THE EFFECT OF COURSE INTENSITY 0N ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT ATTITUDES, AND MORTALITY RATE Thesis for the Degree of Ph. D. MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY JOSEPH LEWIS MAZANEC 1972 llllllllllllIll“ g5“; 9 Z .I (4 This is to certify that the thesis entitled THE EFFECT OF COURSE INTENSITY ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT ATTITUDES, AND MORTALITY RATE presented by | Joseph Lewis Mazanec I I has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degreein Education Major profe Date October 30, 1972 0-7639 “' emome av “ HOME 3. sons I 800K B'NUERY INC ‘ LIBRARV BINDERS II SPRIIEPORT. HICIIEA}! ~ :,) -. It the comr- .‘ (3: “my figure-v3; hat passing CL It was hyper; «5' I ' e ‘3 the stunnnL w ; :3 00‘ one (11' b4!) | J.‘ test; this Ivan); .\ , ~-(.blnv .19. 'r . ‘ w.‘ UH Political t‘” Wu. "P _: “aiv-h: . 'i‘m acme-us is: the second than mu! 303.1- tab-mam in which the mean a ‘L . .. . f ilqc in three uzfthc ‘ u get time mode den: § . \ a; the courses qudhpstbiiy L3; li‘l -¢I-{ :wiunmxrmm 'f‘rfg‘ and L‘ in}? bad inburroiiuy with each am mung gs." H»; on» M; a: tuna, M11“ syn, ‘1- mm; ABSTRACT THE EFFECT OF COURSE INTENSITY ON ACADEMIC ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT ATTITUDES, AND MORTALITY RATE BY Joseph Lewis Mazanec At the community junior college level the mortality rate for many courses often exceeds 50 per cent, where either not passing or withdrawing is classified as a mor- tality. It was hypothesized this problem could be alle— viated if the student was permitted to concentrate his efforts on one or two courses for a shorter period of time. To test this hypothesis some Algebra, Speech, English, and Political Science courses were taught at Delta College in three different time modes. The courses in the first time mode were called Intensive and had the students taking the courses sequentially, one at a time, with each three semester-hour course meeting three hours daily for three weeks. The courses in the second time mode were called Semi-Intensive in which the students took two courses concurrently with each course meeting seven hours per week for slightly more than six weeks. Joseph Lewis Mazanec The courses in the third time mode were the regular semester courses meeting three hours per week for fif- teen weeks. It was the purpose of this study to determine if there actually was a difference in the intensive, semi— intensive, and regular courses with respect to: (1) Academic achievement, (2) Mortality rate, (3) Students' attitudes, and (4) Instructor's attitudes. Testing for differences in academic achievement was done primarily using analysis of covariance with pre- test scores used as the covariate for post-test scores. Secondary and supportive analysis was accomplished using the final course grade as the criterion for academic achievement. When differences did occur, Scheffé post hoc analysis was used to determine which time mode was superior. The analysis of mortality rates was done via chi—square contingency tables or the Fisher Exact Test. To determine if differences existed in student attitudes toward instruction under the three treatments an evalu— ation form was subdivided into four categories: (1) Attitudes, (2) Teaching Skills, (3) Course Organization, and (4) Overall. Since these categories are not indepen- dent, the analysis was accomplished using multi-variate analysis of variance. The instructors' opinions about the three approaches were determined using a subjective type questionnaire. .——.—‘ .- Joseph Lewis Mazanec Findings When the pre-test and post-test scores were used to define academic achievement there were no differences in the three treatments for College Algebra and Speech, the six-week Intermediate Algebra was better than the fifteen-week class, both the six- and fifteen-week Fresh— man Composition classes were superior to the three—week classes, and the three-week Political Science course was better than the six-week course which in turn was better than the fifteen-week course. Using the final course grade as the criterion of achievement, no difference could be found for the algebra courses, both the three- and six—week treatments were superior to the fifteen-week treatment for Political Science, the six-week Speech course was better than the fifteen-week course, and in English the three-week courses produced higher grade point averages than did the fifteen- week courses. This latter reversal can be explained, at least partially, by an uncontrolled instructor grading variable. Except for the mathematics, where there were no differences in the mortality rate, the fifteen—week courses had a higher mortality rate than did either the three- or six-week courses. Analysis of the Student Evaluation of Instruction Form revealed that for all the courses except College Joseph Lewis Mazanec Algebra any differences that existed between the three-, six-, and fifteen—week groups could be attributed to a single category. In Speech, Teaching Skills were rated higher in the three- and six-week courses than they were in the fifteen—week course. The Overall category was rated lower by the three—week English classes than by the six-week classes. Political Science showed no dif- ferences and the fifteen—week Intermediate Algebra class rated the instructor better in the Attitude category than did the three-week class. In College Algebra the fifteen— week class rated the instructor better than both the three- and six-week classes in Attitudes and Teaching Skills but only better than the three-week class in the Overall category. When questioned as to whether they preferred taking these courses in three weeks, six weeks, or fif- teen weeks, the people who had taken the courses in fifteen weeks, while showing a slight preference for the fifteen-week courses, were not strongly enough opinionated to reject the hypothesis of equal preference. The people who had taken the courses in six weeks defi— nitely preferred the courses in the six weeks. The stu— dents who had taken the courses in three weeks preferred the Political Science and Speech in three weeks but were just about equally divided as to if they preferred the three-week or six-week treatment for English and Mathe- matics. ‘ nab! Joseph Lewis Mazanec .~as of time. The Political Science and Speech tfiachers preferred the three-week classes while the :.Emglish instructors thought the six—week classes were instructor gets to know the students better and more :quickly, and fewer office hours are required for help :‘Qfitbide of class. ACHIEVEMENT, STUDENT ATTITUDES, AND MORTALITY RATE By Joseph Lewis Mazanec A THESIS ‘ , "a Submitted to I .‘ , "f. for the degree of ADOCTOR or PHILOSOPHY VCollege of Education 1972. {9 ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I humbly acknowledge my indebtedness to: Dr. John Wagner, Dr. W. W. Warrington, Dr. Charles Wells, and Dr. Keith Anderson for their wise counsel and valuable help while serving on my doctoral committee; President Donald Carlyon, Dr. William Yankee, Dean Owen Homeister, and his staff along with the rest of the administrative and secretarial staff of Delta College for making the study possible; Steve Konowalow, the Project Counselor; Anne Martin, Martha Keil, Betty Holzschu, Judith Wiley, and Clare Harman for teaching the courses in the study; My colleagues at Delta College for their ready encouragement and willing aid; My parents, family, and friends for their faith in me; To all of the above my continuous gratitude and sincere thanks. ii I TABLE OF CONTENTS Chapter I. THE PROBLEM . . . . . . . . . Need . . . . . . . . . . Purpose . . . . . . . . . Overview . . . . . . . . . II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE . . . . . Rate of Withdrawal from College . Reason for Withdrawal from College Massed Versus Distributed Practice ’ Laboratory Setting. . . . . Massed Versus Distributed Practice Field Setting . . . . . . III. DESIGN OF THE STUDY. . . . . . . Selection of Courses . . . . . Selection of the Sample . . . . Sequencing the Courses . . . . Hypotheses . . . . . . . . Instrumentation. . . . . . . Academic Achievement . . . . Validity . . . . . . . . Reliability . . . . . . . Attitudes. . . . . . . . Mortality. . . . . . . . Instructor's Opinio . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . IV. ANALYSIS OF RESULTS. . . . . . . ACT Composite Scores (Standard) . High School Average . . . . . Planned Educational Majors . . . Educational Aspirations . . . . Academic Achievement . . . . . Page O’iU‘lN (23% ll A“ 19>“: . Chapter V. Mathematics Achievement . . . . Intermediate Algebra Achievement . . College Algebra Achievement. . . . Political Science Achievement . . . Speech Achievement . . . . . . English Achievement . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . Mortality. . . . . . . . . . . Fisher Exact Test . . . . . Intermediate Algebra Mortality. . . College Algebra Mortality . . . . English Mortality . . . . . . . Speech Mortality . . . . . Political Science Mortality. . . . Summary . . . Student Evaluation of Instruction. . . Student Evaluation of Speech . . . Time Preference--Speech . . . . . Student Comments . . . . . Student Evaluation of English . . . Time Preference—-Eng1ish. . . . . Student Comments . . . . . Student Evaluation of Political Science Time Preference--Politica1 Science . Student Comments . . Student Evaluation of College Algebra Time Preference——College Algebra . . Student Comments . . . Student Evaluation of Intermediate Algebra . . . Time Preference--Intermediate Algebra Student Comments . . . . . . . Summary . . . . . . . . . . . Time Preference. . . . . . . . Student Comments . . . . . . . Instructors' Opinion . . . . . . Summary of Instructor Opinion . . . . SUMMARY AND CONCLUSIONS . . . . . . . iv 108 111 113 114 115 118 137 140 [0 Chapter Page Findings . . . . . . . . . Conclusions . . . . . . . . Discussion . . . . . . . . Implications. . . . . . . . . . . 141 . . . 144 . . . 146 . . . 151 BIBLIOGRAPHY . . . . . . . . . APPENDICES Appendix A. Letters . . . . . . . . . . B. Achievement Examination. . . . . . . . 163 C. Student Evaluation of Instruction . . . . 180 D. Instructor Questionnaire . . . . . . . 184 Table 3-1. 4-1. 4-3. 4-4. 4-5. LIST OF TABLES Pattern of Course Offerings . . . . . . Percentage of Students in Various Test Score Intervals ACT Composite . . . . Percentage of Students in Various High School Average Categories . . . . . . . . Planned Educational Majors (In Percentages). Educational Aspirations (In Percentages). . Comparison of Mathematics Students ACT Com- posite Scores . . . . . . . . . Pre—Test and Post-Test Means-~Intermediate Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . Analysis of Covariance--Intermediate Algebra Adjusted Post-Test Means-—Intermediate Algebra. . . . . . . . . . . . Grade Point Average—~Intermediate Algebra . Analysis of Variance--Intermediate Algebra GPA . . . . . . . . . . . . . Pre-Test and Post-Test Means—-College Algebra Analysis of Covariance-—College Algebra . . Adjusted Post—Test Means--College Algebra . Grade Point Average--College Algebra . . . Analysis of Variance—~College Algebra GPA . Pre-Test and Post-Test Means—-Politica1 Science . . . . . . . . . . . vi Page 24 35 37 39 41 45 46 46 47 49 49 50 50 51 51 52 53 Table 4-17. 4-18. 