THE mm 0F Ramg'rgom OF VERBAL AND .f mom. WAGES 390:4 THE ACHEEVEMENT ’ 0F SECOND ems smoams m Lamaze ' IO SPELL OBH-ZCT WORDS Thesis for the Degree 01‘ Ph. D. MifiéfiéGAN STATE {H‘éi‘fig'ERSlTY KEIT H §$E§LES GOLUNS 1971 ~ 9' ”w lune 14W? [(55373 59.59 UniVersifl mumimnmmnwnmmmm" 3 1293 01073 0863 This is to certify that the thesis entitled ~The Effects of Repetition of Verbal and Pictorial Images Upon the Achievement of Second Grade Students in Learning to Spell Object Words presented by Keith Mile 8 Collins has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph. D. degree in Curriculum Major professor 0-7639 6" P§C«4 «497333957 ‘I‘HW L— SUPPLF MENTARY L MATE H EAL m P“, ——‘ ABSTRACT THE EFFECTS OF REPETITION OF VERBAL AND PICTORIAL IMAGES UPON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS IN LEARNING TO SPELL OBJECT WORDS BY Keith Miles Collins Purpose of the Study This study was conducted in an attempt to determine what effect the repetition of verbal and pictorial images would have upon the achievement of second grade students in learning to spell selected object words. The study explored two questions: (1) Will a visual which has repetition of verbal and pictorial images within its framework have a positive learning effect on the achieve- ment of students in learning to spell object words? (2) Will a visual which has repetition of verbal and pictorial images within its framework have a positive effect on the retention of that learning? In an attempt to answer these two questions the following null hypotheses were investigated: 1. There will be no significant difference due to treatment effects; 2. There will be no significant difference between post-test and retention test scores; 3. There will be no significant treatment by repeated measures interaction. Keith Miles Collins Design and Procedures Thirty-six classes of second grade students from a middle class school district were randomly selected to par- ticipate in this study. The 36 classes involved a total of 1016 students. Each of the 36 classes was then randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups, thus making a total of nine classes involved in each treatment. A list of 20 words from Follett's §pelling and Writ- ing Patterns, Book C, written by Morten Botel was compiled. Because of the nature of the experiment--that of repeated verbal and pictorial images with paired associates-~only object words were chosen for presentation. Each object word and a picture of the corresponding object was photographed _and used on slides in four different configurations result- ing in a set of 20 slides for each of the four treatments. The different treatments on the slides were as fol- lows: The slides for Treatment I contained six repetitions of a single spelling word plus one picture of the corres- ponding object. Treatment II presented one spelling word and six identical pictures of the corresponding object. Treatment III presented one picture of the object and the corresponding spelling word. Treatment IV presented slides containing only the picture of the object with the teacher pronouncing the word as the picture was shown. All treatments consisted of the following steps for each of the 20 words: 1. Presentation of stimulus. Keith Miles Collins 2. Oral pronounciation of the word by the teacher and then by the class in unison. 3. Class attempt to write the word. 4. Correct spelling presented followed by student self-correction. In the post-test and retention test, no self-correc- tive technique was used. The treatment was administered over four days using the following identical fading technique in all four treatments for the 20 words. Day 1. Day 2. Day 3. Day 4. Student shown slides with complete spelling of word. Student shown slides with first and last letters of the word. Student shown slides with first letter of the word. Student given post-test consisting of one picture slide of each object. One week later. Retention test--a replication of the post-test given. A two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance was used to test the three main hypotheses to determine which of the four treatments was the most effective method of instruction for teaching the spelling of object words. The unit of analysis utilized was the classroom mean. The covariate for this particular study was the spelling abil- ity of the students as determined by a standardized spelling test administered prior to treatment. The independent variable consisted of the four treatments: 1. The six words Keith Miles Collins and one picture treatment; 2. The six pictures and one word treatment; 3. The paired associated or one picture and one word treatment; and 4. The picture-verbal treatment. The two dependent variables were the mean score on the post-test immediately following the treatment and the mean score of the retention test given after a duration of one week. Conclusions Analysis of the data supports the following conclu- sions: 1. In comparing the relative effectiveness of six words-~one picture, six pictures--one word, one word--one picture, and one picture with oral pronounciation in a slide presentation utilized to teach the spelling of object words to second grade students, no significant difference was found in the number of spelling words correctly learned by the students or retained after seven days. 2. A significant difference was found when the scores of the post-test and retention test were compared. This analysis indicates that a significant number of the words learned as a result of the treatment was forgotten after a period of one week. 3. Analyzing the effects of treatment by repeated measures interaction, there was no significant difference found. This indicated that there were no differential treatment effects across time. THE EFFECTS OF REPETITION OF VERBAL AND PICTORIAL IMAGES UPON THE ACHIEVEMENT OF SECOND GRADE STUDENTS IN LEARNING TO SPELL OBJECT WORDS BY Keith Miles Collins A THESIS Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY College of Education 1971 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Many people helped in the course of this study. The writer wishes to express his deep gratitude to all concerned. To Dr. Charles F. Schuller, Chairman of the guid- ance committee, goes a special expression of thanks for giving unfailingly of his time and support. To the members of the guidance committee, Dr. Paul Witt, Dr. Norman Bell, and Dr. Peter Manning for their efforts and interest throughout the duration of my doctoral program. To all the second grade teachers and administrators of the Warren Woods School District without whose help the study could not have been carried out, and especially to Dr. Ronald Maranio whose advice and friendship I treasure. To Lyndon Preston who so graciously gave her time to edit this paper. To the staff of the Instructional Resources Center who continuously gave advice and support. This work is dedicated to my wife, Mary Lou, whose love, tenderness, and empathy were the final ingredients for the successful completion of this venture. ii TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ii LIST OF TABLES O O O O O I O O O O O O O O V Chapter I. INTRODUCTION AND STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM . . 1 Need for the Study . . . . . . . . . 1 Purpose of the Study . . . . . . . . 6 Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . . 6 gDefinition of Terms . . . . . . . . 6 Contribution to Education . . . . . . 7 Limitations of the Study . . . . . . . 7 Theory and Rationale . . . . . . . . 8 II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . . . . 13 Introduction . . . . . . . . . l3 Learner Pictorial Preference Studies . . . 16 Eye-Movement Studies . . . . . . . . 19 Visual Redundancy Studies . . . . . . 24 III. DESIGN OF THE STUDY . . . . . . . . . . 30 Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . 30 Visual Design Theory . . . . . . . . 30 WOrd Selection . . . . . . . . . 33 Preparation of the Materials . . . . . 35 Pilot Study . . . . . . . . . . . 38 The Experiment . . . . . . . . . . 39 Setting for the Study . . . . . . 39 Student Selection Procedure . . . . 40 Orientation Sessions . . . . . . . 40 Equipment and Dates . . . . . . . 41 Presentation Procedure . . . . . . 41 Statistics and Instrumentation . . . 43 Hypotheses . . . . . . . . . . 44 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . 44 iii Chapter IV. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS . . . . . . Introduction . . . Hypothesis One . . Hypothesis Two . . Hypothesis Three . Summary . . . . V. SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . BIBLIOGRAPHY APPENDICES A. B. Purpose of the Study . Design and Procedures . Conclusions . . . . Discussion of Results . Implications for Further ”one. (D m (D m H O :3" Word Selection Lists . . . . Reports and Instructions to the Teachers Examples of Visuals and Slides for Each of the Four Treatments . Examples in Slide Form of Visuals Used in Each of the Four Treatments iv Page 47 47 52 53 53 53 55 71 72 76 88 105 LIST OF TABLES Table Page 1. Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance . . . 48 2. Analysis of Covariance on the Post-Test . . . 49 3. Analysis of Covariance on the Retention Test . 50 4. Means and Standard Deviations on the Covariate . . . . . . . . . . . . 50 5. Raw Means and Standard Deviations on the POSt-TeSt o o o o o o o o o o o o 51 6. Raw Means and Standard Deviations on the Retention Test . . . . . . . . . . . 51 7. Adjusted Treatment Group Means on the Post-Test and Retention Test . . . . . . 52 It is proposed in the present study to take Petty's state- ment and examine it further. Purpose of the Study The purpose of this study was to determine the validity of the repetition of verbal and pictorial images as a factor in the rote learning process. A spelling exercise was used to test~the effect of the repetition of verbal and pictorial images on children's learning to spell new words. Hypotheses The following hypotheses were generated to examine the effectiveness of the repetition of verbal and pictorial 'images: 1. There will be no significant difference due to treatment effects. 2. There will be no significant difference between post-test and retention test scores. 3. There will be no significant treatment by repeated measures interaction. Definitions of Terms Visual and verbal repetition--The recurrence of identical visual and verbal images within the framework of the single stimulus. Perception--A person's awareness of objects in the environ- ment. Object Words--Words which are associated with animate and inanimate objects. Paired Associate Approach--The matching of the word and the picture of the object within the framework of a single stimulus. Contribution to Education Should the repetition of verbal and pictorial images be found to be a positive factor in the teaching of spelling, it could contribute positively to existing spell- ing methodologies. An investigation of the literature has failed to reveal a previous study of the repetition of verbal and pictorial images as a factor in the teaching of spelling. Were the repetition of images to prove an effective approach, it would be possible to develop effective self-instructional materials of significant value in learning to spell. For example, a series of slides could be presented representing the words that the student is expected to master. Follow- ing a pretest, the students would be given only those slides containing the words missed, and he could then work on those words, individually, in a learning carrel. If the repetition of verbal and pictorial images is found to be an effective element in learning to spell, it is possible that it could be of value in other comparable subjects such as the instruction of Morse Code. Limitations of the Study There are several limitations of the study which should be mentioned, two of which are imposed by the inves- tigator to delimit the study and two arising from general principles. The investigator chose only object spelling words to be presented in the study because of complexities involved in picturing non-object words such as "over" and ”through.” The teaching of non-object words is doubtless of equal interest to the teachers of spelling. Further, the pre- sentation rate was fixed for all treatment groups. It may be of interest for investigators who follow to allow the student to determine his own presentation rate. Staying within the constraints of customary proce- dures, the results of this experiment cannot be generalized beyond the experimental population. However, the Tukey- Cornfield position can be applied.9 They argue that the findings can be applied to populations who have like demo- graphic backgrounds. They leave this choice up to the person who wishes to apply the findings to other populations. Theory and Rationale In light of the research findings previously men- tioned, this study dealt with one aspect of perception in learning spelling. More specifically, it