The primary purpose of this study was to determine the effects of the function served by a cartoon character, or its absense, within a printed text on learning the rules required to find a word and its definition in the dictionary. The two types of functions examined included one in which the character actually demonstrated the skill taught (modeling), and a second, where the character's function was to motivate the students' interest in the materials (motivational). This variable was also examined in relationship to its effect on learner attitudes. Participants were 99 fourth-grade students. One week after pretesting, they worked through self-instructional print materials on dictionary skills. Two criterion-referenced multiple choice posttests (immediate and delayed) were utilized to collect performance data. A questionnaire assessing attitudes towards the materials, dictionary skills and cartoons was also utilized. Data were also collected on the amount of time learners spent working through the instructional materials. In addition, a behavioral assessment, in which learners chose their preferred treatment, was utilized with a subsample of 26 students. A one-way ANCOVA, with pretest scores serving as the covariate, yielded no significant main effects of the treatments on immediate or delayed posttest performance. Futhermore, chi square analyses indicated no significant differences among treatment groups on their responses to attitudinal items. However, the subsample tested indicated a strong preference for the motivational treatment. A one-way ANCOVA reflected no differences among treatment groups in the amount of time spent on the instructional materials. Possible explanations for the results in relationship to rule-learning include: failure to provide sufficient cues to attend to model, insufficient instructional time for students to identify with the / model, and/or the type of model and medium utilized. Lack of differences in participant attitudes may be attributed to: insufficient time to change attitudes, the combination of the method used to design the instructional materials and the type of performance assessment utilized, and/or the type of attitude assessment used. Another possible explanation in relationship to both participant performance and attitudes is that the hypotheses stated were false and, in fact, there were no differences among treatments on these variables. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 44-07, Section: A, page: 2123. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1983.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_75120 |
| Contributors | FEUERSTEIN, PAULA NADINE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 220 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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