The Effectiveness of New Age Instruction
Document Type
Oral Presentation
Campus where you would like to present
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
Start Date
21-5-2015
End Date
21-5-2015
Keywords
Education, Technology, PHET
Abstract
The unprecedented increase of technology in the classroom has brought new modes of instruction that are yet to be determined as effective or ineffective. This project tests the effects of hands-on versus computer-simulated learning on content retention and critical thinking. We predicted that students would have higher content retention and critical thinking as a result of the hands-on lessons. We led students through one of two learning segments. In the first segment, half of the class studied circuits through a simulation, and half studied circuits through hands-on interaction. In the second segment, students switched to the opposite lesson style. In between each of these segments, students received an assessment to test their content retention and critical thinking gains. The lesson plan used was a 5E lesson plan model, where students are led through an inquiry process to explore concepts. During the first learning segment, students receiving the hands-on mode of instruction received higher scores than the PHET simulation by 15 percent. During the second learning segment, students receiving the hands-on mode of instruction saw a three percent increase compared to the PHET simulation group. While the results showed increased scores in hands-on instruction, the margins were not large enough to be a significant factor in test scores. Further refining and exploring the effectiveness of online simulations and, in particular, the effectiveness of the teacher delivering the mode of instruction is required to determine the effectiveness of new age technology.
Recommended Citation
Purcell, Brandon and Browne, Ashley, "The Effectiveness of New Age Instruction" (2015). Symposium Of University Research and Creative Expression (SOURCE). 126.
https://digitalcommons.cwu.edu/source/2015/posters/126
Poster Number
34
Department/Program
Science Education
Additional Mentoring Department
Science Education
The Effectiveness of New Age Instruction
SURC Ballroom B/C/D
The unprecedented increase of technology in the classroom has brought new modes of instruction that are yet to be determined as effective or ineffective. This project tests the effects of hands-on versus computer-simulated learning on content retention and critical thinking. We predicted that students would have higher content retention and critical thinking as a result of the hands-on lessons. We led students through one of two learning segments. In the first segment, half of the class studied circuits through a simulation, and half studied circuits through hands-on interaction. In the second segment, students switched to the opposite lesson style. In between each of these segments, students received an assessment to test their content retention and critical thinking gains. The lesson plan used was a 5E lesson plan model, where students are led through an inquiry process to explore concepts. During the first learning segment, students receiving the hands-on mode of instruction received higher scores than the PHET simulation by 15 percent. During the second learning segment, students receiving the hands-on mode of instruction saw a three percent increase compared to the PHET simulation group. While the results showed increased scores in hands-on instruction, the margins were not large enough to be a significant factor in test scores. Further refining and exploring the effectiveness of online simulations and, in particular, the effectiveness of the teacher delivering the mode of instruction is required to determine the effectiveness of new age technology.
Faculty Mentor(s)
Ian Quitadamo