dealt with the use of the repetition of verbal and pictorial images and their effect upon the way second grade children learn spell- ing skills. Specially designed visuals were utilized. They have been created out of the context of the spelling research. For example, words were not placed in a sentence on the screen but stood alone. This configuration was chosen on the 9Jerome Cornfield and John Tukey, ”Average Values of Mean Squares in Factorials," Analysis of Mathematical Statis- tics, Vol. 27 (1956). PP. 907-39. ' basis of a study reported by Stephen Sherwin. Sherwin's study found a difference between what might at first seem a logical presentation, that of including the word in a sentence for clarification of meaning, and what might seem an undefined presentation, that of the actual findings which emphasize the column method of presentation. On theoretical grounds, it has been maintained that teaching spelling in a prose context is desirable because learning will transfer more readily to the context in which the student wishes to use the word. The experimental evidence, however, indicated that the column method is more effective and efficient.10 On the basis of this research, the column method was used. However, the linguist should not be dubious because con- textual material lies in the pictorial design. This would seem to make a bridge between the opposing forces. The figural, oral, and columnar presentation relates to both philosophies in satisfying the claims for multisensory perception and traditional columnar configuration. Another technique used was that of fading. This technique requires that letters be removed on each succes- sive exposure of the visual. Thus, the first visual pre- sented the word in its entirety. The second visual con- sisted of removing the middle letters of the word, thus leaving only the first and last letters. The third visual consisted of the first letter only. The fourth and last visual contained no letter prompts, thus necessitating total recall. 10Sherwin, Four Problems in Teaching English, p. 107. 10 In terms of the testing mode, it would seem logical that letter combinations which are the most difficult to remember should be faded out last in order to increase the exposure of these difficult sections. However, research indicates that this apparently logical procedure is ineffec- tive. As Sherwin concluded on the findings of Tireman, "After assessing the findings and how they were reached, 11 teaching hard spots is a waste of time." Further justi- fication of the fading technique was developed in relation to perceptual design. Research in spelling to this point has been primar- ily in the Language Arts area. The present research con- centrates instead in the area of perceptual design. In that effort we must face the fact that the research base in the field of perception applicable to the present study is limited. As Miller indicates: We have already seen that the application of graphic techniques to education is a part of the general problem of the curriculum. Similarly, the problem of discovering fundamental principles of graphic communication is a part of the general problem of the psychology of perception, motivation, and learn- ing. Discovering more about fundamental principles will help us to improve all media and should tell us under what conditions one medium will be superior to another.1 111bid., p. 106. 12Neal Miller, et al., Graphic Communication and the Crisis in Education (Washington: Department of AudIo VIsuaI Instruction, I537). p. 61. 11 The present study undertakes to supply further experimental evidence which may contribute to knowledge about such fundamental principles. Projected materials that require a projector have some qualities in common that are inherent in the fact that they are projected. First of all, pro- jected materials require a strong source of light oin a relatively darkened room, and consequently they attract and hold attention. Psychologists tell us that it is an almost uncontrollable human characteristic to look at a spot of light in a darkened room. It has also been discovered that visual learning of a cognitive skill has a greater potential in message receptivity than does auditory learning. Werner Severin indicates, "For verbal materials in single channel situa- tions, the visual channel (printed message) appears to have greater capacity than the auditory channel (spoken 14 The auditory and visual channels were com- message)." bined in hopes that the combination of the two channels would result in the most effective information presenta- tion. ”Multichannel communications which combine words with related or relevant illustrations will provide the greatest gain because of the summation of cues between 15 channels." Thus in accompaniment with the visual design 13Robert C. Snider, "Selection and Use of Visual Media," in Research Princi les and Practices in Visual Communication, ed.Iby John Ball and Francis C. Byrnes (Washington: Department of Audio Visual Instruction, 1961) I F! 1240 14Werner Severin, "Another Look at Cue Summation," AV Communication Review, 15 (Fall, 1967), p. 243. lsIbid., p. 243. 12 which consists of the printed word and its illustration, the word was also pronounced. From the field of learning theory came the concepts of active participation in learning by students and immediate reinforcement of answers through the presentation materials. Active participation in learning was encouraged by having 16 Immedi- the children write each word as it was presented. ate reinforcement was accomplished by showing the students the correct spelling on the screen after each word was written.17 The teaching of spelling of object words through repetitive verbal and pictorial images incorporates theories from three fields. The teaching of spelling in the columnar fashion and the omission of teaching the difficult letter combinations come from Language Arts research. The use of projected materials, the paired associate technique, and the utilization of seven bits of information per visual were based upon research in perceptual psychology all of which will be discussed in Chapter III on the design of the study. On the basis of S-R Theory, the techniques of student parti- Icipation and immediate reinforcement were employed in the instruction. Thus, Language Arts, perceptual psychology, and learning theory have been combined to develop the experi- mental method used in this study. 16John DeCecco, The Psycholo of Learnin and Instruction: Educational Ps cholo EngIewoodCIiffs, New Jersey: Prentice-HaII, Inc., I968), p. 286. l7Ibid., p. 255. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Introduction In this chapter, studies relevant to the present investigation are reviewed. This chapter is divided into three sections: (1) learner pictorial preference studies, (2) eye-movement studies, and (3) visual redun- dancy studies. Each of these three areas has a distinct set of literature and research.‘ Part of the task of this chapter is to coordinate these three areas to form the rationale for this study. Psychologists have contributed a large body of research on perception. The majority of these perception studies are theoretical, probing the various aspects of human perceptual abilities. While these studies have no immediate practical applications, they provide clues upon which learning methodologies and procedures can be con- structed and tested. During WOrld War II, while experimenting with perceptual acuity, the Armed Services found the most expeditious ways to teach personnel split-second plane 13 14 and ship identifications, recognition of logos, shapes and sizes of different craft; and they designed pictures to teach these skills. These studies were done by Gibson1 and Renshaw.2 ‘While these findings served well for the adults, it was found in later studies that young children must be provided with a different set of learning devices. The picture preference of children differed radically from the adults'. The children preferred simplistic pictures while the adults preferred more detailed pictures. For this reason, the studies included in this discussion deal ‘ with primary children because it is the population with which this study is concerned. The studies on eye movement are primarily physiol- ogical in nature. These studies were done by Buswell,3 5 6 Brandt,4 wolf and Tire, and Mason. The studies were 1J. J. Gibson, ed., Motion Picture Testing and Research, Army Air Forces Aviation Psychology Program Research Reports, No. 7 (Washington, D. C.: Superintendent of Documents, Government Printing Office, 1947). 2Samuel Renshaw, "The Visual Perception and Repro- duction of Forms by Tachistoscope Methods," The Journal of Psychology, V01. 20 (1945), pp. 46-52. 3Guy Buswell, How People Look at Pictures (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1935). 4Herman F. Brandt, The P3 cholo of Seeing (New York: The Psychological Library, 1945). 5Willavane Wolf and Daniel Tira, "How Visual Clues Influence Children's Eye Movement," in Proceedings of the First National Conference on Visual Literacy, ed. y C ar- ence Williams and JOKE Debes (1970). 6George E. Mason, "Prolonged Visual Discrimination in Beginning Reading," in Proceedin s of the First National Conference on Visual Literacy, ed. by Clarence Williams and JOKE Debes (1570). 15 conducted to better understand the natural movements of the eyes in comprehending a sign, a poster, or other types of designs. The eye-movement studies have relevancy for this investigation because they give insight as to how people look at visual images, thus allowing the designers of the visual to make more efficient designs. The studies dealing with redundancy, for the most part, deal with the simplication or elaboration of a single visual image. For example, they present a simpli- fied line drawing of an object and a detailed picture of the same object. The detailed picture is considered a ”redundant" picture. Other redundancy studies are con- cerned with mirror images. Random and systematic designs were used in these studies. They were repeated by using mirror images of the original design. The task of the subjects then was to copy the original single design on paper. The repetition of verbal and pictorial images which is defined in this study as "the recurrence of the identi- cal visual within the framework of the single stimulus" does not parallel or equal the meanings inferred by the above discussion. (While the redundancy studies do not relate dir- ectly to the repetitive image technique employed in this study, secondary findings from these studies have relevance to the present investigation as noted in the discussion on pages 27 to 31. This investigation, further, is reporting an experi- ment designed ultimately to serve in the development of a 16 possibly more efficient and effective instructional design-- the repetition of verbal and pictorial images. The areas of research basic to the study of the repetition of verbal and pictorial images include: (1) learner pictorial preference studies which relate to how successful the student correctly learns the concept presented, (2) eye-movement studies which are designed to determine what types of visual arrangements are best perceived by the learner, and (3) visual redundancy studies which seek to establish the variable of interest as an element in message design. Learner Pictorial Preference Studies Learner pictorial preference studies were deemed appropriate for inclusion in this chapter because the way the learner interprets the picture is directly related to whether or not he correctly learns the concept being presented. This is particularly important because the pictures are being used as graphic devices to teach the concept in place of the real object. As Julian Hochberg points out, When it is desirable in instruction to replace the real world with some substitute or surrogate such as a photo or drawing, it is important to know something about how to represent the reality ade- quately for perceptual purposes. Investigation of the literature revealed that there has been some concern about what types of pictures are the most effective learning devices for children. According to Travers, for example: 7Julian Hochberg, Perception (Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey: Prentice Hall, Inc., 1966): P. l. l7 . . . Significant problems have become evident as research on the use of illustrations in the education of young children has developed and as findings have emerged suggesting that these children respond quite differently from the adult to illustrations in text- books and generally obtain much less information from them. Such findings seem to suggest that the research on adults is not germane to the present study because the adults differ from the children in their preferences among visual stimuli and therefore designs must be significantly dif- ferent in complexity. This study limits the visual stimuli to simple images that appeal to children. The studies by Travers and others of the prefer- ences of young children investigated the following rela- tionships: (1) whether the picture should be colored or black and white; (2) whether the picture should be a con- crete or abstract representation of the object; and (3) whether there are types of pictures that are the best for a particular learning situation. Mabel Rudisill from Drake University, in 1952, investigated the significance children attach to realism and color. She was interested in any differentiations found within the variables of realism and color as indi- cated by children of the different age groups. Rudisill reported the following conclusions with respect to the pictorial preference of children in kindergarten through grade four: 8Robert M. W. Travers and Victor Alvarado, "The Design of Pictures for Teaching Children in Elementary Schools," Audio-Visual Communications Review, Vol. 18, No. 2 (SprIng, I970), p. 37. 