use.more dramatics ” ”Get some life into the telecasters" Follow script as received by teachers .--—-----------.-----------------------b--------—-----v-----—---. snare»: yarn» N Make charts larger or bring camera closer Don't crowd charts; use more time in discussing them. ‘ ‘ 1 Use more demonstrations Use more movies; less lecturing Use farmers on programs Kerk in usable skills Make actual farm operation pictures Identify farm problems Use problem-solving approach Sub-total Total of Ttmes Reported ‘ 32 Total Number of Recomendations Reported 23 "-‘-..---.--------------------—----—. ”I oHHHHHHNN 65.6 «These were written in by teachers oanorm I in response to ”comments" and to the question concerning suggestions and changes to improve future television progrwms. 2&2 times reported. Twenty-three recommendations were made and four of these were identical to those shown in Table XXXIV. A few additional recommendations conveyed approximately the same suggestions although they were stated differently. Three teachers also wanted the programs telecast in the evenings, and three again requested that the reference mater- ials be sent out earlier. One teacher each suggested "change time to 7:00 or 7:30 P.M.” and ”telecast later in the evening (8:u5 P.M.)”. One teacher each.suggested:. (l) ”have_a series more closely related," and (2) "present programs which apply."‘ In the intertiew one teacher stated that many of the programs did not apply to the needs of his farmers, but he was using these programs, nevertheless. Three of the instructors desired that the programs be made more interesting, and three others wanted the charts made so that they could be read, by making them larger, by bringing the camera closer, or by putting less information on them. Two teachers recommended more demonstrations, and two additional teachers were in favor of more movies and less lecturing. Seventeen different suggestions were listed one time each by the teachers. Recommendations made by teachers during the interviews and on Form I for improving the reference materials are pre- sented in Table XXXVI and XXXVII. Nine different recommenda- tions were presented during the interviews, and 12 were 2h} TABLE XXXVI moommupmxorzse mos BY TEACHERS TO IMPROVE . . REFERENCE. MATERIALS # Times Recommendation Reported by Teachers Send reference materials earlier Provide additional capies of reference materials 3 Prepare script consistent with order of presentation of programs 1 List names and sources of bulletins and references 1 Prepare.script in outline form 1 Provide sufficient reference materials 1 Provide list of questions and mail with each set _ of reference materials 1 Include suggestions for introducing the topics 1 Prepare charts for use with Opaque projector 1 Total of Times Reported 17 Total Number of Recommendations Reported 9 *These were secured as free-response answers to the general question asked during the interviews. TABLE XXXVII RICOWDATIORSs MADE BY TEACHERS TO IMPROVE SOURCE UNITS, SCRIPTS, am: OTHER REFERENCE MATERIALS w ‘v— , Times Recommendation Reported by Teachers Send out reference materials two weeks before telecasts u Prepare questions for study and discussion and send with each script 2 Prepare script in more of an outline form 1 Use.more bulletins and publications 1 List sources of materials 1 Send enough copies of references for each class member 1 Provide suggestions for filing 1 Provide cross-references 1 List additional references for further study 1 Arrange references in order of discussion 1 Send charts to agricultural department 1 Have needed extension materials available at county agent's office 1 Total of Times Reported 16 Total Number of Recommendations Reported 12 sThese were written in by teachers on Form I in response to the question concerning suggestions for improving these reference‘materials. 2&5 reported on the rating forms submitted by the teachers. There was some duplication in the two lists either expres- sing the same recommendation or stating the same general idea, although expressed differently. Seven suggested that the materials be sent out earlier, while four recomp mended that they be sent out two weeks prior to the tele- casts. Three ofthe instructors requested that additional cOpies of the references be provided for distribution to the class members, and two wanted questions for study and discussion sent along with each script.. Several recommen- dations related to additional references, listing of other sources, and making references available from.oertain