A New Format for ITV 1

RAY SKINNER, JR.

ITV AND THE LECTURE METHOD

Although instructional television has long passed out of its in- fancy, the pattern of television teaching has remained basically the same in many schools. ITV has usually been employed either as a replacement for the classroom teacher or as a medium to present enrichment material. In both eases, the television lec- turer has usually told, explained, and demonstrated the lesson using visuals in the same manner as the classroom teacher in the traditional setting. The result of this technique has been to restrict rather than to expand the function of both kinds of teaching and to fragment rather than to unify the total learn- ing experience. Because the classroom teacher is usually re- quired to follow up what the television lecturer has presented, he is placed in a subordinate role. At the same time, the television instructor has come to be stereotyped as an "expert." Television has therefore been justly described as a "talking textbook" (Frazier, :t96o ).

It is not surprising, then, that the majority of experiments designed to compare the effectiveness of classroom and television teaching using the lecture method have reported no significant differences (Schramm, z962). However, these findings should not be interpreted to mean that students learn equally well in either situation and therefore it doesn't matter whether or not television is used. This shallow conclusion can lead only to a ra-

1 This research was made possible in part by a grant from the U.S. Office of Education.

Ray Skinner, Jr. is an assistant professor of education at Ohio University.

VOL. 16, NO. 3, FALL x968 287

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USE OF TELEVISION

FOR SCIENCE

GENERAL PLAN OF

THE STUDY

tionalizafion for shortchanging children by giving them old- fashioned mediocre instruction via an up-to-the-minute medium. Using ITV in science has been suggested repeatedly since many aspects of the subject seem to lend themselves to effective and challenging television presentation. However, an obvious danger is turning over the total teaching of science to television, which was done in the early studies using the Harvey White physics films in Wisconsin and Kansas, and in Chicago, IlL (Watson, x963).

Banks (x964) also criticized television teaching of elementary science because he feels that it stifles the interest of students with authoritarian methods and mere fact accumulation. Accord- ing to him, there is not enough time for students to ask ques- tions, or the teacher must manipulate pupils' questions to fit the predetermined television format.

These drawbacks can be avoided. A scheme might be devised for using television in a system which would guide students toward understanding important scientific principles while allow- ing opportunity for mind stretching. One possible new approach in this direction would be to apply a "discovery" method utiliz- ing both television and classroom teaching. Instead of supplying information, the television teacher would initiate inquiry by pos- ing problems and asking questions. The classroom teacher then could pursue the investigation through guided questioning or discussion.

According to Kersh and Wittrock (~962) the discovery method gives more opportunity to acquire problem-solving skills. They observed that as assistance from the teacher increased, opportu- nities for discovery decreased. Thus, an heuristic approach by the television teacher or the classroom teacher may lead to greater achievement and interest in science.

Besides being a more effective method of teaching, the dis- covery method is structured to encourage a great variety of re- sponses. Consequently, within such a program it is important to use a measure of interest in addition to the usual achieve- ment tests normally employed. This is especially true in a sub- ject such as science in which curiosity and individual initiative seem so important. In an effort to explore the effect of using a discovery approach on television to improve science instruction in the elementary school the following study was carried out. As a major part of a science

A NEW FORMAT ]FOR ITV : 2 8 9

unit on geology, eight television lessons utilizing two formats were produced and presented to 888 pupils in 35 fifth grade classes of a large suburban, public school system. One television format (unanswered questions) presented a science problem and posed many questions which were not answered directly by the television teacher. Very little explanation was included in this version. The intended purpose of these segments was to arouse curiosity and to motivate the pursuance of the answers to the problems and questions. Since the viewers were not told anything directly, this approach aspired to an heuristic procedure.

The other format (direct explanation) presented the same real science problem, but the explanation was direct and straightfor- ward. Very few questions were asked; the approach was exposi- tory and attempted to follow the usual format of instructional television. The same demonstrations, film clips, models, slides, specimens, superimposed words, and other visual aids were employed in both formats of the same lesson.

Approximately half of the classes were shown the un- answered-questions television tapes, and the other half were shown the direct-explanation version. Each half was further di- vided into two groups that received different classroom teacher follow-up. These follow-ups consisted of modified "inquiry ses- sions" and "typical discussions." The inquiry sessions were modi- fied from those described by Suchman (i958) in which the stu- dents asked questions that could be answered "yes" or "no" by the teacher. The students attempted to formulate theories or hy- potheses to explain the science problem that was presented on television.

Two lessons were televised each week for four weeks. Each les- son was followed by a 2o-minute discussion or by a modified in- quiry session. On the following day, time was provided for pupils in all classes to report what they had done outside of class to pur- sue the activities suggested during the lesson. Prior to each tele- vision lesson, all teachers were provided a teacher's guide de- scribing the content of the lesson and suggesting activities for the children. Teachers were also given an opportunity to preview all lessons before they were shown to the children.

Before and after the experimental period, two criterion instru- ments were administered to all of the fifth grade pupils involved in the study. To assess achievement, a 46-item, multiple- choice test covering the content of the instructional unit was con-

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Science Achievement

structed by the investigator. And to measure interest in science, a Science Activities Checklist modified from the Reed Interest Inventory (~96~) was used. Pupils were asked to check the num- ber of times that they had clone each of 48 science activities in the six weeks prior to the treatment period on the pretest. On the posttest they were asked to respond similarly for the six weeks embracing the treatment period.