4-19. Analysis of Covariance--Politica1 Science . Adjusted Post-Test Means——Politica1 Science Pre-Test and Post-Test Means-—Politica1 Science A. . . . . . . . . . . Adjusted Post-Test Means-—Political Science A. . . . . . . . . . . Pre-Test and Post-Test Means—-Political Science B. . . . . . . . . . . Adjusted Post-Test Means--Political Science Grade Point Average——Political Science . . Analysis of Variance-—Political Science GPA Pre-Test and Post-Test Means--Speech. . . Analysis of Covariance--Speech. . . . . Adjusted Post-Test Means—-Speech . . . . Grade Point Average-—Speech. . . . . . Analysis of Variance-—Speech GPA . . . . Grade Point Average--Speech. . . . . . Pre-Test and Post-Test Means-—Two-Way English. Two-Way Analysis of Covariance-—English. . Adjusted Post-Test Means-~Two-Way English . Grade Point Average--Two-Way English . . Analysis of Variance--Two-Way English GPA . ACT--English Scores . . . . . . . . Pre—Test and Post-Test Means—-English . . Analysis of Covariance--English . . . . Adjusted Post—Test Means-—English. . . . Page 53 54 54 55 55 56 57 57 60 60 61 62 62 63 66 67 68 68 69 69 70 71 71 Table Page 4-40. Grade Point Average——English . . . . . . 73 4-41. Analysis of Variance—-Eng1ish GPA . . . . 73 4-42. Mortality Table-—Intermediate Algebra . . . 78 4-43. Mortality Table—-College Algebra. . . . . 79 4-44. Mortality Tablee-English . . . . . . . 80 4-45. Mortality Table——English Professor H . . . 81 4-46. Mortality Table-~Eng1ish Professor K . . . 82 4-47. Mortality Table—-Speech . . . . . . . 82 4-48. Mortality Table—~Speech A . . . . . . . 83 4-49. Mortality Table--Speech B . . . . . . . 84 4-50. Mortality Table--Politica1 Science . . . . 84 4-51. Mortality Table-~Political Science A . . . 86 4-52. Mortality Table--Politica1 Science B . . . 86 4-53. Means--Student Evaluation of Speech. . . . 90 4—54. Student Evaluation--Speech . . . . . . 90 4-55. Time Preference-—Speech . . . . . . . 92 4-56. Means--Student Evaluation English . . . . 94 4-57. Student Evaluation—-English . . . . . . 95 4-58. Time Preference--English . . . . . . . 97 4-59. Means--Student Evaluation of Political Science . . . . . . . . . . . . 99 4-60. Time Preference--Political Science . . . . 100 4-61. Means--Student Evaluation of College Algebra. 102 4-62. Student Evaluation--College Algebra. . . . 103 4-63. Time Preference-~College Algebra . . . . 106 viii Page Means--Student Evaluation of Intermediate Algebra . . . . . . . . . . . . 108 Student Evaluation--Intermediate Algebra . . 109 Time Preference--Intermediate Algebra . . . 110 Time Preference—-One Semester Later. . . . 114 n .. Jill 17.5.1 . ‘ CHAPTER I THE,PROBLEM The college student in the United States today typically tries to study four or five courses per term. The mortality rate for students in these courses, either by dropout or by failure, often exceeds 50 per cent-- especially at the Community Junior College level. This high fatality rate may in part be caused by some of the courses being an interference factor for the other courses. A student often concentrates on one subject almost to the exclusion of the others. This concentration may be voluntary as the student becomes fascinated with a subject, or forced because the student must exert the extra effort to achieve a satisfactory grade in the course. In either case, the work in the remaining courses is bound to suffer. Another aspect of the mortality problem occurs when a student is absent from school for two or three weeks because of illness. Unless he is exceptional, he is forced to choose between withdrawing from school for that term or face the prospect of jeopardizing his .p‘ -_,_- ._ A }u&i&;‘ educational plan by being placed on academic probation. In either case, the student might well delay his edu— cational objectives by a term or more. 591d It was felt that perhaps both of these problems could be alleviated if the student would be allowed to concentrate his efforts on one or two courses for a shorter period of time. With this in mind it was decided to test the effects of utilizing "intensive" and "semi—intensive“ approaches to learning with regard to the student's academic achievement and his attitudes toward the courses, the instructors, and education in general. The conventional three-semester-hour course at Delta College meets three hours per week for fifteen weeks--a total of forty-five contact hours. Under the intensified approach to learning, the student takes his courses sequentially, one at a time with a three-semester- hour course meeting three hours daily for three weeks-- a total of forty—five contact hours. The student finishes one course, including the final examination, before proceeding on to the next course. Under the semi-intensified approach, the student takes his courses two at a time for six weeks, finishing the two courses before proceeding on to two other courses. Each of the courses again meets for forty—five contact hours. It was hoped that the student being involved with only one or two courses at a time would allow him to become more deeply immersed in the work of the course, to be able to pursue corollary interests or topics which are somewhat tangential to the mainstream of the coursework, and that his more intensive involvement with the course and its professor would result in closer relationships between the student and the instructor. In addition to being freed from the distracting demands of many courses and instructors, the student would also be freed from an examination week with four or five finals. In fact, at Delta College until recently the semester exams were all scheduled to be given in two and one-half days, and even now only three days are scheduled for giving the final examinations. Traditionally, college calendars are set up so that there are only three or possibly four periods during the year when a student may enroll and begin his studies. Many times a student decides to attend college only to find it is not during these periods and he must wait, perhaps as much as several months, before he may formally begin his college education. It was felt that if the intensified and semi— intensified approaches to learning proved to be effec— tive, the pattern of course scheduling at Delta College could well be revolutionized. No longer would enrollment be restricted to three or possibly four times a year, but would become a continuous process throughout the year with the subsequent less concentrated demands on the student personnel officers allowing them more time for individual counseling. Courses of only three, four, or six weeks duration would provide the college with a tremendous increase in the flexibility of scheduling courses. The fact that students concentrate on one or two courses at a time would result in the advantage of being able to schedule field trips and other off-campus learning experiences with less interference with other courses. Under the conventional semester system, the stu— dent who, because of illness, is absent from school for two or three weeks finds himself faced with a difficult decision. Should he withdraw from school and leave four or five courses dangling and wait until the next semes- ter to continue his education, or should he try to sal- vage the work, time, and money he has invested and attempt to catch up in all or some of the courses, jeopardizing his educational plans by being placed on probation in the event he is unable to complete the semester satisfactorily. Under the intensified or semi- intensified approaches to learning this student would drop only one or two courses and be able to re—enroll with a maximum delay of two or three weeks. The intensified approach would also enable many industries to extend to other employees benefits here- tofore restricted to management; namely, short courses that would enhance the employees' potential or increase their effectiveness. A company might well send an employee to school for three weeks where they would balk at the usual fifteen to eighteen weeks. The semi-intensified approach to learning has essentially been used at many colleges and universities during their summer sessions, and the intensified approach has been used at universities utilizing "post" summer sessions. While there is much opinion expressed, both pro and con, regarding the effectiveness of such approaches, there is little research data available to verify these opinions. Purpose It is the purpose of this study to determine if there actually is a difference in the effectiveness of the three approaches to 1earning—-the intensified, the semi-intensified, and the regular semester or con- ventional-~and if a difference does indeed exist to L». _ .._ determine which of the approaches is most effective, thus removing the answers to these questions from the realm of opinion. Overview The remainder of this paper is concerned with examining the effects of having students take fewer courses, meeting more frequently, over a more concen— trated period of time. In Chapter II, some of the pertinent related literature is reviewed, while in Chapter III, the problem being studied is defined, hypotheses are generated, population and sample speci— fied, and the statistical analysis used to compare and contrast the group is discussed. Chapter IV deals with the analysis of the results of the statistical tests that were done comparing and contrasting the three-week "intensive," the six-week "semi-intensive," and the fifteen-week "conventional" courses. A discussion of the relevant findings of this study will also be in Chapter IV. The summary, con- clusions, and implications for future research are presented in Chapter V. CHAPTER II REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Withdrawal rates at the college level are con- stantly being examined and reported. Some studies examine ability while others study intellective and non- intellective factors as related to college grades and SUCCESS . Rate of Withdrawal from College Several studies have looked at the withdrawal rate in the first or second year of college. Pembertonl observed that at the University of Delaware approximately one-third of his sample withdrew within the first two years. Iffert2 found a somewhat larger percentage of students withdrawing from colleges in California indi- cating that 31 per cent withdrew by the end of the 1W. A. Pemberton, Ability, Values and College Achievement (Newark: University of Delaware, 1963). (Here1nafter referred to as College Achievement.) 2Robert E. Iffert, Retention and Withdrawal of College Students (Washington, D.C.: Department of Hea t , Education, and Welfare, 1958), pp. 15-20. first year and approximately 47 per cent by the end of the second year. Summerskilll in 1962 extensively reviewed the literature related to attrition in four- year colleges and found the rate has not changed appreciably in the last forty years. Reason for Withdrawal from College Pemberton2 suggested the primary reason for leaving college was academic difficulty, but noted that about one-third of the total who left school were in good academic standing at the time of withdrawal. Zaccaria and Creaser3 found at the Circle Campus of the University of Chicago the major factor contribut— ing to attrition, voluntary as well as involuntary, was an unsatisfactory academic record with 75 per cent of withdrawing students having a C average or less. Brown and Callis4 more specifically indicated that approximately 37 per cent of the students who dropped were officially dropped for academic reasons, lJohn Summerskill, “Dropouts From College," in The American College, ed. by Nevitt Sanford (New York: Wiley, 1962). 