18 1. If two pictures are identical in all other respects, most children prefer a realistic colored one to an uncolored one. 2. If different pictures include the same subject matter and the same color, most children prefer the one which is treated in such a manner as to give the truest appearance of realism or lifelikeness. 3. If different pictures include the same subject matter, most children prefer an uncolOred one which gives them an impression of reality above a colored one which does not seem to conform to reality. 4. If different colored pictures include the same subject matter, most children prefer a less colored one which gives a greater appearance of reality above more colorful ones which appear less lifelike. A related study by French analyzed the preference of children of different ages for pictures of varying com- plexity. The population consisted of a group of six year old children. French tested reactions to thirteen paired pictures; each set consisted of a complex picture and a simple picture of the same subject. French reported: . . . the one hundred and forty-two first grade children, all six years of age, showed an eighty- three percent preference for simple illustrations. Although the degree of preference on the individual items ranged from ninety-two to seventy-four per- cent, there was a valid preference for the simple version in each pair. This is further evidence of the young child's preference for simple pictures rather than complex pictures. Taylor investigated the relationship of types of pictures to the type of concept to be learned. His con- clusions suggest that the type of picture which the 9Mabel Rudisill, "Children's Preference for Color vs. Other Qualities in Illustrations,” Elementary School Journal, LII (1952), p. 451. 10John E. French, "Children's Preference for Pic- tures of Varied Complexity of Pictorial Patterns," Ele- mentary School Journal, L111 (1952), p. 93. 19 communicator should use depends upon the learning domain he is trying to influence: In concrete messages, the visual symbols should be as pictorial or photographic as possible. In abstract communications the problem is far greater. Fre- quently the use of complex structural symbols are required: abstract shapes in moody paintings, complex formulas in mathematics, etc. There is much indica— tion that of three major forms of visual symbols, the icon such as photographic or realistic representation is Best for messages where seeing is essential; schematic presentation, where exact relations requir- ing thought and problem solving are depicted, as in a blueprint; and abstraction, with irregular undefined shapes, particularly with colors, so as to produce motivation, movement, and attention. Thus, one should clarify whether the translation of ideas should be essentially in perceptual (seeing), fognitive (think- ing). or affective (feeling) terms.1 In a slightly different type of study dealing with cue and response functions of pictures and words, Lumsdaine stated that, Presenting pictures is more effective than present- ing words as a stimulus in rote association tasks such as learning a foreign language. From these studies it appears that pictures used for early elementary students should be uncomplicated and realistically colored if maximum utility is to be realized. Eye-Movement Studies Eye-movement studies play an important part in determining whether or not a visual is an effective learning - 111. A. Taylor, "Principles in Design," in Research, Princi les and Practices in Visual Communication, ed. by JOKE BaII and FrancIs Byrnes (Washington: Department of Audio Visual Instruction, 1961), p. 109. 12A. A. Lumsdaine and M. A. May, Learnin from Films (New Haven, Conn.: Yale University Press, I558), p. 131. 20 device. Through the use of eye-movement studies, the types of visual designs which are best perceived by the learner can be determined. Fleming, in his summary Of perceptual research, states: . . . A general consideration Of eye movements is important to the designer's understanding of atten- tion. For example, how do we achieve stable per- ceptions when our eyes are so frequently "swish panning" from point to point in the scene like motion picture or television cameras, doing so an 'impossible' three or so times a second. The designer of visual stimuli should also be con- cerned about the way the students respond to the type of design which he has created. As Wolf and Tire point out: It may be Of interest to you (the designer of the stimulus) to know specifically how students are responding to these visual stimuli.1 Eye movement presents an unusual opportunity for finding out these reactions since they give information on where the subject is looking, how long he looks at a particular spot, how Often he looks at a particular Object, and the magnitude of his eye movements from Object to Object or place to place. The eye-movement studies which seem appropriate to this study concern how the human eye scans a visual image for contextual clues. Most of these studies deal with the physiological aspects of the human eye. These studies are not directly concerned with whether or not the content of the visual is learned; rather, the focus 13Fleming, op. cit., p. 16. 14Wolf and Tira, Op. cit., p. 101. 21 is upon the muscle movement of the eyeball when a visual is presented to the subject. The earliest study found in the literature dealing with eye movement was an investiga- tion done by Guy Buswell at the University of Chicago. Buswell's comprehensive study arrived at several conclu- sions. The conclusions which are relevant to this topic of discussion were as follows: Two general patterns of perception are apparent in the records. One of these consists of a general survey in which the eye moves with a series of rela- tively short pauses over the main portions of the picture. A second type of pattern was Observed in which a series of fixations, usually longer in dura- tion, are concentrated over small areas of the pic- ture, evidencing detailed examination of those sections. . . . Wide differences were found both in the general pattern of perception in looking at a picture and in duration of fixations. . . . The per- ceptual pattern for various types of repetitive designs showed clearly that the pattern of eye move- ments does not resemble even remotely the general pattern of design .'. . The comparison of a set Of records made by a small group of children with those made by adult subjects showed no consistent differ- ences. 5 Herman Brandt, the Director of Visual Research Laboratories at Drake University, in 1945, did a followbup study and came to somewhat different conclusions: The results of the study revealed that the median of the first fixation for all subjects falls at a point above andlgo the left of center of the Observed field. The Brandt study found that the initial fixation falls to a point above and left of center to the observed field in 15Buswell, op. cit., p. 142-4. 16Brandt, Op. cit., p. 30. 22 contrast to Buswell's finding of a general survey of the visual image. Brandt continues with his findings: Two general types of eye movements are commonly employed by the average individual. One is the exploratory type in which the individual makes a general survey of the entire field under observa- tion and the other is a more detailed examination in which that subject returns to the areas Observed earlier for a clear inspection. In another study by Wolf and Tira, the subjects were grouped by IQ scores and then exposed to a visual which contained both pictorial and verbal material within the context. WOlf and Tira explained the results Of their study as follows: I.Q. comparisons were made on scenes with similar visual content which were introduced at different points in the stimulus field. This was done to determine the consistency Of the eyemarkers for the I.Q. groups in identical stimulus areas. The scene used to test this hypothesis was from an A-Jax commercial which had three identifiable areas: 1. box; 2. commercial message beside the box; and 3. other (which represents eyemarkers falling in areas not defined by the two major areas of stimuli). In the initial scene, the high I.Q. group concentrated a great portion Of the time on the words (sixty percent) and relatively little on the box (nineteen percent). On the second scene, the elements in the visual scene were with nineteen percent of the eye- markers falling on the words and fifty-six percent Of their eye-markers falling on the box. On the other hand, the low I.Q. group's visual pattern was fairly constant with regard to the two scenes. Forty-two percent of their eye-markers fell on the words in the first scene with forty-five percegt of them falling in this same area on the second. This study indicates that subjects with high I.Q.‘s place a priority on the verbal messages while subjects with a 17Ibid., p. 39. 18Wolf and Tira, Op. cit., p. 107. 23 lower I.Q. seem to be about evenly divided between the verbal and visual parts of the message. Another experiment by Mason dealt only with printed words being presented to the subjects. This study also found some individual differences. Mason concluded: Three general patterns of observations were noted. Some looked at each letter in a left-to-right order. Some looked at the middle letteg first, then to the left and finally to the right. It appears that the findings of these studies are somewhat in conflict with each other in that some of them indicate that the subject makes a general survey of the field and returns to make a detailed Observation, while the other studies report that there are no general patterns which subjects seem to follow. However, it was not reported in the studies done by Buswell, Brandt, and Mason that the subjects' I.Q. scores were taken into consideration. This may be the cause Of the important difference in the find- ings reported. In most classrooms there is heterogeneity as far as the students' I.Q. scores are concerned. There- fore, based on the findings of the studies reported, one can hypothesize that it is important to design the visual message in a manner that will accommodate variations in I.Q.‘s and in the physiological processes used to abstract the meaning of the visual. 19Mason, Op. cit., p. 98. 24 Visual Redundancy Studies A search of the literature on visual redundancy was made because of its essentiality to the study as a variable of interest and as an element Of message design. Charles Hoban supports this rationale: Redundancy is one of the fundamental means of communicating information for which the sense organs of the body, particularly the eye, seem to be constructed. Furthermore, redundancy seems to be a requirement for human's certainty of information. In research supported theory, it is a most generally effective determinant of ‘1earning. The use of redundancy in the visual stimuli designed for this study is based on the research reported by Hoban. Besides this type Of repetition, other studies are cited in this section which deal with redundance as an increase in detail or the use of mirror images. Henneman and Long surveyed the perceptual litera- ture dealing with visual and auditory senses and concluded among other findings that: The visual senses probably afford more redundancy than audition because of the greater overall sensi- tivity to spatiality and temporarily distributed stimuli combined.21 20C. F. Hoban, The Usable Residue Of Educational Film Research, New Teaching AidsAfOr the Amefican CIass- room (Stanfor : Stanford University, The Institute for Communication Research, 1960), p. 52. 21R. H. Henneman and E. R. Long, "A Comparison of Visual and Auditory Senses as Channels for Data Presenta- tion," in Research and Theory_Related to Audiovisual Infor- mation Transmission, ed} by Robert N. W. Travers (Kalamazoo, Michigan: Western Campus Bookstore, 1967): P. 91. 