Data obtained from the pre- and posttests of science achieve- ment and interest in science were analyzed in a 4 x z (treatment x sex) analysis of covariance design. Differences in I.Q. and pretest scores were used as covariants. An anaIysis of covariance of postachievement scores was com- puted to adjust for pretest scores. The results are presented in Table 2. No significant difference in achievement between boys and girls and no significant interaction was observed. Signifi- cant differences between treatment groups, however, were ob- tained.

TABLE ~. Source Original Adjusted Summary of df SS df SS MS F Analysis o[

Covariance of Between Unweighted treatments 3 12.20 3 6.53 2.18 9.14'

Means of Scores Between sex 1 .01 1 .03 .01 .04 Interaction 3 1.00 3 .42 .14 .58

o n Postachievement Within 880 325.91 879 209.74 .24 - -

Test, (Adjusted for Scores on

Preachievement Test)

Using preachievement test scores as covariants, the adjusted postachievement test means are graphically displayed in Fig- ure 2. Scheff6's technique was used to contrast the differences in adjusted means of the treatment groups. A confidence interval at the .o 5 level was determined for each combination of adjusted means. No significant differences were found between groups

and 3 (pupils who had viewed "unanswered questions" on tele- vision across both types of follow-up) or between groups z and 4 (pupils who had received "direct explanation" on television across both types of follow-up). However, pupils in groups 1 and 3 dem- onstrated significantly greater achievement than pupils in groups z and 4. Within the limits of this study, therefore, the evidence

A NEW FORMAT FOR ITV : 2 9 1

FIGURE I Adjusted Means of

Postachievement Test by

Treatment and Sex, (Adjusted

[or Preachievement

Means)

24

23

?.2

c 21

o

e 20

s

19

Girls \

\\\

/,,

I I I I ,l I 2 3 4

Treatment Groups

Interest in Science

indicates that pupils who received "unanswered questions" on television, regardless of type of follow-up, did achieve signif- cantly better than pupils who received "direct explanation" on television. Means and standard deviations of pre- and postinterest test scores revealed that the boys reported doing more science activi- ties during and prior to the treatment period than the girls. However, the girls gained on the boys during the treatment. An analysis of covariance, using preinterest test scores as covariants, was computed on the postinterest test scores. The results are presented in Table 2. The adjusted postinterest test means are

WABLE 2 Source Original Adjusted Summary of df SS df SS MS F

Analysis Between of Covariance

of Unweighted Means of Scores

on Postinterest Test, {Adjusted

treatments 3 17.70 3 1.14 .38 .13 Between sex 1 78.88 1 .15 .15 .05 Interaction 3 20.02 3 6.44 2.15 .74 Within 880 5,593.69 879 2,556.59 2.91 - -

for Scores on Preinterest Test)

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FIGURE 2

Adjusted Means of

Postinterest Test by

Treatment and Sex

(Adjusted for Preinterest

Test Means)

54

53

52

S o

51 o r e

50 S

49

A / x

%

Girls ~ / V %%%%

I I I I I I 2 ~ 4

Trea~ent Groups

DISCUSSION

displayed graphically in Figure z. No significant differences in interest between treatments, between boys and girls, and for interaction were observed. The concept of instructional television as a medium for direct presentations to pupils is challenged by the results of this study. The findings seem to support a serious examination of a different role for television in instructional situations. A more heuristic approach in which "unanswered questions" were used in the television format seems to be responsible for an increase in pupil achievement.

One factor operative in the study may have been the reac- tion of the pupils themselves. Possibly the unanswered-questions version of the lesson aroused interest in finding out more about the topics in the unit. This indirect approach to teaching may have stimulated pupils to want to discover answers on their own. The lessons never attempted to present factual data or to draw conclusions about problems. They were designed to evoke silent participation from the pupils as they reacted to the questions presented by the television teacher. In addition, the students may have paid greater attention to the lessons. By being con- fronted with the necessity of thinking toward solutions and solv-

A NEW FORMAT FOR ITV : 2 9 3

ing problems--or in merely being puzzled by something-- rather than being given an inventory of conclusions, pupils may have manifested greater achievement in science.

REFERENCES Banks, W. H. No time for questions in teaching elementary science by television. Elementary School ]ournal, 2964, 42, 23+.

Cooley, W. W. & Reed, H. B. The measurement of science interests: An operational and multidimensional approach. Science Educa- tion, �9 96~, 45, 32o-326.

Frazier, A. We need more than talking texbooks. Opportunities for learning: Guidelines for television. Washington, D.C.: National Education Association, 196o.

Kersh, B. Y. & Wittrock, M. C. Learning by discovery: An interpre- tation of recent research. ]ournal of Teacher Education, I962, I3, 461-468.

Schramm, W. Learning from instructional television. Review of Educa- tional Research, 1962, 32, I56-I67.

Suchman, J. R. The elementary school training program in scientific inquiry. U.S. Department of Health, Education, and Welfare, Office of Education, Cooperative Research Project No. 2~6. Urbana, Ill.: University of Illinois, I958.

Watson, F. Research on teaching science. In N. L. Gage (Ed.), Hand- book of research on teaching. Chicago: Rand McNaUy, I963.