sources were each made by one teacher. Four suggestions were made one time each by the teachers which might be considered as a responsibility of the using teacher, and these are subsumed in the following: (I) provide a list of dicussion questions and mail with each set of reference materials, (2) include suggestions for introducing the topics, (3) prepare charts for use with the opaque projector, and (h) provide sugges- tions for filing. Methods of Presentigg Future Televigion Programg The ratings of selected methods of presenting a part of future programs for use in classes of vocational agri- culture by high-school and adult and young farmer class members can be observed in Tables XXXVIII to XLI. The same TABLE OVERALL RATINGS OF SELECTED METHODS High-School Boys Adult and Young-Farmers Method Total No. LTfital Mean Total No. TTotii Mean Reporting Valuee Valueee Reporting Values Valuefi Interview 57 1H3 2.51 65 191 2.9M Group discussion 57 1h9 2.61 60 170 2.83 Explanation by one person 55 11h 2.07 65 150 2.31 Explanation by two - or three persons 51 135 2.65 65 188 2.89 Lecture 55 6h 1.16 53 100 1.89 Illustration by - still pictures 55 131 2.38 67 183 2.73 Illustration by motion pictures 57 201 3.53 51 156 3.06 Demonstration 57 192 3.37 57 191 3.35 eBesed upon a value of a points for the highest of five ratings and 0 points for the lowest rating. *fiMaximum,score is h.00. seenetermined by adding the mean value of the three groups and dividing by three. 2&6 XXXVIII OF PRESENTING FUTURE TELEVISION PROGRAMS fir Average Teachers All Respondents of Mean Tital No.‘ Total Mean Total No. Total Mean Ratings Reporting Valuer Vsluefifi Reporting Valuefi Value** grosgitfifi 10 28 2.80 132 362 2.7h 2.75 8 22 2.75 125 3&1 2.73 2.73 8 11 1.38 128 275 2.15 1.92 19 2.11 125 3&2 2.73 2.55 7 .88 116 171 1.h7 1.31 10 28' . 2.80 132 3&2 .2.59 2.6h 9 26 2.89 117 383 3.27 3.16 9 33 3.67 123 #16 3.38 3.u6 2h? method was used in computing the values as reported previously: one of five ratings ranging from "excellent" to "very poor" were checked by the respondents, and a point value ranging from four to zero was arbitrarily assigned to each rating. The "illustration by motion pictures" method was given the highest mean rating of 3.53 by the high-school boys, while both the adult and young farmers and the teachers rated the "demonstration" method highest with a mean value of 3.35 and 3.67 respectively. The mean value, based upon all re- spondents,was also highest for this method with a score of 3.38 as was the average of the mean ratings of the three groups of 3.h6. The "lecture" method received the lowest rating of 1.16, 1.89, and .88 respectively from.the high- school boys, adult and young farmers, and teachers as‘well as the score of 1.87 based upon the ratings of all respondents. The "explanation by one person" method received the next lowest rating by all three groups of respondents. The number and percentage of high-school class members who rated the various methods in each of the categories are shown in Table XXIII. The ”illustration by motion pictures" method was rated "excellent” by 63.2 percent of the respon- dents, and "demonstration" was rated "excellent” by 56.1 percent. The same type of data as reported by the adult and young farmers can be seen in Table XL. The "demonstration" 2&8 .00.: mH emcee EnEHste um.m maH em m.m m m.H H m.m m n.mm 9H H.em mm eoHpaspueosoe mm.n Hom em 0 o m.H H o.» : H.mm eH m.mo on nosssoHa GOHaoE he coapmhvnnaaH cm.~ HMH mm m.m m m.sH m m.m~ :H s.ms mm H.o m noes»0He HHHau he eoHuesausHHH eH.H :0 mm e.m~ mH H.o: um :.eH o H.o m m.H H essence mo.m mnH am 0 o 0.0 m m.mm mu m.mm ma o.on 0H accused eons» so or» he :OHpendHaHm so.m sHH mm H.0 m s.sH o 0.0: mm m.s~ mH m.~ : . eo.s.e ono he noHpaceHQNu Ho.~ 03H em 0 o m.mH a 0.3m 4H H.m: em m.sH 0H eoHnusonHe guano Hm.m m:H um m.H H c.m m H.~e em e.Hm wH m.mH o zaHsaoueH .R .02 R .02 fi .02 m .02 R .02 .sa o 2 Ass H. lugs my Anna M. inns as .3ng and; magmas soon he: sees has eooe esoHHoomm corps: 5.: H38. 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Hmaoa apex 939802 :38 aoflhshnMdsoH use 3504 no bong—Hz L ’ I’lhl mzemuomm zOHmHemqu smegma ezHezmmmmm no access: amsosqmm me mmumzwz mm<:n wz>¢unl>4 r<:< CD 19 X 27 16 12 x'fl 12 X 26 3 20 M9 89 P§§1 h5.3 12.51 3-113 —_:- NN \nxwxxx X 10 ><>4 h:>< >4 wtmw: mnmumnmuquwwnmmnoo a: (n E; :1 pr u: u: a: be O‘ N ll Programs used but attendance unknown. V = Same programs used with another class. l4"! a 1.! a . ..w..N‘ . .ry . ’12 .1!!le . o .2 . O. I‘ myuwnjnmwm 1mm