25 It was earlier pointed out that redundancy is an effective determinant of learning. However, care must be taken in employing this device or the advantages of redun- dancy can be reversed. Maurice Rappaport examined the role of redundancy and its use in the discrimination of visual forms and reported that: In certain situations there may exist a balance of effects between the beneficial characteristics Of various types of redundance and the detrimental features that arise when redundancy is intrgduced . in great amounts or in an ineffective way.2 This suggests clearly that the type and amount of visual redundancy built into the visual is an important factor in its effectiveness in communications. Travers supports Rappaport's view: Experiments at the University of Utah have commonly reported that, in conducting studies of the audio- visual transmission of information, subjects exposed to a high ratio of information both involving vision and hearing commonly place their hand either over their eyes or over their ears. Such action may pre- vent the nervous system from becoming overloaded and provide evidence that the nervous system is limited in its capacity for handling information.23 These findings are important to the visual designer because it can be concluded that redundancy must be care- fully used. TOO much redundancy incorporated in the message of the visual, may actually work in opposition to the intent of the communication device. 22Maurice Rappaport, "The Role of Visual Redundancy in the Discrimination of Visual Form," Journal of Experi- mental Psychology, Vol. 53 (1957). P. 9. 23Travers, Op. cit., p. 165. l.) (A Miller gives some insight into the question of how much information can be incorporated into a visual. While Miller's study does not deal with pictorial materials as such, it is relevant to the question of the degree of redundancy which can be accommodated by a viewer. He used numbers of dots exposed for short time spans and measured relative degrees of accuracy achieved by his subjects in judging the number of dots present. Anywhere from one to more than 200 dots could appear in the pattern. The subject's task was to report how many dots there were. The first point to note is that on patterns containing up to five or six dots the subjects simply did not make errors. The per- formance on these small number of dots was so differ- ent from the performance with more dots that it was given a special name. Below seven, the subjects were said to subtiltize, above seven, they were said to estimate. This is, as you will recognize, what we once optimistically called "the span of attention."24 Miller's study suggests that the use of seven or fewer stimuli images will preclude making the number of images a problem variable. The present study was conducted using a tachistoscope and the exposure of the stimulus was only a fraction of a second. However, there were no projections in the study made for the visual channel capacity if a longer time was used. A study by Hintzman gave further information on the question of time needed by a subject to read and learn a series Of words. 24George A. Miller, "The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two," in Readin s in the Ps cholo of Co nition, ed. by Richard C. Anderson and David P. AuscBel (New YorE: Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1966): P. 255. 27 The lack of substantial effect of exposure duration suggests two explanations: memory processing is instantaneous; i.e., it ordinarily takes the sub- jects only a short time (less than two seconds) to process a word into memory; and, after this has been done, he stops processing the stimulus until a different word is presented.25 When redundancy and time factors are considered together, however, the problem becomes somewhat compounded. Garner, provides some information as to these two variables in conjunction: . . . we should note that redundancy while producing more discriminability, does so by increasing the amount of difference between stimuli. Therefore, we might well expect that while maximum accuracy should improve, a longer discrimination time will be required for the subject to make use of the additional dis- criminating cues. In other words, discrimination will improys with increased redundancy, but at a cost of 1me. Erickson and Hake support the value of redundancy in developing discrimination: The present study was concerned with the contribu- tion of multidimensional stimulus differences to accuracy of discrimination. Discrimination accuracy was determined by the method of absolute judgment for a series of stimuli varying along the dimension Of size, hue, and brightness. The results of the present study show quite clearly that compounding dimensional differences among stimuli results in a large and significant improvement in disgrimination using the absolute method of judgement.2 25Douglas L. Hintzman, "Effects on Repetition on Exposure Duration on Memory," Journal of Ex erimental Psychology, LXXXIII, 3 (1970). P. . 26Wendell R. Garner, Uncertainty and Structure as Psychological Concepts (New York: Wiley, 1962), p. 195. 27C. W. Erickson and H. W. Hake, "Multidimensional Stimulus Differences and AccuraCy Of Discrimination," Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1 (1965), p. 153. 28 Another factor having effect on learning or memory appears to be the patterning Of the visual. One finding by Attneave who studied the effects of patterning on memory of visual images was that: The symmetrical patterns were remembered more easily than asymmetrical patterns occupying the same number of cells.2 Examples of the type of drawings used were: Asymmetrical Symmetrical The redundancy studies reported in this section reveal that when redundancy is used in the stimulus, care must be taken for the kind and amount of redundancy employed. They also indicate that if maximum learning is to take place, the time which the subject is exposed to the stimulus must be taken into consideration. Thus type, time, amount, and patterning are all important factors which must be taken into consideration in order to produce an effective and efficient visual and these factors need skillful manipulation. 28Fred Attneave, "Symmetry, Information, and Memory for Pattern," American Journal of Psychology, L 2 (1955), p. 221. 29 Three variables--eye movement, pictorial prefer- ence, and visual redundancy--must be taken into account if an effective visual presentation is to be constructed. Studies cited in this chapter indicate that the effective stimulus methodology to be employed must use these varia- bles. Therefore the visuals to be used in this study will be based on this research. The mere fact that the subject is exposed to the material is no guarantee that the mater- ial will be learned. The designer must realize that all people do not look at a visual in the same manner. He must also be aware that children of different ages prefer different types Of pictorial materials. The encoder must also be aware of the effect of redundancy; if there is too much or too little, the effect of the stimulus will be reduced. It appears necessary for the selector or designer of visual messages to take such factors into account if the results are to be of significant benefit to the decoder, the learner. The effectiveness and effi- ciency of any visual message can be positively influenced by careful accommodation of the variables of eye movement, age level preference, and visual redundancy. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY Introduction This study investigates the effectiveness of the repetition of verbal and pictorial images in the teaching Of spelling of object words. Discussion of the study design is divided into four parts: (1) visual design theory; (2) the basis for word selection; (3) the pilot study; and (4) a description of the actual experience. Visual Design Theory Visual designs created for this experiment in Lan- guage Arts were constructed upon concepts garnered from perceptual psychology and learning theory. On the basis of perceptual design, the paired asso- ciate configuration for presenting the stimulus was selected. This design is the combination of the Object word spelled out and the pictures of the object presented simultaneously in different configurations. (See Appendix C.) Travers reports evidence corroborating the effectiveness of labels and pictures in simultaneous presentation: "There is also evidence that simultaneous presentation of name and pictured 30 31 Object or situation will facilitate memorizing or associat- ing the two."1 Another factor built into the visual was that of redundancy. Ordinary speech is highly redundant. This is indicated in the ability of humans to understand compressed speech. For this reason, the visuals are felt to be strengthened if visual redundancy is built into their design. As communication theorists point out, "When encod- ing a message, it seems necessary to incorporate in it a certain amount of redundancy.”2 An important question relating to the design of the visual treatments in the study was how much redundancy should be built into a visual before the channel becomes overloaded and distracts from the intent of the visual? In a summary of studies in this area, Miller indicates that, The amount of information that an individual human is able to handle is limited, and the maximum is apparently seven 'bits.'. . . If the units of infor- mation are changed, so the individual is able to group events in a meaningful fashion, the amount of information that can be handled by the individual is somewhat larger.3 In consequence, the present study employed a maximum of seven cues in the visuals. 1Robert M. Travers, Research and Theory Related to Audiovisual Information Transmission (Kalamazoo, Miéhigan: westernrs Campus Bookstore, 1967), p. 107. 2Stacy Adams, "Communication Effects," Visual Communication, ed. by Ball and Byrnes, p. 41. 3George A. Miller, "The Magical Number Seven Plus or Minus Two," Readings in the Ps cholo of Cognition, ed. by Richard C. Anderson and David P. Ausobel (New York: Holt Rinehart and Winston, Inc., 1966), p. 254. 32 It was postulated that if the children remained passive as the visuals and the spoken words were presented, maximum learning efficiency would not be reached. Ball and Byrnes point out the importance of this activity. Student participation exercises are well worth consulting by those who wish to improve the effectiveness of visual aids in classroom instruc- tion. The available evidence suggests that such methods can contribute appreciably to student motivation in a classroom situation, relieving boredom and inattention, but that their primary contribution is the direct effects on practice that is provided on the learning of specific material. Based on this analysis, the students were required to write the exercise words and pronounce them as each was pre- sented. The fading technique which was discussed in rela- tionship to teaching the different letter combinations Of words_was also utilized. The justification for the pro- cesses used in the fading technique was based on Lums- daine's conclusion from word recall studies that, The beginning fragments produced significantly higher recall than the other fragments, and the middle fragments elicited the poorest recall. . . . Studies of functional stimulus in verbal learning have demonstrated that the first letter of a verbal item is frequently a dominant factor in the student's strategy for learning the item.5 4A. A. Lumsdaine, "Decisions in Planning Communi- cations," Visual Communication, ed. by Ball and Byrnes, p. 89. 5Henry Loess and Allan Brown, "Word Fragments as Aids to Recall the Whole Word," Journal of Experimental Psychology, 180, NO. 2 (1969), p. 384. 33 Word Selection One of the concerns in this study was the selection of appropriate words to be used. The words had to be Object words due to the limitations involved in picturing non- Object words. For example, the words almost or because would be extremely difficult to visualize. Abstract con- cepts (non-object words) have no single direct sign or symbol to represent them so that they become substantially more difficult to communicate pictorially. The words also had to be of sufficient difficulty so that the majority of the students would be unable to spell them correctly, but still within the students' vocabulary level. Establishment of the difficulty level was essential to establish the cause-effect relationship of the visual-verbal repetition technique employed in the study. To assure that both of these conditions were met, the following selection procedure was employed. The first step was to make an appropriate spelling textbook series selection. The textbook series which was selected was Follett's Spelling and Writing Patterns6 written by Morten Botel of the University of Chicago. Multi-sensory spelling experience undergirds the learning plan in Botel's Spellingfand Writing_Patterns. His recognition of multi- sensory learning and its implementation in his spelling book series made it especially appropriate to the needs 6Morten Botel, S ellin and Writin Patterns, Book C (Chicago, Illinois: FolIett Publishifig Co., I963). 