2Pemberton, College Achievement. 3Lucy Zaccaria and James Creaser, "Factors Related to Persistence in an Urban Commuter University," Journal of College Student Personnel, XII (1971), 286-91. 4Frederick Brown and Robert Callis, "Why College Freshmen Drop Out," Journal of College Student Personnel, I (1959), 23-26. another 30 per cent voluntarily withdrew, and 32 per cent finished the semester but did not return. A com- prehensive study by Slocuml of 1951, 1952, 1953 freshmen withdrawal rates at the State College of Washington indicated that 51 per cent of the dropouts were in academic difficulty at the time of withdrawal. Only 31 per cent, however, acknowledged that low grades had either been important or very important in their decision to withdraw. In a study of dropouts at thirteen small private colleges, Hannah2 found dropouts were more complex, more impulsive, more anxious, less personally integrated, less altruistic, and less willing to exert an effort to make a good impression before their peers or their teachers than nondropouts. Pervin3 surveyed the Princeton graduating classes of 1940, 1951, and 1960. The general conclusions were that differences in academic ability between dropouts and nondropouts had decreased through the years. Few 1W. L. Slocum, "Social Factors Involved in Aca— demic Mortality," College and University, XXLII (1965), 53-64. 2William Hannah, "Personality Differentials Between Lower Division Dropouts and Stay-ins," Journal of College Student Personnel, XII (1971), 16-19. 3Lawrence Pervin, "Counseling the College Drop- out," Journal of College Placement (1965), 31. 10 dropouts claimed lack of ability as a reason for leaving school. The reasons cited for leaving school were: (1) poor motivation and maturity, (2) general lack of interest, (3) boredom, (4) apathy, (5) dislike for the curriculum, (6) lack of goals, and (7) a lack of cer- tainty as to what major to choose. Hedlund and Jones1 in studying the effect of student personnel services on the completion rate in twenty-eight community colleges in the state of New York found that the colleges with less students per counselor (450 or less:1) reported higher completion rates. Hannah2 found that students contemplating dropping out of college discussed their problem with a friend of the same sex, a parent, or a friend of the opposite sex and only after a decision had already been made did they contact college personnel. The general conclusion drawn from the review of these studies is that while academic difficulties are not the only reason for withdrawal from college programs, it appears to be the primary reason. Other problems 1Dalva Hedlund and J. Terry Jones, "Effect of Student Personnel Services on Complete Rate in Two—Year Colleges," Journal of College Student Personnel (1970), 196-99. 2William Hannah, "Withdrawal from College," Journal of College Student Personnel, X (1969), 397-402. 5554. 11 that students encounter such as financial, personal, or social problems appear to contribute or be a part of the academic difficulties confronting students who withdraw. Massed Versus Distributed Practice-- Laboratory Setting While much research has been done in the last ten years studying the effects of massed versus dis— tributed practice, most has been in a laboratory setting involving motor skills or memorization. The conclusions of these laboratory experiments vary extremely. Most of the research agrees with that of Houston1 in which he found in list memorization distributed practice is superior to massed practice. Others like Allen2 and Montgomery3 found no significant difference in the effect of massed or distributed practice on short-term memory. 1John P. Houston, "List Differentiation and Dis— tributed Practice," Journal ongxperimental Psychology, LXXII, No. 3 (1966), 477-78. 2C. K. Allen, "Effects of Massed and Distributed Practice in Short-Term Memory" (unpublished Ph.D. dis- sertation, Ohio State University, 1963). 3M. A. P. Montgomery, "Effects of Various Rates of Presentation in Combination with Massed and Spaced, Concurrent and Non-Concurrent Practice Modes on Film- Mediated Perceptual Motor Performance" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Indiana, 1967). 12 Some like Manguml have concluded that a fixed amount of time is required to learn a fixed amount of material regardless of the way the time is distributed over trials by varying the interitem presentation time. Zacks2 investigated the principle of total—time invariance, i.e. the amount learned in a specified interval of time was fixed, regardless of how that time was distributed. He found no significant dif— ference in total learning time of learning two succes- sive lists of paired associates when the items were presented at a fixed rate on both study and test trials, and when the subjects were allowed to study each pair as long as they wished on study trials, or when the subjects could take test trials whenever they choose. Completing the gamit studies like Stelmach3 concluded that learning under massed conditions was more efficient as the overall time elapsed was less, 1R. E. Mangum, "Effects of Interitem Presentation Time and Learning Rate on Learning" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri, 1967). 2Rose Greenbloom Zacks, "The Invariance of Total Learning Time Under Different Conditions of Practice" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cali- fornia, Berkeley, 1967). 3G. E. Stelmach, "Effectiveness of Motor Skills Practice as a Function of Various Practice Schedules" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of Cali— fornia, Berkley, 1967). 13 although actual practice time was not necessarily less. Fishman, et al.,1 found that in spelling drills the students learned quicker with massed practice but retained better with distributed practice. Massed Versus Distributed Practice—- Field Setting The semi-intensified approach to learning has essentially been used at many colleges and universities during their summer sessions. While there is much opinion expressed, both pro and con, regarding the effectiveness of such an approach, there is little research data available to verify these opinions. According to Campbell and Stanley: Internal validity is the basic minimum without which any experiment is uninterpretable: Did in fact the experimental treatments make a difference in this specific experimental instance? External validity asks the question of generalizability: To what populations, settings, treatment variables, and measurement variables can this effect be generalized?2 The selection factor essentially means that the differences that occurred could well have come about through the differential recruitment of persons making up the group. The way the groups were selected for the 1E. J. Fishman, Leo Keller, and R. C. Atkinson, "Massed Versus Distributed Practice in Computerized Spelling Drills," Journal_of Educational Psychology, LIX (August, 1968), 290-98. 2 and Quasi-Ex erimental Desi ns for Research (C 1cago: Rand McNalIy & Co., 1966), p. 5. Donald Campbell and Julian Stanley, Experimental A ‘- ‘N‘h. . 14 comparison is the cause of the differences rather than the treatment the groups received. In other words, the students that attend summer sessions are not typical of those in attendance during the regular semester. Selection-maturation interaction refers to the fact that summer session students have usually already com- pleted a year of college and thus have developed insights about college and courses that the typical new freshman student would not have yet developed, and any differences observed might well be attributed to this fact rather than to the variance in course intensity. Most schools have done little or nothing to control the selection factor or the selection—maturation interaction effect on internal validity, so any con— clusions that are drawn concerning their summer sessions remain in the realm of opinion. The same objections apply to such quasi-experimental projects as the "Oppen- heimer-Correll Plan" at the University of Colorado where the semester is divided into two eight-week sessions with the student taking two four-semester—hour courses each session. To quote from a 1969 correspondence with Professor Correll: In general, the students who have taken our program have been extremely enthusiastic--, they do a more devoted and committed job of their studies, although I cannot point to any evaluation involving controlled groups and the like. lMalcolm Correll, personal letter. 15 Scott,1 in a study comparing the achievement in llth-grade American History of better than average high school students (averaged about the 75 percentile IQ), utilized matched pairs (school, sex, chronological age, mental age, and enrolled for original credit) and con- cluded that students in summer school (intensive course) achieve as well or better than similar regular session students. He reported no data on student attitudes. The fact that Scott was comparing summer session students with regular session students leaves his study open to the question of the effect on internal validity. Although he utilized matched pairs, the difference in motivation of the student who would elect to take a summer session course from that of a student in the regular session might well be enough to account for the positively slanted results in favor of the intensive course. The United States military services have utilized massed practice or intensive courses with favorable results. Of course, the motivation factor (failure in the military results in the person acquiring a less desirable MOS designation) could well be considerably less in a college course. 1Owen Scott, "A Comparison of Summer School and Regular Session Achievement in 11th Grade American History," Journal of Educational Research, LIX (1966), 235-37. 16 The Mini-Quarter at DeAnza College, Cupertino, California of six weeks duration beginning midway through the winter quarter was originally designed to aid inte— gration of students leaving a semester educational institution into one using the quarter system, but in practice has come to benefit a much wider student popu— lation. Caldwell states: Those who find the Mini—Quarter of most value are: l. mid-year high school graduates 2. college students transferring from a semester to a quarter system 3. currently enrolled students who were not able to fill their programs during regular Winter Quarter registration 4. individuals recently moved into the area after Winter Quarter registration had ended 5. individuals who discovered an educational or vocational need after the quarter began and would have lost their enthusiasm for meeting that need if they had been required to wait an additional three months.1 In a subsequent correspondence Dean Caldwell reports: The holding power of the Mini-Quarter appears better than that of the regular quarter. The drop rate was less than 3% whereas the regular quarter normally experiences a 5% to 6% drop rate. Dean Caldwell's comments about the holding power of the Mini-Quarter have questionable statistical 1Florian L. Caldwell, "The Mini-Quarter at DeAnza College, Cupertino, California," Jottings from the League for Innovation in the Communiterollege, X (April 24, I972). ' 2Florian L. Caldwell, personal letter. a... .‘1‘.