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The interaction of learners' spatial ability aptitudes with filmic schematic operations

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The interaction of learners' spatial ability aptitudes with filmic schematic operations

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Content THE INTERACTION OF LEARNERS' SPATIAL ABILITY APTITUDES WITH FILMIC SCHEMATIC OPERATIONS by Jere Dixon Mclnerney A Dissertation Presented to the FACULTY OF THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY (Education) December 1985 UMI Number: DP25062 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. DissertïliDn Publishing UMI DP25062 Published by ProQuest LLC (2014). Copyright in the Dissertation held by the Author. Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 48106- 1346 UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CAUFORNIA THE GRADUATE SCHOOL UNIVERSITY PARK LOS ANGELES, CAUFORNIA 90089 £ iS L'lL M/-« we. y This dissertation, written by ............. D . J ^ ç J î î . ç x n e J î ........ under the direction of h^v. Dissertation Committee, and approved by all its members, has been presented to and accepted by The Graduate School, in partial fulfillment of re quirements for the degree of DO CTO R OF PH ILO SO PH Y Dean D a te D e c ^ b e r , , 5 ^ , 1 9 8 5 DISSERTATION COMMITTEE Chairperson DEDICATION Nothing we do is done in isolation. I owe special thanks to my friends and colleagues for their never ending encouragement to my parents, without whose assistance this would not have been possible and especially to my son, Patrick, who is a source of constant support, inspiration, and love. 11 TABLE OF CONTENTS Page Section I. PROBLEM, A. Introduction B. Background of the Problem C. Statement of the Problem D. Objectives E. Hypothesis to be Tested F. Definitions of Terms Used G. Organization of the Research II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE................ 11 A. Spatial Ability ; B. Interactive Effects of Aptitude and Instruction ' C. Using Media's Symbol Systems to Cultivate Mental Skills III. PROCEDURE.......................... 26 A. Introduction B. Experimental Design C. Research Hypothesis D. Selection of Materials E. The Measurement Instrument F. The Study G. Treatment of the Data IV. RESULTS........... 33 I ! A. Analysis of the Research Hypothesis I B. Analysis of the Null Hypothesis j V. SUMMARY................................... 39 A. Conclusions and Recommendations 111 - I Section Page ' REFERENCES.......................................... 49 APPENDIX................. 55 IV LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1 Means Pretest Scores of Two Groups. . . 34 2 Analysis of Variance Examining the Impact of Visualization Treatments and Ability Grouping on Mental Rotations Test. ........................ 36 3 Mean Scores on Mental Rotation Test for the Four Groups and the Two Levels of Ability ............... 37 I. PROBLEM Improved preparation of all citizens in the fields of mathematics, science, and technology is essential to the development and maintenance of our Nation's economic strength, military security, commitment to the democratic ideal of an informed and participating citizenry, and leadership in mathematics, science and technology (Coleman & Selby, 1983). A. Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------------- I 1 Over the past thirty years, much research has been done on questions dealing with the media of instruction. Can media teach? If so, can they teach as well as a ; teacher? Is one medium more effective than others? , (Schramm, 1977). Most research has addressed the question! I I of the ability of television to teach (Jamison, Suppes & Wells, 1974). There have also been research attempts to I demonstrate the advantages of one medium over another i (Anderson & Bryant, 1983). Other questions, which studies' I I address, concern attitude, instructional goals and design I I techniques. The most apparent problem in these studies is| the multitude of variables that are being tested | (Barbatsis, 1978). 1 1 I - 1 Along with the question of the ability of media to teach, most studies measure knowledge of content and retention of content as the dependent variable (Schramm, 1977). This approach is an overall emphasis on knowledge as opposed to skill or ability acquisition. However, in a majority of instructional situations, it seems that students should not only accumulate factual knowledge but also adequate learning strategies for a whole class of similar information (Heidt, 1976). Bruner (1973) states that the balance of knowledge ■ and skills and the combination of experiences used to teach them is a debate long overdue in education. Perhaps, we are missing the point. Have we been looking at what I the media do as opposed to what they can be made to do? Salomon (1979) makes this point in the preface to his book on media, cognition, and learning. He states that one of the considerations that