34 of this study. Because this experiment was conducted in the spring of 1971, it was felt that most Of the second graders had been exposed to the Object words in their spelling book (Book B). Therefore, in order to assure the difficulty level of the words, within the constraints of the study, the words in the third grade spelling (Book C) served as the source from which to draw the word sample. The next step was the selection of the Object words from the total new word list presented in the third grade spelling book. This list contained 148 words. Because the book is part of a series, there were some words used in Book C which had also appeared in Book B. These words were deleted from the sample, leaving a selection of 134 object 1 words. A list of 40 object words was then randomly selected from the total list by numbering the list, as it appeared, in alphabetical order and placing a correspond- ing set of numbered pieces of paper in a hat. The numbers were then thoroughly mixed and drawn without replacement until 40 numerical slips had been selected. These 40 numbered slips were matched up with the corresponding word which had the identical numerical assignment. This list of 40 words was then given to three second grade classes consisting of 21, 19, and 20 students respectively. The words which 75 percent or more of the class failed to spell correctly were then included in the sample thus leaving a list of ten words which met the 75 percent failure criterion. A second list Of 40 words was 35 then compiled by following the previously described method of selection. This second list of words was admin- istered to the same three classes and the 75 percent failure criterion applied resulting in 12 additional words for the list or a total of 22 words. The 22 word list was then further tested for diffi— culty-level by administering it to two second grade classes in a different school district (n = 21 and 24 respectively) and found to be valid. Two words were removed making a final list of 20 words. Several spelling books were perused, and it was found that regular spelling lessons usually present a twenty-word list of words. This spell- ing-lesson convention is followed in this study also. The two words dropped from the list were those that had the highest incidence of correct responses below the 25 percent criterion. Preparation of the Materials After the selection of the 20 words was established, the visuals were constructed. Several picture dictionaries were examined to determine which dictionary had the best simple realistic colored pictures of the words selected as established in the relevant literature. Another constraint which appeared was the amount of pictures any one diction- ary had which corresponded to the selected words. In order to present consistent design in color, style, and size, the 36 picture stimuli were taken from one dictionary. The dic- tionary which was finally selected was My First Dictionary.7_ Six of these dictionaries were purchased and the corresponding pictures were then cut from them, thus pro- viding six identical pictures of the selected Object words. Five of the words could not be found pictured in this dic- tionary. A professional artist was called upon to draw the five pictures not included in the selected dictionary tak- ing into consideration the style, degree of complexity, and the size of the other pictures being used. The artist's renditions were line drawings which were then duplicated on a Xerox machine. The six copies of each picture were then colored to approximate as closely as possible the color quality of the printed pictures. A master picture and word placement chart was then drawn up. The master was drawn up in a two by three ratio format. The format was drawn by taking into consideration the size of the pictures and the length of the longest word. The words for the visuals were produced by using Para Tipe Folio 24 point presstype which was the largest type most appropriate to the format. The letters were placed on a clear sheet of plastic in their respective configurations. The pictures were similarily placed on a white sheet of paper. The clear plastic sheets contain- ing the apprOpriate words and configurations were then 1 7Laura Oftedel and Nina Jacob, M First Dictionar (New York: Grosset and Dunlap Publishing Company,I1 0 . 37 placed upon the white sheet. The configurations used were: six words--one picture, six pictures-~one word, one word-- one picture, and the pictures only. The following designs indicate the word and picture placement for each of the four treatments: Treatment I Treatment II word word word picture picture picture picture word word word word picture picture picture Treatment III Treatment IV word picture picture The slides were then photographed using a 35 mm camera and copy stand. The type of film used was Koda- chrome Professional Type A. The slides were then placed in a Kodak carousel drum in alphabetical order with the blank slides which were made from cardboard also put in their respective order. The using of cardboard was deemed the simplest to darken the screen rather than shut- ting on and Off the projector at the appropriate times. Once these materials were compiled and properly sequenced, 38 the treatments could be formally scheduled. The slides were set in carousel slide projector drums thus making it possible to show the slides to the classes for presenta- tion and testing. Pilot Study The maximum amount of stimulus in a single visual was established in the literature as seven bits of informa- tion. This criterion is used in designing the four con- figurations to be used. The four treatments: six words-- one picture, six pictures-~one word, one word--one picture, and the picture only, were then taken back to the original school for determination of the time needed for the stu- dents to write one word before moving on to the next word. It was found that a ten second exposure for each visual and appropriate blank would give the students ade- quate time to write the words. The automatic timer on the projector was first used in order to simplify the control of the exposure time. However, this idea had to be abandoned because occasional discipline problems arose which made it neces- sary for the teacher to recycle the slide projector. Such interruptions in the orderly rate of presentation made it necessary to go to manual control by the teacher. The participating teachers were instructed to keep the expo- sure rate timed as closely to ten seconds as possible. A pilot test with 83 second grade students estab- lished the fact that the task was within the capabilities 39 of second grade students. The results of the pilot study also indicated that the slides did, in fact, contribute to the spelling skill of the students. Further, the stu- dents had no difficulties in recognizing what the pictures depicted. The retention test which was given one week later seemed to indicate that some of the spelling words had been forgotten. The Experiment Setting for the Study The Warren WOOds School District, an area of five square miles, is located in the southeast section of the city of Warren, a northern Detroit suburb. The school district has witnessed a rapid growth pattern over the past ten years. During that period, it has changed from a rural two-school district serving 650 students to its present suburban district status Of 12 elementary schools, two junior high schools, and a senior high school. During the 1970-71 school year, 5,846 were enrolled in kinder- garten through sixth, with a combined student population of 9,216 attending kindergarten through 12th grade. The socio-economic status of the district residents ranges from upper-lower to upper-middle class. Ninety-two percent of the homes in the area were built within the past ten years. Present market value of the homes in the area range from $24,000 to $45,000. The residents are employed, basically, as white collar workers with semi-professional and a few professional 40 people residing in the school district due in part to its proximity to General MotOrs Technical Center. Unskilled laborers constitute only a small segment of the work force.8 The subjects, second grade students, were drawn from this demographic area. Student Selection Procedure From the existing 38 second grade classes within the Warren Woods School District, 36 second grades were randomly selected to participate in the experiment. These 36 classes were then given the Spelling section of the Stanford Achieve- ment Test Primary II Battery, Formw.9 The classes were then randomly assigned to one of the four experimental treatments by a random drawing and placing the classes on a four treatment by nine classes matrix in a right to left order. Orientation Sessions An advance orientation session was conducted for the 12 principals of the schools involved in the experiment and a second orientation session was held one week later for the 36 participating second grade teachers. In each of the orientation sessions the experiment was explained, samples 8Warren Woods Public Schools, Recruiting Handbook (Warren, Michigan: Warren Woods Public Schools, 1970 , pp. 2-7. 9Truman Kelly, et al., Stanford Achievement Test Primary II Battery, Form W (New York: Harcourt, Brace, and WorId, 1964). ' 41 of the visuals were shown, and procedures carefully detailed with a following discussion period for remaining questions. Equipment and Dates Twenty-four identical Kodak Carousel two-by-two slide projectors, 24 screens, and 24 carts were procured. Two projectors, two screens, and two carts were placed in each school. Two complete sets of each treatment were utilized in this experiment, thus, allowing the presenta- tion to be given to all 36 classes within the same day. The school day was divided into nine equal parts and ade- quate time was arranged for transportation of the materials and equipment to the respective classes. The experiment was conducted during four successive school days from the 19th through the 22nd of April, 1971. The retention test was administered to all classes one week later. Presentation Procedure Since the presentation procedure was identical for treatments I, II, and III, these treatments can be explained simultaneously. The three treatments described are six word--one picture (treatment I), six pictures--one word (treatment II), and one word--one picture (treatment III). The first slide which contained the complete word in its respective pattern and the corresponding pattern Of pictures was shown. The students were told by the 42 teacher, "I will pronounce the word--p£g. Now, you pro- nounce the word with me--pig. Now you study the word-- pig, After ten seconds, the screen then went black and the children were told, "Write the word--pig." After ten seconds, a corrective slide was shown and the students were told, "If you made a spelling mistake, correct your mistake. Try to see where you made your mistake." Each of the three slides used per word was left on the screen for a period of ten seconds as indicated in the pilot test. There was a total of 20 sets used. On the second day, the first slide of each of the three treatments contained the word with all of its inter- nal letters removed, thus leaving only the first and last letters. The instructions to the students were the same as those Of the first day, with the exception that the students were told to think how the entire word was spelled while the first slide was shown. After ten seconds the screen went black and the students were told to write the word. They were then shown the correct spelling and asked to correct any mistakes. On the third day, the same procedure was again followed; however, the first slide contained only the first letter of the word. On the fourth day, all of the letters were removed so total recall was now necessary. This was termed the test mode. The papers were collected and tabulated. The various configurations were drOpped for this presentation and only one picture of the object was 43 shown to all groups. The reason this was done was to assure the same testing mode for all the experimental groups. The students were not shown the slide containing the correct spelling of the word. In the fourth treatment, the same techniques were followed except that a single picture was used and the spelling of the word was given orally by the teacher. Each day the amount of letters was reduced in the same manner as for the visual presentations described above. On the fourth day or the test mode, the papers were collected and tabulated. Seven calendar days later, a retention test was given with the procedure being identical to the fourth day or test mode. These papers were also collected and tabu- lated. Statistics and Instrumentation A two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance was used to test the three main hypotheses to determine which of the four treatments was the most effective method Of instruction for teaching the spelling of object words. Post hoc comparisons among treatments were performed. The unit of analysis which was utilized was the classroom mean. The covariable for this particular study was the spelling ability of the students as determined by a standardized spelling test administered prior to treatment. The inde- pendent variable consisted of the four treatments: six words--one picture (treatment I), six pictures-«one word 44 (treatment II), paired associate or one picture--one word (treatment III), and the picture-verbal (treatment IV). The two dependent variables were the mean score on the post test immediately following the treatments and the mean score on the retention test after a duration of one week. Hypotheses The following null hypotheses were investigated in this study: l-H : There will be no significant difference 0 due to treatment effects. A. There will be no significant differ- ence between the group receiving treatment I and all other groups. B. There will be no significant differ- ence between the group receiving treatment II and the groups receiving treatment III or treatment IV. C. There will be no significant differ- ence between the group receiving treatment III and the group receiving treatment IV. 2-Ho: There will be no significant difference between post test and retention test scores. 