‘“‘ I. ‘ 17 significance. His cautious wording and no indication of , the number of students involved leads one to the con— clusion that while the dropout rate is better for the Mini-Quarter it is not significantly so. It seems the only statistical computation that was done was the dropout percentage. The students enrolled in the Mini-Quarter have the advantage of being given continuing student priority in registering for the Spring Quarter rather than being processed as new students. At Hiram College in Ohio, the single course study plan (intensive courses) was in effect from 1948 to 1958. Initially, the program elicited favorable reactions and results from the students and faculty. The popularity of the program gradually deteriorated until in 1958, the plan was modified considerably and in 1961 was abandoned in favor of a more traditional quarter system. According to Eckelberry,l the small size of the institution precluded any controlled experi- mentation. According to Menefee,2 Mt. Vernon College in Washington, D.C. has recently converted their college 1R. H. Eckelberry, "Editorial Comments-—Hiram Study Plan Revised," Journal of Higher Education, XXIX (April, 1958), 225-34. 2Audrey Menefee, "Liberating the Academic Calen- dar," Junior College Journal, XLI (March, 1971), 66-70. \"\ 18 calendar to one utilizing a modular system where students may take classes of three, six, or twelve weeks duration. The results appear favorable with grade-point averages improved; the dean's list lengthened; and probation lists shortened. As two letters of inquiry about this program, especially the statistical data, have gone unanswered, I can only conclude that no definitive study has been made. At Merritt College, Oakland, California, the recent change from the semester system to the quarter system provided Manghaml with the opportunity to study the relationship between academic ability and perfor- mance under both systems. By studying students who had been in attendance at Merritt College for at least one semester and two quarters, Mangham suggests that the fearful concern among some educators that low ability junior college students (9th percentile or lower on the School and College Ability Test) will not fare as well under the quarter system as they will under the semester is unwarranted, as evidenced by grade-point average. Nor was any significant difference found for high ability (80th percentile or higher on SCAT) students. Persistence lClarence W. Mangham, "A Study of the Relationship Between Student Academic Ability and Student Performance Under the Quarter and Semester Systems in a Junior Col— lege" (unpublished Ph.D. dissertation, University of California, Berkley, 1970). 19 as measured by withdrawal rates were similarly found nonsignificantly different. Student feelings as elicited via telephone interviews with a 20 per cent randomly selected sample indicated that both groups favored the quarter system as they liked the increased pace and greater pressure which they experienced under this system. It was less drawn out and less boring. One criticism of this study is the fact that by the very nature of the sample a selection factor has been introduced, i.e. only those students who have been in attendance at Merritt College for at least one semester and two quarters are included-—not any student who had washed out before completing these requirements was con- sidered. From the review of these studies, one must con- clude that the ideas proposed for this study are not new--while they have been tried on various occasions there has been little done in the sense of controlled experimentation. Most of the conclusions drawn still remain in the realm of opinion with no reliable statis— tical data to support them. CHAPTER III DESIGN OF THE STUDY This study was designed to determine if any dif- ferences existed; and if so, where they existed between the intensified, the semi—intensified, and the con- ventional-semester approaches to learning with regard to: (1) The (2) The the (3) The (4) The student's academic achievement; student's attitudes toward instruction, course, and the instructor; dropout and failure rate; and instructor‘s attitudes toward instruction. Selection of Courses In order to do any reasonable experimentation without imposing a hardship on the students involved courses had to be selected that would enable the stu- dents to earn a minimum of twelve credit hours during the semester. From the Delta College course offerings the high enrollment courses that seemed to best provide 20 21 the student with basic general education requirements were selected. The courses selected were: (1) Political Science 103--Introduction to American Government. A course of this type is required by the state of Michigan of all students on a degree program. (2 v English lll--Freshmen Composition. This is another course required of most degree-oriented students. (3 V Speech 112--Principles of Public Speaking. Most students on a transfer curriculum are required to take this course. (4 v Either Mathematics ll9--Intermediate Algebra or Mathematics 122-—College Algebra. These courses were selected because they were high enrollment courses that seemed to fit in the general education core requirement. Selection of the Sample The sample was selected from students enrolled during the 1970 Fall semester at Delta College, a com- munity college serving primarily the three counties of Bay, Saginaw, and Midland in east—central Michigan. As each student involved in the study was to take all four subjects, the population was essentially reduced to incoming freshmen as other students would c.‘..-. “ 22 have already had at least one of these courses. With the aid of the Delta College Data Processing Center, a list of these incoming freshmen who were registered in one of the mathematics courses was compiled as it was felt they would be the most likely candidates for the study. As the number of students in this category was insufficient a search for those enrolled in any three of the four subjects, and eventually any two of the four subjects was made. The students seemed to be mostly from the curriculum preference categories "general," "liberal arts," "undecided," or "no preference." The students on these lists were sent letters (see Appendix) inviting them to attend one of several half-hour sessions explaining "a special program which should prove beneficial and interesting to them." If they could not attend any of the sessions, they were asked to call the counselor assigned to the project, Mr. Stephen Konowalow. At these sessions, Mr. Konowalow explained the project to the students, told them of the textbooks Delta College would lend them as incentive for partici- pation, and answered any questions they might have con- cerning the project. The students were told if they enrolled in the project their pre-enrollment schedules would have to be changed to include the four courses 23 of the project, and they would be randomly assigned to either three—week, six—week, or fifteen—week courses-- they could not select the one they wanted. Under these conditions about seventy-five stu- dents had been enlisted and the supply of potential can— didates had been exhausted. The original design for this study required between 90 and 120 students depend— ing upon their distribution between the algebra courses. The Office of the Academic Dean of Delta College felt the study was of enough significance to warrant running in a modified form. The modified design had intact classes used for control groups (fifteen-week courses) with the seventy-five volunteers randomly assigned to the three- and six-week courses via random number tables. This procedure should, if anything, bias the results in favor of the fifteen—week courses as they would now contain some sophomores and second—semester freshmen instead of just freshmen encountering collegiate study for the first time. A more complete description of the sample will appear in the next chapter. Sequencing the Courses In order to limit the argument of bias introduced by the selection of the course sequencing, the order in which the courses were taught was established via random selection devices, namely a die and a coin. The results of this process had the first experimental r ELQ‘7I" ‘. 24 group (El) take Political Science the first three weeks, Speech the next three weeks, followed by English the next three weeks, and concluding with College Algebra the last three weeks. The second experimental group (E2) took Speech the first three weeks, Political Science the next three weeks, followed by Intermediate Algebra the next three weeks, and concluded with English the last three weeks. Experimental group E took two 3 courses, Intermediate Algebra and English, the first six weeks followed by Political Science and Speech the last six weeks, while experimental group E4 took College Algebra and English the first six weeks, and Political Science and Speech the last six weeks. TABLE 3-l.--Pattern of course offerings lst 3 weeks 2nd 3 weeks 3rd 3 weeks 4th 3 weeks El LPol. Sc. I [Speech I IEnglish I koll. Alg.I E2 I Speech I IP01. Sc. IInt. Alg.I I English I lst 6 weeks 2nd 6 weeks E3 I Int. Alg. & English I I Pol. Sc. & Speech I E4 I Coll. Alg. & English I I Pol. Sc. & Speech I 25 Hypotheses The temptation in formulating hypotheses is to directionalize all results; but because of the diverse conclusions reached on related research, the directional- ization does not seem warranted; thus the hypotheses will be stated in the null form. Hypothesis 1: There will be no differences in academic achievement between the three approaches to learning. (This hypothesis will be examined for each of the five subjects involved in the study.) Hypothesis 2: There will be no differences in the student's atti- tudes towards instruction between the three approaches to learning. Hypothesis 3: There will be no differences in the mortality rates between the three approaches to learning. (This hypothesis will also be examined for each of the five subjects involved in the study.) Hypothesis 4: There will be no differences in the instructor's attitudes toward instruction with respect to the three approaches to learning. Instrumentation Academic Achievement The hypothesis of no difference between the three approaches to learning with respect to the stu- dents' academic achievement was tested by two methods. 