The Influence of Four Instructional Components on Concept Acquisition

This study examined effects of five combinations of four instructional variables on student learning. Subjects were 168 graduate students ernolled in a course in educational research at Arizona State University, Tempe. The five versions of the instructional program used in this study were constructe...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author Smith, Patrick E
Format Report
LanguageEnglish
Published 1975
Subjects
Concept Formation
Conceptual Schemes
Experiential Learning
Feedback
Graduate Students
Learning Activities
Learning Processes
Research Projects
Teacher Education
Teaching Methods
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Summary:This study examined effects of five combinations of four instructional variables on student learning. Subjects were 168 graduate students ernolled in a course in educational research at Arizona State University, Tempe. The five versions of the instructional program used in this study were constructed from cues, examples, practice items, and feedback. Cues provided a definition of the concept to be acquired, and examples consisted of one positive and one negative instance of the concept class. Practice items presented the name of a concept class and four instances of the class for subjects to classify. Feedback combined instructional feedback and knowledge of correct response. Subjects were given a packet containing the instructional material appropriate to one of the experimental groups; after studying the material, the student was given a 60-item posttest. The study indicates that of the four instructional components investigated, practice and feedback contributed the most to subject acquisition of concepts presented. (MJM)
Bibliography:Paper presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Educational Research Association (Washington, D.C., 1975)