3-H : There will be no significant treatment by repeated measures interaction. The design matrix is shown on the following page. Summary Thirty-six second grade classes at Warren WOOds school district were randomly assigned to one of the four experimental configurations utilized to teach the spelling Of Object words. The four treatments were: six words-~one bNIU 45 mmuo manu muo mmnu mmlo nHIU mlo vmlo mmlo OHIO 5:0 mmlu vmnu mHIU mnu mmnu mmlo «HID muu m mafia amnu mmlu manu «no omIU ANIU NHIU mum mmoo omlu Halo «:0 mmlu mawu OHIO HIO wmlu hmlu «H10 mlo mmlo mmlo hauo mlu «mlo mmno OHIO bio mmlo vmno mHIU Gnu leo mmlu vHIO mlu H mafia amuu mmlo malo v10 omuo HNIU NHIU mIU mmnu omIU Halo ~10 mmuo mHIU oauo HIU coflumucommnm cOflumucomoum coflumucommum cowumucommum - Homo manpowm moo ouo3 moo muouowm mac Ilmuouowm IIOHO3 moo Ilmmuouowm wa Ilmouo3 xwm «a my me H9 mEZHZBdmmB 46 picture (treatment I), six pictures--one word (treatment II), one picture--one word (treatment III), picture--verba1 (treatment IV). To determine the effects of the treatments on the student's ability to learn the spelling of the selected Object words, three statistical hypotheses were generated. These hypotheses were then tested using the two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance. Post hoc comparisons among treatments were then performed. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF RESULTS Introduction In this chapter, the three major hypotheses are analyzed, namely that of no significant difference due to treatment effects; that of no significant difference between post-test and retention test scores; and that of no significant treatment by repeated measures interaction. As stated in Chapter III, it was intended to analyze the data using a repeated measures analysis of covariance. The reason the repeated measures of covariance was felt necessary was the capacity Of this analysis to determine whether or not there was a treatment by measures inter- action, while at the same time analyzing the two remaining hypotheses, that of no difference between treatment group means on the dependent variables, and that of no difference between post-test means and the retention test means over a period of one week. However, commensurate and available alternate analytical methods were utilized to analyze the data. In order to get the desired analysis of the hypo- thesis, the first step was to run a repeated measures of analysis of variance. This analysis gave all the information 47 48 necessary to test the hypotheses of interest to this investigation with one exception. This exception was the incorporation of the covariate or the Standardized Spell- ing Test scores into the analysis of treatment group dif- ferences. It was found with this analysis that there was a significant difference at the .01 level of confidence (p<.01) between the treatment effects. There was also a significant difference at the .01 level of confidence between the two measures, that of the post-test and the retention test. There was no significant difference found when the treatment by measures interaction was analyzed. This data is shown in Table 1. TABLE 1.--Repeated Measures Analysis of Variance. Sources df SS MS F Ratio Treatment 3 260.349 86.783 5.910 (Significant, p<.01) Measures 1 4.846 4.846 8.562 (Significant, p<.01) T x M 3 0.630 0.210 0.374 (Not Significant p<.01) SxT 32 469.936 14.683 MS : T 32 18.212. 0.566 71 753.973 107.088 49 An analysis of covariance was then computed to integrate the covariate into the analysis dealing with the differences between treatment groups on the post-test. The average within group correlation coefficient of the covariate and the post-test was .749. The coefficient of the linear regression was .630. When the covariate was interjected, the significance originally found was now lost. As indicated, the analysis of covariance showed there was no significant difference between the treatment groups. The data is included in Table 2. TABLE 2.--Analysis of Covariance on the Post-Test. Sources df SS MS F Ratio T 3 6.4491 2.1497 .644 (Not Significant p<.01) S : T 31 103.4842 3.3382 34 109.9333 5.4879 A second analysis of covariance was performed to analyze the difference between treatment groups on the retention test. The average within group correlation coefficient of the covariate and retention test was 0.69. The coefficient of the linear regression for the retention test and covariate was .601. This analysis resulted in no significant difference as indicated in Table 3. 50 TABLE 3.--Analysis of Covariance on the Retention Test. Sources df SS MS F Ratio T 3 10.2900 3.4300 0.806 (Not Significant p<.01) S : T 31 131.9236 4.2556 34 142.2136 7.6856 Tables 4, 5, 6, and 7 have been included in this section to clarify the statistical procedures used. To further help clarify the results, the hypothesis will be stated and the type and results of the analysis used to test that hypothesis will be presented following Table 7. Table 4 shows the means and the standard deviation on the covariate for the four treatment groups. The covari- ate in the study was the scores received on the standardized spelling test. TABLE 4.--Means and Standard Deviations on the Covariate. T1 T2 T3 T4 Means 11.94333 10.25778 15.97333 10.92778 Standard Deviation 3.05 3.17 5.96 3.79 51 Table 5 reveals the results on the computation of the raw means and standard deviations on the post-test for the four treatment groups. TABLE 5.--Raw Means and Standard Deviations on the Post-Test. T1 T2 T3 T4 Means 13.017 11.360 15.907 11.476 Standard Deviation 2.864 3.799 1.662 2.017 Table 6 indicates the computation of the raw means and standard deviations of the retention test for the four treatment groups. TABLE 6.--Raw Means and Standard Deviations on the Retention Test. T1 T2, T3 T4 Means 12.287 10.742 15.680 10.974 Standard Deviation 3.279 3.726 1.837 1.876 Table 7 shows the adjusted means for the four treat- ment groups on both the retention and post—test by taking into consideration how the four treatment groups did on the standardized spelling test or the covariate. The adjusted means were calculated from the following formula: 52 TABLE 7.--Adjusted Treatment Group Means on the Post-Test and Retention Test. T1 T2 T3 T4 Post-Test 13.53 12.93 13.88 12.62 Retention Test 12.80 12.31 13.65 12.12 When this formula is written out it is as follows: The adjusted means for treatment group T is equal to the raw mean for group T minus the regression coefficient times the difference between the mean on the covariate for group T and the overall mean on the covariate for all groups. In order to clarify the results of the different methods of analysis which were used to test the appropriate hypothesis, the hypotheses are restated in the Null Form with the analysis used and the results of that analysis. Hypothesis One There will be no significant difference due to treatment effects. This hypothesis was tested using the analysis of covariance. There was no significant difference found, I therefore the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. 53 Hypothesis Two There will be no significant difference between the post—test and retention test scores. This hypothesis was tested using the repeated measures analysis of variance. There was a significant difference found at the .01 level of confidence (p<.01). Hypothesis Three There will be no significant treatment by repeated measures interaction. This hypothesis was tested using the repeated mea- sures analysis Of variance. There was no significant dif- ference found therefore, the null hypothesis cannot be rejected. Summary This chapter presents the statistical analysis of the data gathered as it related to the hypotheses tested. There were three hypotheses under investigation in this study. The first hypothesis, that of no difference due to treatment effects was found not to be significant. The second hypothesis, that of no difference between the post-test and the retention test was found to be signifi- cant at the .01 level of confidence. The third hypothesis, that of no treatment by repeated measures interaction was found not to be significant. 54 The fifth chapter will present the findings, con- clusions, and recommendations of this study based on the information from this chapter. CHAPTER V SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS Purpose of the Study This study was conducted in an attempt to determine what effect the repetition of verbal and pictorial images would have upon the achievement of second grade students in learning to spell selected Object words. The study explored two questions: (1) Will a visual which has repetition of verbal and pictorial images within its framework have a positive learning effect on the achievement of students to learn the spelling of object words? (2) Will a visual which has repetition of verbal and pictorial images within its framework have a positive effect on the retention of that learning? Design and Procedures Thirty-six classes of second grade students from Warren WOOds School District were randomly selected to participate in this study. The 36 classes involved a total of 1016 students. Each of the 36 classes was then 55 56 randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups, thus making a total of nine classes involved in each treatment. A list of 20 words from Follett's Spelling and Writing Patterns, Book C, written by Morten Botel was compiled. Care was taken to assure that the words pre- sented in the experiment would not have been studied in class as a regular part of the existing spelling procedure. Because of the nature of the experiment--that of visual redundancy with paired associates--only object words were chosen for presentation. Each object word and a picture of the corresponding Object was photographed and used on slides in four different configurations resulting in a set Of 20 slides for each of the four treatments. The different treatments on the slides were as follows: The slides for Treatment I contained six repe- titions Of a single spelling word plus one picture of the corresponding object. Treatment II presented one spelling word and six identical pictures of the corres- ponding object. Treatment III presented one picture of the object and the corresponding spelling word. Treatment IV presented slides containing only the picture of the Object with the teacher pronouncing the word as the pic- ture was shown. The following designs indicate the word and picture placement for each of the four treatments: 57 Treatment I Treatment II word word word picture picture picture picture word word word word picture picture picture Treatment III Treatment IV word picture picture The fonts and sizes of the letters in the words were consistent for all of the treatments as were the corresponding pictures. The pictures were carefully selected to present the object with no interfering conti- guous matter. These pictures were photographed and pro— cessed as 35 mm slides.) Each slide was shown on the screen for 10 seconds for maximum viewing without visual fatigue. All treatments consisted of the following steps for each of the 20 words: 1. Presentation of stimulus. 2. Oral pronounciation of the word by the teacher and then by the class in unison. 