26 First, analysis of covariance was used with pre-test scores used as the covariate for post—test scores, and next, analysis of variance was used on the final course grade. Intermediate Algebra was tested using the Edu- cational Testing Services Cooperative Mathematics Test-- Algebra II. College Algebra utilized the Cooperative Mathematics Test——Algebra III. Political Science, English, and Speech were tested using locally constructed instruments. Copies are included in Appendix Validity The tests used are measures of developed abili- ties and thus their content validity is of primary importance. Content validity is best insured by entrusting test construction to persons well-qualified to judge the relationship of test content to teaching objectives. The procedure used in selecting the mathematics tests was first to collect as many specimen copies of examinations which by title appeared to be appropriate. These tests were then screened by an ad hoc committee consisting of three members of the Delta College Mathematics Division who narrowed the selection to three tests that seemed appropriate. These three tests were then reviewed, item by item, by the whole mathematics 27 division with the resultant selection of the Educational Testing Service Cooperative Mathematics Tests as the best available for use in the study. The instructors involved with the teaching of Political Science, Speech, and English Composition analyzed the instruments available commercially to measure achievement in their respective disciplines and found them to be inappropriate. Thus, the instruments used to test achievement in Political Science, Speech, and English Composition were constructed primarily by the instructors involved with subsequent examination and modification by senior members of the respective departments to insure their validity. Reliability The mathematics tests have had reliability coefficients computed using the Kuder—Richardson Formula 20 and were obtained from sub-samples selected randomly from the norm group.l Test Form Reliability Algebra II A .84 B .89 Algebra III A .84 B .80 1Handbook: Cooperative Mathematics Tests (New Jersey: Educational Testing Service, 1964), Table 48, p. 63. r- 28 The Political Science test was computed to have a Split-Half Reliability Coefficient of .83. The English and Speech were tested using sub- jective type instruments and thus do not readily lend themselves to reliability studies. The English Composition grading was felt to be the most susceptible to influence via instructor bias. In order to neutralize any such influence that might have occurred each pre- and post-test was graded by three English instructors that were in no way associated with the project, with the resultant mean grade used for the analysis. The grading of the English pre—tests and post-tests was not completed until after the project had terminated, so the results were not used in the determination of the student's English grades. Attitudes Under the assumption of homogeneity of student attitudes before treatment, analysis of variance was used to determine if a difference in student attitudes existed after the different treatments. A modification of a locally constructed Student Evaluation of Instruction (Appendix C) form was used for this analysis. The Evaluation Form was subdivided into four categories: (1) Attitudes, (2) Teaching Skills, Fr." ' 29 (3) Course Organization, and (4) General. The student was to rate the instructor from one to nine on each question with one being best. Some questions on the evaluation form could very well fit into more than one category. In order to determine the degree of agreement or disagreement in the placement of the questions into the four categories five individuals, both colleagues and educational con- sultants, were asked to perform the categorization inde- pendently. The results were remarkably consistent with each case of a discrepancy explained with, "I was debating whether it should be placed here or there, it could have gone either way." For the purpose of this study, the questions were categorized as follows: Attitudes Instructor's Enthusiasm for the Subject Attitude Toward Students Attitude Toward Differences of Opinion Sense of Humor Willingness to Help Students and be Available for Help Teaching Skill Knowledge of Subject Teaching Skill Explanations, Answers to Questions Poise and Self—Confidence Management or Course Organization Organization of the Course Assignments Examination Questions Method of Grading 30 General Enjoyment of the Course Rating of Instructor as Compared with Others Since the four evaluation categories are not independent (i.e. a student ranking an instructor high in one category would also tend to rank him high in the others while a student ranking the instructor low in one category would also tend to rank him low in the other three), the two—way analysis of variance assumption of independence is violated and multivariate analysis of variance must be used. Also included were open-ended questions pertain- ing to like or dislike of the project with respect to the subject matter, the instructor, the time of the day and the intensity of the course, and a question on preference of the three-, six-, or fifteen-week courses. Mortality Mortality for the purpose of this study is defined as any student that either withdrew from the course or received a grade of D or E. These were all classified as failures. The analysis of the pass- failure rates was done via chi—square contingency tables and where the conditions for chi-square were not satisfied the Fisher Exact Test was used. 31 Instructor's Opinion As only five instructors were involved in the study, it was felt that a subjective evaluation of the three approaches to learning was the most appropriate. The Instructor Questionnaire (Appendix D) inquired about preference, advantages and disadvantages, applicability to disciplines, special student and instructor charac— teristics required, and necessity of alteration of teaching techniques. Summary The sample for this study was selected from the incoming freshmen class of Delta College in the Fall of 1970. The experimental groups consisted of all volun— teers while the control groups were intact classes. The courses selected for the study were English Compo- sition, Principles of Public Speaking, Introduction to American Government, and Intermediate Algebra or College Algebra as they are all high enrollment courses satis- fying basic general education requirements. The courses were sequenced using random selection devices. Dif- ferences in academic achievement were tested using post- test scores and analysis of covariance with the pre— test score as the covariate. When differences did occur, Scheffé post hoc analysis was used to determine which method was superior. To determine if differences existed in student attitudes toward instruction under 32 the different treatments an evaluation form was sub— divided into four categories: (1) Attitudes, (2) Teach- ing Skills, (3) Course Organization, and (4) General. These forms were analyzed using multivariate analysis of variance. The analysis of mortality (withdrawals and grades of D or E) was done via chi-square contingency‘ tables or the Fisher Exact Test. The instructors' opinions about the three approaches to learning were determined using a subjective type questionnaire. CHAPTER IV ANALYSIS OF RESULTS The first phase of this study was to compare and contrast the profile of the students in this project with the profile of the Delta College student population, the Michigan community colleges student population, and the national community college student population. It was hoped the students taking courses in three and six weeks (hereinafter called the "project") would have the same profile as other Delta College students who in turn would have the same profile as the other community college students, both in Michigan and nationally, so the results obtained by this study could be generalized. For this reason all hypotheses generated about the dif- ferences are stated in the null form. As about 65 per cent of the students in the project and about 75 per cent of all Delta College fresh- men had taken the ACT (American College Testing Program) and data are available for both Michigan and nationally, it was the prime vehicle for making comparisons. The national data were from two types of institutional 33 34 classifications, as classified under the U.S. Office of Education system by highest level of educational offer- ing. A Type 1 institution offers at least two but less than four years of work beyond the twelfth grade. They include community colleges, junior colleges, technical institutes, and normal schools offering at least a two- year program of college-level studies. National Class Profile Norms represent a 10 per cent sample of the enrolled students for all Type 1-4 colleges (those offering two-year programs, bachelor's degrees, master's degrees, and doctor of philosophy degrees) participating in the 1970-71 ACT Class Profile Service. Thus this sample may be considered as representative of the popu— lation of enrolled college freshmen in the fall term at Type 1-4 ACT-participating colleges and universities. However, this sample is not completely representative of American higher education as there is geographic bias in ACT participation and private colleges and uni- versities are under-represented. The norms over-represent college-bound students in the Midwest, Rocky Mountains and Plains, and the South and under-represent those in the Northeast and Middle Atlantic States.1 1American College Testing Program, Your College Freshmen (Iowa City, Iowa, 1971), p. 60. 35 ACT Comppsite Scores (Standard) The ACT composite score is a composite of the English, Mathematics, Social Science, and Natural Science scores, thus a general measure of scholastic aptitude. Hypothesis 1: There will be no difference in ACT composite scores between Delta College students and Michigan com— munity college students. Hypothesis 2: There will be no difference in ACT composite scores between Project students and Delta College students TABLE 4-l.--Percentage of students in various test score intervals ACT composite Standard 1-15 16-20 21-25 26-36 n Mean Deviation Type 1a 32 38 24 5 95728 17.8 4.8 Michi- ganb 33 37 24 5 14861 17.6 4.9 DeltaC 35 35 24 5 1623 17.4 5.3 project 8 4o 42 10 48 20.6 3.8 aThe American College Testing Program, Your College Freshmen: Interpretative Guide to ACT Research Services for Higher_Education (Iowa City, Iowa, March, 1971), Table S-l.l "ACT Test Score Norms for Type I Colleges," p. 167. bThe American College Testing Program, Class Profile Service Report: Michigan Community College Com- posite Report 1970, p. 5. CThe American College Testing Program, Class Profile Service Report: Delta College 1970, p. S. 36 Because of the format in which the statistical data were presented in the various sources, the most appropriate statistical test to employ appeared to be a normal probability distribution significance test for difference of means. Computation of Z = 1.45 indicated there was not sufficient evidence to conclude the ACT composite scores of Delta College students were different from those of Michigan community college students. In testing Hypothesis 2, that there will be no difference in ACT composite scores between Project stu— dents and Delta College students, a Z value of Z = 5.62 was found giving the probability of Hypothesis 2 being true to be less than .0000001. Clearly this hypothesis must be rejected and by the nature of the difference one must conclude that the scores of the Project students were superior to those of the other Delta college stu- dents who took the ACT. High School Average Another measure of general scholastic ability that was readily available from ACT sources is High School Grade. The students were requested to report their most recent high school grade in English, Mathe- matics, Social Science, and Natural Science on their ACT profile card. Product moment correlations were computed from contingency tables formed by student-reported and 37 school-reported grades. The regressions were clearly linear and the distributions were only moderately skewed. The correlations between self-reported and school~reported grades ranged from .91 to .93.1 TABLE 4-2.