influenced him in j writing the book was the distinction between "what symbol | I systems can be made to affect and what they typically effect. This distinction is critical because not everything an educator can achieve by realizing potential attributes of symbol systems is necessarily achieved 'naturally'. Since the skill-cultivating potential of media's symbol systems has largely been overlooked, it has never been realized. Much of what we know about media concerns only their typical effects (usually as conveyors 2 of content), but this tells us little about how they can be made to serve education better." Are we using alternative educational means to old ends? The crucial issue for instruction, then becomes one of deciding which skill one wishes to cultivate. One of those skills, visualizing spatial relations in two or three dimensions, is becoming increasingly important in i this technological age. Reports show that there is growing awareness that mathematics is primarily concerned with spatial, geometrical or configurational concepts. j Evidence from many sources support the hypothesis that j spatial ability is important for success in mathematics, especially at the advanced levels (Smith, 1964). ! McGee (1979) discusses the social relevance and importance of spatial visualization and orientation and shows it to be more highly correlated in a number of technical, vocational, and occupational domains than verbal ability. However, it seems to have been largely j overlooked in the public schools and there has been littlej attempt to cultivate it (Smith, 1964). j There are, undoubtedly, reasons for this, one of which may be the differences of opinion on questions concerning spatial ability and the absence of widely j accepted definitions. However, there is logical evidence | that there is relationship between mathematics and spatial I i visualization. i Fennema and Sherman (1977) point out that in mathematical terms, spatial visualization requires rotation, reflection or translation of rigid figures and that many mathematicians believe that all mathematical thought involves geometrical ideas. The fact that the I evidence from empirical studies is inconsistent, leaves i open the possibility for more study in the field of spatial ability. In this study, a specific filmic coding element which : I i supplants a mental process in the learner will be studied | to determine how that element affects the abilities of I those who are exposed to it. How do the actions shown by a medium affect the learner? Do individual differences in learners' abilities before exposure to the medium i determine differential effects? I I I j B. Background of the Problem "First, we must upgrade considerably our definition of basic skills...reading competencies, writing ! ; I ( competencies, speaking and listening competencies, j mathematical competencies, scientific competencies, , I I i reasoning competencies, basic employment competencies, | i economic competencies, and computer literacy competencies"! i ! I (Hunt, 1983). This is just one of the many statements i that have appeared recently in more than thirty reports on the condition of education and the need for reforms. I 4 — 1 Many of the reports agree that schools need to teach more of what is important and that the tools of instruction need to be improved to teach what needs to be learned (Spady, 1984). The National Science Board Commission reports that top priority must be placed on providing more effective instruction in mathematics, | science, and technology in grades K-6* The Commission also states that some components in the traditional secondary school mathematics curriculum need to be I assessed with the possibility of integrating aspects of geometry over several years (Coleman & Selby, 1983). I In "A Nation At Risk", Gardner (1983) suggests, "New instructional materials should reflect the most current applications of technology in appropriate areas, the best ! scholarship in each discipline, and research in learning • i I and teaching". The issue of what should be taught in j I elementary and secondary schools to prepare students for i an uncertain future of rapid changes is of concern to educators as well as citizens. | ; I ^ According to Snow (1970), much of cognitive j psychology's focus in this century has been concentrated I on the power of verbal processes and there are now communication media which need to be addressed which offer j new opportunities for research in cognitive psychology. ! I ' Salomon (1979) states that the presentation of certain | I I » \ j media and their symbol systems may relate to modes of | L _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ ' J representation in thought and to the acquisition of knowledge. In this time of concern about the curriculum and methods of instruction, there is a need to investigate whether a cognitive skill can be taught with this communication media. I The essential differences between media are the ways i they structure and