3. Class attempt to write the word. 58 4. Correct spelling presented followed by student self-correction. In the post-test and retention test, no self- corrective technique was used. The treatment was adminis- tered over four days using the following identical fading technique in all four treatments for the 20 words: Day 1. Student shown slides with complete spelling of word. Day 2. Student shown slides with first and last letters of the word. Day 3. Student shown slides with first letter of the word. Day 4. Student given post-test consisting of one slide of each object. One week later. Retention test--a replication of the post-test was given. A two-way repeated measures analysis of covariance was used to test the three main hypotheses to determine which of the four treatments was the most effective method of instruction for teaching the spelling of object words. The unit of analysis utilized was the classroom mean. The covariance for this particular study was the spelling ability of the students as determined by a standardized spelling test administered prior to treatment. The inde- pendent variable consisted of the four treatments: 1. the six words and one picture treatment; 2. The six pic- tures and one word treatment; 3. The paired associate or 59 one picture and one word treatment; and 4. The picture- verbal treatment. The two dependent variables were the mean score On the post-test immediately following the treatment and the mean score of the retention test given after a duration of one week. Conclusions Analysis of the data supports the following conclu— sions: 1. In comparing the relative effectiveness of six words--one picture, six pictures--one word, one word-- one picture, and one picture with oral pronounciation in a slide presentation utilized to teach the spelling of object words to second grade students, no significant difference was found in the number of spelling words correctly learned by the students or retained after seven days. 2. A significant difference was found when the scores of the post-test and retention test were compared. This analysis indicates that a significant number of the words learned as a result of the treatment by the four groups was forgotten after a period of one week. 3. Analyzing the effects of treatment by repeated measures interaction, there was no significant difference found between the groups. This indicated that there was no differential treatment effects across time. 60 Discussion of the Results Analysis of the data indicated that there was no significant difference ameng the four different treatment groups with respect to their effectiveness in teaching the spelling of Object words. One of the reasons why no difference resulted may have been due to distracting ele— ments during the presentation Of the four treatments to the subjects. Observation of 15 second grade classes during the period of the experiment suggested that the classroom provided a poor environment for attentiveness on the part of the subjects. The experiment might have been more successful if individual carrels had been used thereby more efficiently focusing the students' attention on the visual stimulus. However, they are not available to all teachers and therefore this variable should be considered in further studies. The visual stimulus was the variable of interest in this study and its full impact may require a "noise" or distraction-free atmosphere for clear-cut results. Two variables which could possibly have affected the results Of the study were differences in color quality and size among the visuals presented. Although efforts were made to maintain uniform color quality some differences in intensity were present. The physical constraints of the 2x2 slide fOrmat employed restricted the relative sizes of some projected images as compared with others, particularly when multiple images were used. Projection distance was 61 held constant in all classrooms since all were essentially identical in dimensions. In a replication of the study it would probably be an advantage to use an overhead projector and larger screens in order to permit more standardization of the relative size of the visual images. As indicated in the design Of the presentation methods, teachers were asked to simulate as closely as possible the 10 second exposure rate of the stimulus in order to cope with the discipline problems while retaining the integrity of the timing for testing. The significant difference found between the post- test and the retention test was not unexpected since it has been well established that people tend to forget cognitive information with the passage of time as indicated in Fppdg- mentals of Educational Psychology by John Travers.1 The interaction analysis yielded no significant difference between the treatment groups. This indicates that there was no effect on the students' mean scores resulting from differential treatment effects across time. A pretest was not given because of the simplicity and number of the object words employed. It was judged that a pretest would sensitize students to the words listed and thus affect the results obtained in the experi- ment. Because a pretest was not given, however, there lJohn Travers, Fundamentals of_Educatignal Ps cholo (Scranton: International TextbOOk Co., 1970), p. 16. 62 could be no precise determination of learning gains. While a learning gain cannot be supported statistically, a review of the mean scores on the post-test for all of the experi- mental groups tends to indicate, on the other hand, that positive learning did in fact occur. This is evident from the fact that the words selected for use in this study were chosen because 25 percent or less of the students in the pilot test spelled the words correctly during the word selection process. The experimental group upon completion of the treatment successfully spelled approximately 60 percent of the identical words. Because the pilot and experimental groups were similar in demographic data, the difference between these two groups' spelling achievement might be attributed tO the treatment. In a future study, a set of parallel tests is suggested as a means of better ascertaining the cause and extent of such gains as might be made. It may be worthy of note that the students in general showed enthusiasm for this kind of visual approach to the learning of spelling words. This enthusiasm was lobserved as the materials and equipment were brought into the respective classrooms as well as during the presenta- tion. Especially notable was the students' approval of the immediate reinforcement which all the treatments pro- vided after each word was presented. The teachers also expressed enthusiasm for future use of the slide presenta- tion mode employed in the experiment because, if nothing 63 else, of the variety it provided as compared with their present methods in spelling instruction. Ipplications for Further Research It is suggested that the study reported here be replicated using individualized study carrels for the presentation of the visual stimulus as a means of mini- mizing the distracting elements experienced in the present study and that means be developed to measure gains achieved. Another study should probably be made involving perceptual dysfunctions. A standardized test, The Frostig Development Test of Visual Perception,2 is available to determine the perceptual problems of individual students. The use of repetitive images in learning procedures for perceptually handicapped children could conceivably pro— vice some help for their individual needs. It could be advantageous to record the audio por- tion of the presentation so as to provide a mediated self-instructional unit which could be studied for effec- tiveness in both initial and remediation learning. For remediation (or preventive) purposes, a set of slides could be made incorporating the concepts outlined in this study which correspond to the words given in the spelling books being used. Then, on the basis of pretests or 2Mary Anne Frostig, The Frosti Developmental Test of Visual Perception (Chicago: FOIlett Publishing Co., W4). 64 post-tests (or both) students could be given the slides for the words spelled incorrectly. In the first case, initial self-instruction and in the latter case remedial self-instruction would be provided in terms of individual needs. It could also be advantageous to examine other variables in replications of this study. Comparison of achievement of students from different socio-economic and ethnic backgrounds, and students of different mental abilities are three elements that could be examined if incorporated in'the original design. Such factors were not included in the present study because of the large number of students involved and non-availability of the information from the cooperating school system. Also, because there were over 1000 students involved in this study, it was not possible to restructure the classes into experimental and control groups or to isolate individual scores for comparative purposes. Instead means for each classroom group were used as the basis for statis- tical analysis with the inherent limitations of averaged scores for individual effectiveness measurement purposes. In a future replication of the study it is suggested that a technique be used which will provide more analytical units such as a random assignment of the subjects from the total sample. BIBLIOGRAPHY 65 BIBLIOGRAPHY Adams, Stacy. "Communication Effects." Principles and Pracpices in Visual Communication. Edited by John Ball and Francis Byrnes. Washington: Department of Audio-Visual Instruction, 1961. 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APPENDICES 71 APPENDIX A WORD SELECTION LISTS 72 WORD SELECTION LISTS First List of Object Words * 1. animals 21. hands * 2. balloon 22. king . band *23. kitchen * 4. basket 24. lion 5. bear 25. map 6. bell 26. milk 7. bus 27. meat 8. candy *28. monkey 9. car 29. penny *10. chimney 30. plant *11. dishes 31. pony 12. dress *32. pumpkin 13. egg 33. ship *14. elephant 34. sled 15. face 35. store 16. farmer 36.. table 17. feet 37. top 18. fire 38. truck 19. fox *39. wagon 20. grapes 40. window *Words which 75 percent of the sample failed to spell correctly. 73 74 Second List of Object Words 1. arm 21. house 2. aunt 22. lake 3. barn 23. letter 4. bird 24. light * 5. bread 25. money * 6. bridge 26. moon 7. butter 27. peach 8. cage *28. peanuts * 9. clothes *29. people 10. dad 30. pie ll. door 31. rake 12. ear 32. robin 13. eyes 33. shoes *14. fairy 34. sign *15. family *35. station 16. flower 36. sink *17. friend 37. stove 18. garden *38. suit 19. goat *39. telephone 20. hay *40. women *Words which 75 percent of the sample failed to spell correctly. Final List of Object Words 75 animals balloon basket bread bridge chimney clothes dishes elephant family kitchen monkey peanuts people pumpkin station suit telephone wagon wome n APPENDIX B REPORTS AND INSTRUCTIONS TO THE TEACHERS 76 77 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EAST LANSING - MICHIGAN 48823 COLLEGE OF EDUCATION . INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES cmm February 22, 1971 Dear Second Grade Teacher of Warren Woods, Warren Wood school district has been selected as part of an experiment in the teaching of spelling. The method used will be projected materials. It is hoped that you will be willing to participate in this experiment as the results may tend to improve the current spelling methodologies. The procedure used will take about ten minutes of class time for a period of five days. One week later a post test will be given which should take about 15 minutes. In order to conduct this experiment, it will be necessary to administer a standardized spelling test to all of the Second Grade students in Warren Woods. The test is enclosed and consists of only 30 words. Please administer this test as you would any standardized test. You will find the list of words, sentences and directions in this packet. Please do not tell the children they are going to be involved in an experiment as this will effect the results of the study. This experiment is in no way designed to evaluate your com- petencies as an instructor. All scores will be kept in the closest of confidence. A report will be issued to you at the conclusion of the experiment with the experimental groups listed as a code for your own information. The participation in this experiment has been approved by Dr. Marino. It is hoped that you will be able to partici- pate in this experiment. At a later date, more detailed information will be given to you regarding further procedures in the experiment. When you have completed the administration of the exam, please return it to Dr. Marino's office. If some students are absent, do not try to give them a make-up test. You do not have to correct the tests. Thank you, /s/ Keith Collins Keith Collins tb 78 STANDARDIZED SPELLING TEST Say: ON THIS PAGE YOU ARE TO WRITE SOME WORDS. FIRST I SHALL PRONOUNCE A WORD. NEXT I SHALL READ A SENTENCE WITH THE WORD IN IT. THEN I SHALL SAY THE WORD AGAIN. THEN YOU WRITE THE WORD BESIDE ITS NUMBER. LISTEN CAREFULLY, AND BE SURE TO WRITE EACH WORD BESIDE THE RIGHT NUMBER. (Example for Teacher) When reading the specific item list for the form being administered, be certain to say, "Number 1. . .," "Number 2. . .," etc. Since the teacher reads the