The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of different types of curricula in transitional first-grade classrooms on a composite of achievement measures at the end of a year of instruction. In particular, the effects of a shared book experience approach to instruction were compared to more traditional instructional strategies.The subjects in the study were 50 students from central Indiana who were enrolled in four intact transitional classrooms. Two classrooms used "traditional" (TR) instructional strategies, a third used the Success (SC) curriculum, and the fourth used the shared book experience (SBE) approach. The Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R) and the Developmental Test of Visual-Motor Integration (VMI) were administered to the subjects prior to the onset of the study. Four subtests of the Comprehensive Test of Basic Skills (CTBS) were given to the subjects in late spring 1985.Multivariate analyses of covariance with a priori and computer determined weightings of the four CTBS subscales and the PPVT-R and VMI as covariates were conducted for three a priori contrasts. No significant differences between the two TR classrooms or between the TR and SC classrooms were obtained. There was also no significant difference between the SBE and the three other classes combined when the subscales were weighted equally. However, a significant difference was obtained on a dimension created to maximize the difference between these groups, F (4,41) = 2.62, p <.05.The groups were separated primarily on the basis of the vocabulary, oral comprehension, and language subscales of the CTBS with the SBE students scoring higher on oral comprehension and language subtests but lower on the vocabulary subtest than other students. Since the vocabulary scale loaded in the direction opposite to the other achievement measures, the dimension was difficult to explain. Although the results do not clearly support the SBE curriculum as superior in enhancing achievement in transitional students, this method of instruction promoted achievement at least as well as more traditional methods.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:BSU/oai:cardinalscholar.bsu.edu:handle/179183 |
| Date | January 1985 |
| Creators | Norris, Sarah Jane |
| Contributors | Treloar, James H. |
| Source Sets | Ball State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Format | vi, 223 leaves ; 28 cm. |
| Source | Virtual Press |
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