—-Percentage of students in various high school average categories 0-1.4 1.5-2.4 2.5-3.4 3.5—4.0 n i s Type Ia 5 51 37 6 95728 2.38 .66 Michi- ganb 3 48 43 6 14005 2.41 .58 DeltaC 4 52 39 6 1529 2.37 .58 Project 0 44 51 5 41 2.43 .51 aAmerican College Testing Program, Your College Freshmen, p. 172. bAmerican College Testing Program, Michigan Com- munity College Composite Report 1970, p. 7. CAmerican College Testing Program, Delta College 1970, p. 7. Hypothesis: High school averages of Project students will not differ from those of other Delta College students. Again using the normal probability distribution significance test for a difference of means a calculated Z = .74 was insufficient to reject the hypothesis. One cannot conclude there is a difference in High School averages. 1American College Testing Program, Technical Report, 1965 ed., pp. 22-23. 38 Planned Educational Majors In order to determine if undue bias was intro- duced in the sample by including unusual numbers of special types of students or elimination of other types of students, a comparison of the planned educational majors of project students, Delta College students, and Michigan Community College students was made. As indicated earlier, in the explanation of how the students were selected for the study, most of the students came from curriculum preference categories "general" or "undecided." This is certainly borne out by the statistics in the "Planned Educational Majors" chart, with 50 per cent undecided. This may just mean that the students in the project were intelligent enough not to get locked-in on a specific curriculum until they have had the opportunity to sample offerings from diverse educational areas and then select the area in which they found the most promise. According to Bairdl usually such students appear to be no different from other students except that they are undecided. It seems that students from three areas were by their very nature almost excluded from the project. The Health Field at Delta College consists primarily of Nursing, X-Ray Technology: and Dental Technology, all lLeonard L. Baird, "The Undecided Student--How Different Is He?" ACT Research Report No. 22 (1967). 39 TABLE 4-3.--Planned educational majors (in percentages) ..__._.___ . —_ .._..—_._ - Michigana Deltab Project (14667) (1605) (48) Educational Fields 15 16 10 Social Science and Religious Fields 8 7 12 Business, Political, and Persuasive Fields 20 20 17 Scientific Fields 4 3 6 Health Fields 13 12 2 Arts and Humanities 9 10 — Engineering 7 7 — Trade, Industrial, and Technical 8 9 2 Other or undecided 16 15 50 aAmerican College Testing Program, Michigan Communigy College Report 1970, p. 12. bAmerican College Testing Program, Delta College Repgrt 1970, p. 12. 40 of which have special course offerings and laboratories with time conflicts which would almost exclude them from the study. The same can be said for the Trade, Indus- trial and Technical Field which at Delta would mean those on technology programs leading to a two- or three-year Associate Degree or certificate--either of which would have a rather rigid schedule with no flexibility for taking the four courses required for the project. The third area, that by its nature would exclude students from participating in the study, is Engineering. These students would tend to start their mathematics at the Calculus level-~not at the Intermediate or College Algebra level. There was one group which was not represented in the sample, the Arts and Humanities Majors. Logi- cally it seems that this area should have had a higher percentage of representation in the project than in Delta College or Michigan Community College. Upon dis- cussing this matter with several colleagues and the counselor that was associated with the project, no reason could be found for lack of representation. Educational Aspirations In general, classes which are characterized by high educational aspirations would be expected to con- tain fewer "unexplained" dropouts. Such classes would probably be less resistant to traditional academic 41 requirement and procedures than a class with lower aspirations. To see how the Project students compared with other Delta College students and other community college students in Michigan and nationally with respect to their educational aspirations, the following has been compiled. TABLE 4—4.--Educationa1 aspirations (in percentages) Nationala Michiganb DeltaC Project (49755) (14752) (1609) (48) Certificate Program (less than 2 years) 2 5 4 2 Two-Year College Degree 12 27 30 19 Bachelor's Degree 46 39 38 48 Master's Degree 23 l6 16 23 Doctorate (Ph.D., Ed.D., M.D., D.D.S.) 9 5 6 4 Other 9 8 7 4 aAmerican College Testing Program, Your College Freshmen, p. 74. bAmerican College Testing Program, Michigan Com— munity College Composite Report 1970, p. 12. CAmerican College Testing Program, Delta College Report 1970, p. 12. It seems the Project students aspired at about the same level as the national norms which were based on all college students rather than just community college 42 students. The Project students appeared to have somewhat higher educational aspirations than the other Delta Col- lege students and community college students in Michigan with a smaller percentage of the Project students aspiring at the Associate Degree level and a higher percentage aspiring for the Bachelor's and Master's Degree. This again tends to indicate that the students in the Project were an atypical group aspiring a little higher than the typical community college student. In summary, it appears that the students selected for participation in the Project were somewhat different than other students from Delta College, or the community college students in Michigan or in the nation. They were superior in the ACT composite score but not signifi- cantly different high school grades. They had different levels of educational aspiration with a larger percentage aspiring the Bachelor's and Master's Degree level. Dif- ferences also occurred in planned educational majors with a much larger percentage of Project students in the "undecided" category. Some educational majors, such as in the Health, Trade, Industrial, and Technical Fields, had essentially been excluded from the study because of the rigid structure of their curriculum. Another, Engineering, had essentially been excluded because the student in an engineering curriculum would usually be 43 starting their mathematics with calculus rather than the Intermediate Algebra or College Algebra offered in the study. Academic Achievement The usual measure of academic achievement is the grade received in the course, and this criterion was used, testing for differences in the intensive, semi- intensive, and semester courses via analysis of variance. One weakness in the use of the final grades as the measure of academic achievement is that they do not take into account the differences in the entry level of the student. A class that is superior initially will most likely end up with higher grades than a class that enters the course with a weaker background. To compensate for any initial differences that might have existed at the entry level, another analysis of academic achievement was done, this time via analysis of covariance with pre-test scores used as the covariate for post-test scores. All hypotheses were tested at the .05 signifi- cance level. Mathematics Achievement There were two mathematics courses included in the study-~Intermediate Algebra and College Algebra. Each of these courses was analyzed separately as the students taking these courses vary considerably in 44 certain characteristics--especia11y academic preparation. The Intermediate Algebra course usually attracts students who are less well prepared academically than the "average" student. Intermediate Algebra is essentially the same course that is offered as Algebra II in most high schools and the majority of students who have been preparing themselves for college will have already taken the course in high school. College Algebra, on the other hand, is similar to the "fast Tract" or “honors" algebra courses that are usually offered only by the larger high schools. Most of the students whose intended educational major is engineering, a physical science, or mathematics will have had the equivalent of College Algebra prior to entering college if their high school offers such a course, and thus would not be included in this study. Hypothesis: Students starting the collegiate mathematics study on the College Algebra level are superior academi- cally to those starting on the Intermediate Algebra level. To test this hypothesis a Normal Probability Distribution one-sided significance test on difference of means was used on ACT COMPOSITE scores. In this way not just mathematical preparation but general academic aptitude or preparation was tested. To achieve a sig- nificant difference at the 0.05 level of significance a "Z- value of 1.65 must be exceeded. 45 TABLE 4-5.--Comparison of mathematics students ACT com- posite scores Standard Mean Deviation Number College Algebra 21.3 4.33 33 Intermediate Algebra 18.5 4.26 44 Computation of a Z — value of Z = 2.79 gave the probability of this difference occurring by chance to be less than 0.0025. On the basis of ACT composite scores at least, the College Algebra students were superior to the Intermediate Algebra students. Intermediate Algebra Achievement The primary means of testing academic achievement in Intermediate Algebra was via analysis of covariance using pre-test scores as the covariate for post-test scores. The instruments used were Forms A and B of the Cooperative Testing Service-—A1gebra II. Hypothesis: There will be no differences in mathematics achieve- ment between students taking Intermediate Algebra in three weeks, six weeks, or fifteen weeks. As the probability of these differences occurring due to chance was less than 0.035, it was concluded there was a difference, and post-hoc analysis was 46 TABLE 4-6.--Pre-test and post-test means--Intermediate Algebra Mean Pre-Test Mean Post-Test Score Score n 3 week 136.47 146.00 19 6 week 136.60 147.15 20 15 week 137.00 142.50 16 TABLE 4-7.--Analysis of covariance--Intermediate Algebra Between Mean Square F Degrees of Freedom Probability 115.29 3.59 2 and 51 0.035 required. The raw regression coefficient between the pre- test and post-test scores was computed to be 0.68 The following formula1 is used to calculate adjusted post-test means: Y.=Y. -R(X. -X) 1 1 1 where: Yi = adjusted mean post-test score for treatment "i." Yi = mean post-test score for treatment "1." R = raw regression coefficient between pre-test and post-test scores. Xi = mean pre-test score for treatment “1." X = mean of all pre-test scores. 1 This formula was obtained from the Office of Research Consultation, College of Education, Michigan State University. ‘J_ .. 47 TABLE 4-8.--Adjusted post-test means--Intermediate Algebra Treatment Adjusted Post-test Mean 3 week 146.15 6 week 147.21 15 week 142.29 Now Scheffé post hoc analysis must be done on the adjusted post-test means. Given any comparison g made on the data after a significant F has been found for the relevant factor, the significance of the compari- son value ¢g may be found using the following 100 (l-d)% Confidence interval: A (J-l) F MS w A ///(J-l) F MS w _ a b 9 ¢ ¢ a b g 43g / F < 9 < g+ F where for our purposes mg = i ii (i.e. for comparison $ij= Y; - Y;,u&j = fiE-+ H? with ni = the number in comparison group "i.") Fa = the value required for significance at the a level, with J-l and N-J degrees of freedom. MSb = mean square between F = computed F value 1William L. Hays, Statistics (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1963), p. 484. 