test, all pupils move through the test at the same rate. The list takes approximately 20 minutes dictating time. Proceed deliberately and steadily. Pause about 20 seconds before reading the next word and its sentence and the second pronunciation of the word. Test: 1. green The wagon was painted green. green 2. eats Joe's dog EEEE once a day. eats 3. are All of us SEE here now. are 4. from He walked home Eggm school. from 5. they The girls say thgy_want to go. they 6. told Andy tgld Rough to stay home. told 7. very Was it a yegy warm day? very 8. tie Don hung his gig on the rack. tie 9. buy Will father bgy us a toy? buy 10. wash Ann helps us wggh dishes. wash 11. better Is mother feeling better? better 12. also Jack §l§g_has a bicycle. also 13. few Only a £2! peaches are left. few 14. such The pies were gggh big ones. such 15. front The front door is open. front 16. shirt Dave wore a red shirt. shirt l7. guess Can you guess the riddle? guess 18. thought Pat thought she could come. thought 19. flood -The rain may cause a flood. flood 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. When orange slowly wrong grapes everybody turned dollar family answer decided excuse the last word has been written, STOP! 79 The orange was ripe. Dad walked slowly upstairs. Cross out the wrong letters. Some grapes are sour. Will everybody be there? Paul turned around. The scarf cost one dollar. There are four in our family. The answer was correct. We have decided to go home. Will you excuse us please? SAY TURN OVER YOUR PAPER AND PUT YOUR PENCIL orange slowly wrong grapes everybody turned dollar family answer decided excuse 80 DIRECTIONS FOR ADMINISTERING FOUR DAY SPELLING LESSON General Dire First Day: Example: Set 1: ctions: The class should have paper and pencil ready each day before you begin the dir- ections. All directions that the teacher should say to her class are underlined. Examples are given each day for the teacher to use with her class. Today you will have a short spelling lesson. Look at the picture on the screen and listen for the directions. Slide 1: I willypronounce the word--pig. Now you pronounce the word with me-3pig. Now you study the word pig--p-i-g. Slide 2: When the screen goes black the class will write the word. Write the Wbrd pig. Slide 3: The class will correct their own paper. Correct the word--pig. Look and see where you made your miStakes. Now you will continue in the same way on all of the othergpictures. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: Pronounce the word--animals. Have the class pronounce the word after you-- animals. Now study the word-- - a-n-i-m—a-l-s. After the first few you need not teII them to study the word. They will do this on their own. Write the word animals. Correct the word--animals. Look and see where you made your mistakes. Continue in the same manner for all slides. Second Day: Example: Today you will see the same pictures as_you did yesterdayexcegtyou will only see the first and Iast letters 0 each word. Slide 1: I will pronounce the word-1pig. Now on pronounce the wordiwith me--pig. The first letter is -p-. ~The last letter is -g-. Study the word. Set 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: 81 When the screen goes black the class will write the word. Write the word pig. The class will correct their own paper. Correct the word-:pig. Look and see where you made your mistakes. Now you will continue in the same way on all of the othergpictures. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: Pronounce the word--animals. Have the class pronounce the word after you-- animals. The first letter is -a-. The Iast Ietter is -s-. Study the word. Write the word animals. Correct the word--animals. Look and see where you made your mistakes. Continue in the same manner for all of the slides. Third Day: Example: Set 1: Today you will see the same pictures as ou did yesterday except you will only see the first letter of each word. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: I will_pronounce the word-:pig. You pronounce the word with me--pig. The first letter is -p-. Study the word. When the screen goes black the class will write the word. Write the word-- pig. The class will correct their own paper. Correct the word-epig. Look and see where you made your mistakes. Now_you will continue in the same way on all of the Other pictures. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: Pronounce the word--animals. Have the class pronounce the word after you-- animals. The first letter is -a-. Study the word. Write the word--animals. Correct the word--animals. Look and see where you made your mistakes. Continue in the same manner for all of the slides. 82 Fourth Day: Today we will see how well you have learned the spelling_words this week. When you see the picture, think of how it is spelled. Example: Slide 1: Slide Set 1: Slide Slide Slide Slide 2. aurora PrOnounce the word--pig. Now think of how it is spelled. When the screen goes black the class will write the word. Write the word-:pig. Animals. Think of how it is spelled. Write the word--animals. Balloon. Think of how it is spelled. Write the word--balloon. Continue in the same manner on all of the other pictures. COLLECT ALL PAPERS WRITTEN ON THE FOURTH DAY. Note: Do not attempt to teach these words to your class the following week since a retention test must be given at the end of the first week. The directions for the retention test are exactly the same as the directions for the FOURTH DAY. PLEASE ALLOW APPROXIMATELY TEN (10) SECONDS BETWEEN SLIDES EACH DAY. 83 DIRECTIONS FOR ADMINISTERING FOUR DAY SPELLING LESSON General Directions: First Day: Example: Set 1: (PICTURE ONLY) The class should have paper and pencil ready each day before you begin the directions. A11 directions that the teacher should say to her class are underlined. Examples are given each day for the teacher to use with her class. Today you will have a short spelling lesson. Look at the picture on the screen and listen for the directions. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: I will pronounce the word--pig. Now youypronounce the word with me--pig. Listen as I spell the word pig-- p-i- 9. Now ypus _pell it with me-- p-i-g. Now look at the picture and think of how it is spelled. When the screen goes black, the class will write the word. Write the word-- 2.1.1- The class will correct their own paper. I will spell the word pig and you look and see where you made your mistakes. pprizg. Now_you will continue in the same way_on all of the other pictures. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: Pronounce the word--animals. Have the class pronounce the word after you-- animals. Spell the word, a-n-i-m-a-l-s. Now you spell it with mefija-n-i-m-a:I¥s. Look at the picture and think of how it is spelled. Write the word--animals. I will spell the word and you look and see where you made mistakes. a-n-i-m-a-l-s. Continue in the same manner for all slides. Second Day: Example: Set 1: Third Day: Example: 84 Todayiyou will see the same picture as you did yesterday except I will only tell you the first and last letter of the word. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: I will pronounce the word--pig. You pronounce the word with m -- pig. The first letteriis ~p-, the last letter is :g-. Now look at the picture and think of how it is spelled. When the screen goes black, the class will write the word. Write the word-- Eli: The class will correct their own paper. I will spell the word pig and you look and see whereyyou made your mistakes. _p-ifg. Nowyyou will continue in the same way for all of the other_pictures. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: Pronounce the word--animals. Have the class pronounce the word after you--animals. The first letter is -a-, the last letter is -s-. Now laok at the pieture andhthink of how it is spelled. Write the word-~animals. I will spell the word and you look and see where you made mistakes, a-n-iZm-a-l-s. Today you will see the same pictures as you did yesterdayyexcept you will only see the first letter of each word. Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: I will pronounce the word-:pig. You pronounce the word with me-—pig: The first letter is -p-. Study the word. When the screen goes black the class will write the word. Write the word-- 2.1.9.- The class will correct their own paper. Correct the word-:pig. Look and see Where_you made your mistakes. 85 Now_you will continue in the same way on all ofithe other pictures. Set 1: Slide 1: Slide 2: Slide 3: Pronounce the word--animals. Have the class pronounCe the word after you--animals. The first letter is -a-. Study the word. Write the word--animals. Correct the word--animals. Look and see where you made your mistakes. Continue in the same manner for all of the slides. Fourth Day: Today we will see how well you have learned the spelling_words this week. When you see the picture, think of how it is spelled. Example: Slide 1: Slide Set 1: Slide Slide Slide Slide 2. h~Cu «and Pronounce the word--pig, Now think of how it is spelled. When the screen goes black the class will write the word. Write the word-- p.13. Animals. Think of how it is spelled. Write the word--animals. Balloon. Think of how it is spelled. Write the word--balloon. Continue in the same manner on all of the other pictures. COLLECT ALL PAPERS WRITTEN ON THE FOURTH DAY. Note: Do not attempt to teach these words to you class the following week since a retention test must be given at the end of the first week. The directions for the retention test are exactly the same as the directions for the FOURTH DAY. PLEASE ALLOW APPROXIMATELY TEN (10) SECONDS BETWEEN SLIDES EACH DAY. 86 MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY EAST LANSING - 10me 48823 COLLEGE OF EDUCATION - INSTRUCTIONAL RESOURCES CENTER June 18, 1971 Second Grade Teachers Warren Woods School District Warren Woods, Michigan Dear Second Grade Teacher: First, I must apologize for the delay in the issuance of this report. The delay was caused by the pressures of completing the school year at Michigan State University. Secondly, I wish to express my appreciation for the excel- lent cooperation you gave me in the conducting of this experiment. Thirdly, the analysis of the data collected resulted in no significant difference between the treatment groups. This means none of the treatments, the six words--one picture group: the six pictures--one word group; the one picture-- one word group and the picture--oral group, did any better on either of the examinations than any other group. Enclosed, as I promised, are the scores on the standardized test, the post test, and the retention test. They are not arranged in any special order as to maintain the confi- dentiality which was promised. These scores are for your use in comparing the way your students performed in the experiment with the remaining thirty-five classes. It should be noted, however, that there was a correlation of 0.98 between the standardized tests scores and the results of the post and retention tests. This indicates that they are both measuring the same thing, that of the students ability to spell. The scores listed are the classroom means on each of the three examinations given. Again, thank you for your cooperation and it was my pleasure to work with each of you in this project. Sincerely, Keith M. Collins Standardized Test 8.93 10.68 12.85 16.00 15.04 15.70 8.04 11.21 9.04 3.73 11.54 8.33 7.39 13.16 11.43 11.19 11.25 13.80 15.36 14.80 16.64 19.49 19.22 14.81 11.75 14.74 12.00 10.87 4.63 10.68 16.35 10.30 11.48 9.35 8.81 15.83 87 Post Test 10.10 9.71 11.55 17.42 14.92 17.04 13.43 11.55 11.43 3.44 14.12 10.10 7.32 13.76 15.03 13.76 12.03 12.68 15.35 17.75 17.37 16.16 16.25 13.00 17.78 15.77 13.81 11.10 10.00 12.04 14.73 12.91 10.39 9.79 8.56 13.65 Retention Test 9.31 8.19 11.72 16.95 15.35 16.61 12.33 8.72 10.39 3.06 12.80 9.50 6.44 13.13 14.37 12.28 12.46 12.84 14.77 18.04 17.00 15.54 16.13 12.86 17.60 16.11 13.07 12.50 11.32 10.00 15.00 10.39 9.95 9.75 8.61 11.25 APPENDIX C EXAMPLES OF VISUALS AND SLIDES FOR EACH OF THE FOUR TREATMENTS 88 89 . AH ucwEuonE 9250.3 9.6 .2503 me and; mac umnww 2.3 «o 39:93 as HOV-mama— uOv—MGJ uOv—mfln— «oxmca nexus: noxmaa, 90 . x0 . AH ”285160.45 9250.3 9.8 mono}, xwm snug amp vacuum 93 mo mamas cm 91 . 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AHHH ucofiummuav pug oco .mucuofim 0:0 4:3 haw nunsou on» no mama—Sam :4 101 .cuo? 93 mo mafiaaomm onwucm 0:» >398 cm>flm ucmcsum . 3H ucofimouav HanonousuOAQ an“; amp pm“: on» no onwao 5 102 MHHmuo cw>flm unocsum . o muouuwa umma cam umuflm on» .A>anwwwmwmwsv ammonousuoflm Suflz mop ccooom on» no mamfimxm cm 103 .wuo3 on» no Houuoa umuflm on» haamuo co>flm ucocsum .A>H ucosumouav HMHOImusuowm aufl3 Mme puflsu may no mamsmxm as 104 . 3H ucwfiumonav kuorousuoflm sung Camp .3538 93 mo 39:93 :4 l APPENDIX D EXAMPLES IN SLIDE FORM OF VISUALS USED IN EACH OF THE FOUR TREATMENTS 105 SUPplt’n/ifcixiTARy MATEHEHL If; "I1001111111“