48 ’ I Defining the comparison value ¢ij = Yi - Yj where I Yi is the adjusted post-test mean for treatment "i." Treatment 3 was the three-week course, treatment 6 the six-week course, and treatment.15the fifteen-week course. A 95 per cent confidence statement was calculated. -1.06 — 4.59 1r:u4«m~j~uf"‘ Stephen Konowalow Counselor 162 \H"4.‘-'i": 13.2% 1 Y (,‘1_.'“11t H, 1111(_,1I1(./\1‘1 1"» 1‘ COLLEGE August 7, 1970 Congratulations} You have been selected to be a participant in our sequential course project. As you recall, you were promised individual counseling by Mr. Konowalow. Please call him at Delta College, ext. 321, as soon as possible to arrange a counseling appointment for sometime this week. .5 “ K4W)o.JM/ Ste en Konowalow Counselor APPENDIX B ACHIEVEMENT EXAMINATION Achievement Examination Introduction to American Government J. Wiley, Instructor TRUE AND FALSE 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. In a democracy the individual is secondary to the state. Democracy requires the majority to respect minority rights. Under a constitutional government, the majority is free to act in any way it desires. The Federalist Papers were written by supporters of the new constitution. The national government has only those powers specifically granted to it. The Constitution-makers believed that dividing power between the several branches of the national government would lessen the danger of arbitrary rule. During our Constitutional evolution since 1789, the relative power of the Congress has declined and that of the President has increased. The size and duties of the President's Cabinet are prescribed by the Constitution. Only one method of proposing Constitutional amendments has been used thus far. No amendment may be added to the Constitution until it has been approved by the Supreme Court. The 14th amendment, by placing restrictions on state power, made a great deal of state legislation subject to review by the Supreme Court. The central government of a confederation exercises direct power over individuals. A federal government divides power between a central government and constituent governments by means of a constitution. Interstate compacts are devises that permit several states to unite to solve a regional problem. Block grants permit the states to construct their own programs without detailed specifications. Each American citizen has a single vote; therefore, all are equal in political power. 163 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. IMATCHING (continued) 164 Constitutions place limits on the power of governments and public officials. The Virginia Plan submitted to the Convention favored the large states. As the Constitution.was originally written, neither the Senate, nor the President nor the Supreme Court was chosen directly by the people. Concurrent powers are those shared by the state and national governments. In the McCulloch v. Maryland decision, the court held that the national government had exceeded its power by establishing a bank. The powers of the national government have been enormously increased by warfare and preparations for warfare. The Supreme Court has upheld state laws providing for free textbooks for students in church-operated schools. A member of a registered communist organization may not apply for or use a passport. The federal government has never outlawed a political party. From the time the Constitution was written, the Bill of Rights has applied equally to both the states and the national government. In 1896, in the decision Plessy v. Ferguson, the Court held that state- imposed racial segregation in itself did not constitute discrimination. In Brown v. Board of Education (1955) the Supreme Court invalidated the separate but equal formula for maintaining segregated schools. Poll tax requirements for voting in state and national elections are now unconstitutional. State laws which unreasonably classify violate the equal protection clause of the 14th amendment. discharge petition a. irons out differences in a bill passed by both chambers of Congress. Filibuster b. the power of the Court to decide the constitutionality of laws. senatorial courtesy c. delays Senate action by prolonged debate. d. Interstate Commerce Commission conference committee e. Post Office f. Tennessee Valley Authority rules committee g. Veterans Administration. 165 government corporation h. is designed to regulate the flow of bills in the House regulatory agency i. is veto power of Senator over major appointments in his state when his judicial review party is in power j. is an action to force bill out of committee An order issued by the Supreme Court agreeing to review a case from a lower court. 1. a court order commanding that action be taken a devise to limit debate in the Senate ends a legislative session. writ of certiorari Cloture (Closure) TRUE AND FALSE 1. 2. 10. ll. 12. The principle of jus soli confers citizenship by blood rather than place of birth. Conviction by a court martial of desertion in time of war automatically results in loss of citizenship. The law stipulates that voting in a foreign political election auto- matically revokes American citizenship. Substantive due process requires that the content of the law be fair. No police officer can search either a home or a person, under any con- ditions, without a search warrant. Evidence secured unconstitionally cannot be used in a federal court against an individual from.whom it was taken. All of the guarantees of the Bill of Rights are now applicable to the States under the Supreme Court's interpretation of the 14th Amendment. The right to practice one's religion is an absolute right and cannot be regulated by state laws. One of the guidelines for judging obscenity in a book is the question whether the material has redeeming social value. An individual's political attitudes and party preferences fluctuate widely over the years. Approximately 50 percent of the potential voters will fail to vote in a Congressional election. The framers of the Constitution wrote into the document a prohibition against property requirements as a condition for voting. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. :‘3 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 166. Local elections attract more voters than national elections. One of the most accurate predictors of political involvement is the amount of formal education. Litigation is a weapon of group influence. The government tends to overrepresent those groups which are strongly organized. Our major parties are essentially loose groupings of state and local parties. The best explanation for our two-party system lies in the nature of our electoral system. The Constitution has shaped the federalized structure of parties. There is some indication that party primaries tend to divide parties to a greater degree than do party conventions. The office group ballot encourages straight party voting and is thus preferred by most political scientists. A presidential election has never been thrown into the House of Representatives. Political parties in the United States are oriented toward state and local organizations rather than national goals. In the event that no Presidential candidate receives a majority of electoral votes, the House of Representatives selects the President. A voter cannot technically vote directly for the President. Senate approval is needed for Presidential appointments and for Pres- idential action to remove officials from office. If the President fails to sign or veto a bill within ten weekdays after he receives it, and Congress is still in session, the bill becomes a law. The President has the power to recognize a new government. Seniority undercuts the party system, since power comes from tenure rather than from the party. A Conference committee is indispensable in a bicameral legislature. The party caucus in the House plays a major role in lawmaking. Congress possesses no other powers than those directly related to the lawmaking process. fi 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 167 Both the House and the Senate pride themselves on their tradition of permitting unlimited debate. The majority leader in the Senate is a figurehead with little influence. Federal district courts employ a jury system. A writ of certiorari is similar to a bill of attainder. The power of judicial review is explicitly granted to the federal courts by the Constitution. The Supreme Court will, upon request, give advisory opinions to the Con- gress or the President. Supreme Court Justices decide only those disputes that grow out of actual cases. Special investigating committees do not ordinarily introduce bills. If a committee in the House fails to report a bill, the bill cannot be brought to the floor of the House. The majority party in Congress has controlling representation on each standing committee. A complete system of federal courts was established by the Constitution. The vote of the Supreme Court justices must be unanimous to declare a law of Congress unconstitutional. Normally the Supreme Court avoids the issue of constitutionality if it can dispose of a case on other grounds. MULT IPLE CHO 10 E: 1. As a result of their Colonial experience, American colonists became accustomed to all but one of the following characteristics of government: a. bicameral legislatures b. weak governors c. separation of powers d. elected representatives Congress under the Articles of Confederation did not have the power to: a. b. c. d. regulate interstate commerce coin money declare war make treaties 10. 168 Which of the following individuals is most likely to exercise his right of suffrage: a. a southern Negro, eight-grade education, working in a textile mill b. a middle-income banker, age 50, registered Republican c. a union worker in Detroit, high school graduate, Democrat d. a 23-year-old secretary living in Atlanta, Georgia. The most significant function performed by third parties in the United States since 1865 has been: a. to serve as a base for future major parties b. to focus public opinion upon new controversial political issues c. to introduce future major party candidates d. to express discontent with the basic Constitutional framework. Many reasons have been advanced to explain why we have a two-party system. Probably the best explanation is: a. The American Constitution sets up single-member districts and the President is elected by a majority of electoral votes b. Americans very early rejected the multiparty system because it contributes to political instability c. people are naturally divided into liberal and Conservative groups d. the two major parties "steal the thunder” from any rising third party. The two houses of Congress may override a Presidential veto by: a. majority vote b. three-fourths vote c. two-thirds vote d. favorable vote in two successive sessions. The executive office of the President includes: a. Voice of America b. Bureau of Weights and Measures c. Interstate Commerce Commission d. Bureau of the Budget. In the case of Marbury v. Madison, the Court decided: a. that Marbury was not entitled to his commission b. that the Judiciary Act of 1789 was in part unconstitutional c. that Madison must deliver the commission d. that Jefferson had acted legally. A procedure in the House for withdrawing a bill from committee is: a. release b. conference c. filibuster d. discharge. A committee composed of members of both chambers to reconcile different versions of the same bill is called: a. a joint committee b. a standing committee c. a special committee d. a conference committee. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 169 Among the powers of the Speaker of the House of Representatives is: a. b. c. d. The a. b. c. d. The a. b. the power to appoint members of standing committees major influence in the selection of committee chairmen control of the rules committee appointing House members to conference committees. President's delegated legislative power might best be illustrated in: his power to precipitate a war his power to adjust tariff rates under the Trade Agreements Act the State of the Union message his veto pOucr President has exclusive power to: make treaties c. appoint ambassadors recognize new governments d. make foreign loans "Independent" Regulatory Commissions are independent because: a. b. C. d. they are bipartisan they take a special oath of a judicial nature pressure groups do not work on them and their rulings have the force of law their terms are longer than the President's and they may not be removed except for cause. 25th Amendment: makes the Speaker of the House second in the line of succession for the Presidency changes Presidential succession in case of death makes the Vice President "acting president" in case of disability makes the Supreme Court the judge of disability. 170 English 111 Using the picture on the screen as your subject write a SOD-word theme in which you tell why you would or would not (but not both) hang the picture in your room. Think before you write. Organize your ideas so that your theme has an introduction of the subject of the theme ,a development of that subject, and arrives at a conclusion. Do your thinking and organizing on a sheet of blank paper. After you have written your theme, proofread it for spelling errors, word usage, coherence of ideas, and sentence patterns. 171 English 111 Instructions: After you have read carefully E. M. Forster's essay, "My WOod," answer the following questions. The questions are grouped into two parts. The first group of questions deals with comprehending the essay in terms of its structure, diction, and style. The second group of questions asks for your response to the essay. You may refer to the essay as often as you want to answer the questions. I. Comprehending the Essay: 1. State the main idea of the essay in a single sentence. 2. List the ideas that E. M. Forster uses to support or develop his main idea. 3. How has Mr. Forster put together (organized) his essay? 172 Mr. Forster refers to both Biblical literature and to history to develop his ideas. Give an example of each type of reference. A. Biblical reference: B. Historical reference: What historical knowledge may it be necessary for the reader to possess before he can completely comprehend the essay? Give two samples from the essay where you think special historical knowledge is necessary. A. What words, phrases, and/or spelling that Forster uses reveal that he is an Englishman? Give at least two examples. What kind of an audience is Mr. Forster writing for? 173 II. Evaluating the Essay: 1. Do you agree with what Mr. Forster says in the essay? What precisely do you agree with and why? 2. Do you disagree with what Mr. Forster says in the essay? Do you disagree with everything he says or with just certain points which he makes? What evidence can you present to support your position if you disagree with Mr. Forster? 174 Pre-Test Pre-test--Speech 1. 5. Why would it be important for an audience to respond, in some way, to a speaker and his communication? Give one example of reasoning from general ideas to specific ideas. What problems might a discussion group encounter while attempting to prepare a discussion to present to an audience? What do you feel are some of the duties of the leader or chairman of a discussion group? What factors about an audience do you feel are important for the speaker to understand before he prepares his speech? 10. 175 What are some possible ways to lead into or begin a speech? What qualities do you feel make a good speaker? What ways could be used to create an atmosphere of competence or confidence on the part of the speaker? What makes a good visual aid? What factors would help a speaker in attempting to persuade others? 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 176 Other than organizing a speech according to a chronological (time) pattern, what other orders or types of organization would be possible? Why is it important for anyone to be able to com- petently evaluate another speaker? For what purposes are gestures used in speaking? What possible types of visual aids can be used in giving speeches? What could be some possible general purposes for giving persuasion speeches? 177 Post-test 1. Diagram the basic communication process from speaker to listener. 2. Give one example of deductive reasoning. 3. What are some of the elements of the "task environ- ment" in discussion work? 4. What are some of the duties of the leader or chair- man of a discussion group? Name at least four. 5. Why is audience analysis an important factor in the choosing of a speech topic? 178 TEST A Name and explain the three (3) patterns used to organize speeches. Why is competence as a speech critic important? For what purposes are gestures used? What are some of the types of visual aids which can be used in giving speeches? What are the possible types of persuasion speeches? 179 TEST C What is the purpose of an introduction and what are some of the types of introduction that are available? What should the speech critic look for when evaluating a speaker? Name at least four (4) qualities. What ways are suggested to create an atmosphere of competence on the part of the speaker? What are some of the requirements for producing good visual aids? Explain the importance of "source creditability" or ethos in the persuasion situation. APPENDIX C STUDENT EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTION APPENDIX C STUDENT EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTION 1-8 Faculty Name 10 Sex (Male = 0, Female = l) 9 Curriculum (Transfer = 0; Art = 1; Business = 2; Health = 3; Technology = 4; No preference = 5) ll, 12, 13 Cumulative Grade Point Average (If a beginning freshman, use X.) 14 I enrolled in this class because . . (it is required = 0; required but I would have taken it anyway = l; elective = 2) 15 Class (Freshman = l, Sophomore = 2, Other = 3) Each of the qualities listed below is divided into three sections. Each section is divided into three degrees and numbered accordingly from 1 to 9, with 1 being the highest rating and 9 being the lowest. In rating, draw a circle around the number which best describes your instructor. Your FAIR and HONEST opinion is what really counts. Your instructor desires your opinion for his own self-improvement. Students, through direct classroom experience, are in an excellent position to judgeaan instructor's teaching effectiveness. The information will in no way be identified with any student individually so be unbiased in your judgment. :r7 KNOWLEDGE OF 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 SUBJECT Knows it very well Is well informed Lacks background 18 ORGANIZATION 1 2 3 7 8 9 4 5 6 OF THE COURSE Carefully planned, Lacks planning, Fair organiZation well organized lacks organi— zation .19 TEACHING 7 8 9 4 5 6 l 2 3 SKILL Dry, uninteresting Routine, average Stimulating, interesting 20 INSTRUCTOR'S 4 5 6 l 2 3 7 8 9 ENTHUSIASM FOR Passively Genuinely inter- Uninterested SUBJECT interested ested, enthusi- astic 180 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 EXPLANATIONS, ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS ASSIGNMENTS ATTITUDE TOWARD STU- DENTS ATTITUDE TOWARD DIF- FERENCES OF OPINIONS EXAMINATION QUESTIONS METHOD OF GRADING SENSE OF HUMOR WILLINGNESS TO HELP STU- DENTS AND BE AVAILABLE FOR HELP POISE AND SELF-CON- FIDENCE ENJOYMENT OF COURSE RATING OF INSTRUCTOR AS COMPARED WITH OTHERS 7 8 9 -___ 181 4 5 Poor, confusing or questions ignored 6 1 2 3 Short, often con- Clear, concise fusing, partially answered 4 5 Not well thought out, hurriedly given 4 5 1 2 3 Clear, easily understood 7 8 9 Inconsiderate, sometimes rude Too often aloof or indifferent 7 8 9 Vague, confusing l 2 3 Considerate, not treated as a child 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 Tolerant, allows Tolerant but Recognizes no for differences sometimes opinions but biased his own 4 5 6 l 2 7 8 9 Only moderately Clear, usually Not clear, poorly reasonable easily under- phrased, often stood, fair not fair 7 8 9 4 S l 2 3 Unfair Usually fair Tries to be very fair and honest l 2 3 7 8 4 5 6 Keen sense of Seldom shows any Sometimes shows humor sense of humor sense of humor 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 Always tries to Usually willing Reluctant to help and be and available help, seldom available can be found 4 S 6 l 2 7 8 9 Sometimes con— Poised, self— Disorganized, fused assured confused l 2 3 7 8 4 5 6 Most enjoyable Dull Average 1 2 3 4 5 7 8 9 One of the best Average One of the poorest 182 ADDITIONAL SUGGESTIONS: What I especially liked about this class: Suggestions for improvement (of course or method of teaching): Additional comments: 183 STUDENT EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTION NUMBER OF WEEKS OF INSTRUCTION: 3, 6 In your own words answer the following: 32. Comment on your like or dislike of the project with respect to: (a) the subject matter (b) the instructor (c) the time of day (d) the intensity of the course 33. Comment on any aspect of the project other than those mentioned in #32 that has contributed to your enjoy- ment or dislike of this type of instruction. 34. If you had a choice, which of the following plans of study would you choose? Give reasons for your choice. (a) Take the courses one at a time with each course meeting 14-15 hours per week for about three weeks. (b) Take the courses two at a time with each course meeting 7-8 hours per week for about six weeks. (G) Take the courses four or five at a time with each course meeting 3 hours per week for the whole semester. Reasons : APPENDIX D INSTRUCTOR QUESTIONNAIRE APPENDIX D INSTRUCTOR QUESTIONNAIRE Which of the three treatments (3 week, 6 week, or 15 week) did you like the best? Why? The least? Why? Do you think certain courses or disciplines are better taught in 3 weeks? Which ones and why? In 6 weeks? In 15 weeks? What special characteristics must a student possess to do well in a three—week course? A six-week course? What special characteristics should the instructor possess to teach a course in three weeks? Six weeks? Do you feel that certain hours of the day (including breaks) are more conducive to success with the three and/or six-week courses? Which hours and why? How did you have to alter your teaching techniques for the three-week course? Six-week course? What do you see to be the advantages and disadvantages of teaching a course in three weeks? Six weeks? Fifteen weeks? Has your opinion of the effectiveness of the 3 and 6-week treatments changes from that held prior to the experiment? Why? Please answer any other question that should have. been asked. 184 ICHIGnNIsmTIE UNIV. LIBRARIES 1|lllW‘lllHll‘"IWWI“IIIWWIWIIWIHWI 31293102922238