convey content. There is a need to distinguish between the message content and the code, formats, and methods that are used as message vehicles. Knowledge and skill acquisition depend on the interaction ' between the nature of the skills called into play and i initial mastery by the learners (Salomon, 1970). Schramm/ Lyle, and Parker (1961) suggest that the most helpful | basic question would be the difference between learning from the linear, digital, symbolic patterns of print and i spoken word and the simultaneous, iconic, observational patterns of the visual media. Television and sound film j can make use of all three codes, iconic, digital and I analogue, but their chief distinctiveness is their ability] to present iconic information. | The basic question seems to be what kinds of ; psychological functions different modes of presentation j can accomplish. A real understanding of the instructional! i value of media can be achieved only if we have some j understanding of the effects of this or that element on | certain mental activity under particular conditions e l J (Salomon, 1970). According to Salomon and Snow (1968), ' the use of a certain mode of presentation will have a significant effect on the learner only if it arouses or supplants a mental process which is relevant to the learning task. , Supplanting a mental process means to execute it explicitly for the learner (Salomon, 1970). That is, showing overtly that which the learner has to do covertlyi to understand the process. Some media can show how things look and how they change; therefore, they supplant the iconic processes. The function of supplanting mental processes seems to relevant to the psychological functions of instructional media (Salomon, 1970). Individual differences with respect to learning are , evident in a wide range of instructional situations. | Educators continually come up with new instructional treatments hoping for improved results. They not only , seek the best method of instruction for a given purpose but they also search for ways to fit the instruction to each kind of learner (Cronbach & Snow, 1981). The true purpose behind aptitude-treatment interaction (ATI) research, that is, identifying different treatments that can facilitate learning for different types of individuals so that students may be differentially assigned to alternative instructional treatments based on empirical | evidence, is aimed toward this goal (Salomon, 1972). j 7 i I L__ C. statement of the Problem "At the secondary level, there is a need to examine the content, emphasis, and approaches of courses in algebra, geometry, precalculus methods and trigonometry. Some components in the traditional secondary school mathematics curriculum have little importance in the light, of new technologies (Coleman & Selby, 1983). Students are| not being taught the cognitive skills necessary for the ! I future technological society. I i D. Objectives | i The purpose of this study is to investigate the j potential improvement of a specific cognitive skill by j viewing a symbolic representation of the skill. E. Hypothesis to be Tested The hypothesis is that the level of students' initial spatial visualization ability interacts with the method of instruction in such a way that those students with lesser ability improve more with a treatment that supplants the mental process of rotating objects in space and that those students with a higher degree of initial ability experience interference with a treatment that supplants the mental activity as measured by a posttest. .8- This study is essentially a replication of a study conducted by Salomon (1979) designed to test the hypothesis that skill-improvements can be observed with the coding element of change of points of view that occurs by the movement of a camera around an object or by the I rotation of an object in front of the camera. | i I F. Definitions of Terms Used i I I The following definitions are offered to maintain a ! commonality of perceptions of terms: ^ Symbol System: in media, "modes of appearance" consisting of sets of elements that are interrelated } ! within each system by syntax and are used in specifiable | ways in relation to fields of reference (Salomon, 1979). j Spatial Ability: the ability to generate, retain and. manipulate visual images (Lohman, 1979b). j Modeling Condition: overt supplantation of an operation that can allow the learner to internalize the operation itself, as it simulates a needed operation the learner has not yet mastered (Salomon, 1979). Short-circuiting Condition: assumes prior mastery of a skill as it circumvents the need to apply the skill (Salomon, 1979). I i Activation Condition: cultivates skill mastery and j requires the prior existence of some reasonable mastery of ; the skill (Salomon, 1979). L_________________________ _ . G. Organization of the Research The remainder of the study will be organized in the following manner: Chapter II reviews the body of literature that deals directly with teaching cognitive skills, the relation with media, and the effects of aptitudes and training on spatial task performance. Chapter III explains the research design and administration of the study in detail. Chapter IV presents the data and analysis of the j data. ' Chapter V presents a summary of the complete study as well as conclusions and recommendations. loj II. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE Spatial ability may be defined as the ability to j generate, retain and transform abstract visual images ; (Lohman, 1979b). Since spatial ability predicts success in some forms of problem solving and in occupations requiring certain technical and artistic skills; in engineering, mathematics, architecture, and dentistry ; courses ; and in airplane piloting (Cronbach, 1970; Smith, 1964) and since the National Science Board Commission has j recommended that top priority be placed on providing increased and more effective instruction in mathematics, science, and technology (Coleman & Selby, 1983); it is time to take a look at developing spatial ability in students. Individual differences in spatial aptitude may interact with some instructional treatments designed to improve skills in spatial tasks (Cronbach & Snow, 1981; Snow, 1977). If interactions exist then media may be designed and produced which are less vulnerable to individual differences or which use different strategies for different aptitudes. The degree to which médias* symbol systems can be made to cultivate certain cognitive 11 skills depends on the learner's aptitude and initial skill mastery (Salomon, 1979). For purposes of this study, the related research and literature will focus on the following areas: 1• Spatial ability defined and its relationship to other skills. 2. Interactive effect of ability as it relates to instruction. 3. Media's symbol systems as they can be made to ‘ 1 cultivate specific mental skills. | A. Spatial Ability Although there is still no consensus on the ' definition of spatial ability or on the relation it has to^ other subjects and abilities, it is apparent that far from' being unimportant educationally, spatial abilities are necessary for the study of most practical and technical j subjects as well as the advanced branches of mathematics, j physics and engineering (Smith, 1964). The critical j factor in tests of spatial ability is being able to grasp, as a whole, the configurational aspects of a pattern, i.e. to visualize, hold in mind, and perform operations with patterns perceived as integrated wholes (Smith, I 1964). In a study done by McDaniel and Guay (1976), the | findings suggest that there may be value in following this, notion. | 12 As far as the importance of spatial ability educationally. Smith (1964) states that high spatial ability is essential in most scientific and technological occupations and that, for these occupations, as well as the studies of mathematics, physics and engineering, verbal tests do not measure the appropriate abilities at t all. Eight studies conducted by Rosser (1980) were undertaken to discover and describe aspects of spatial competence in children because of the general recognition ! of the importance of mathematics ability, and the close I relationship between mathematics ability and spatial ability. The studies examined the relationship of the acquisition of spatial concepts to age and sex. Although no significant sex differences were detected, the major developmental trend across studies, indexed by the age | ! factor, appeared to be a fairly linear quantitative growthi pattern. There have been an increasing number of studies which have attempted to link spatial ability with mathematical learning but few clear relationships have been found. This may be because of the lack of a clear definition of ; I spatial ability. Egan (1979) states that this leads to I serious doubts about the validity of the tests which are said to measure these qualities. However, this has not prevented researchers from using the ideas of spatial 1 3 ability in the formulation of hypotheses which could have profound implications for mathematics education. McCallum, Smith and Eliot (1979) have concluded that a g/k factor which shows little relationship to language comprehension is the single most important component of mathematical ability. Julia Sherman (1978) includes spatial variables in studies which investigate the performance of girls in mathematics. The whole notion of sex differences in spatial ability which has been accepted in the past and which concluded that males are superior to females has recently been questioned. Spatial abilities have relevance for specific mathematical content areas like geometry (Bennett, Seashore, & Wesman, 1974) and perhaps even calculus (Eisenberg & McGinty, 1977). Investigators have observed a close correspondence between the point at which; traditional Euclidean geometry is offered and the large drop-off of females in mathematics courses (Fennema, 1977). However, as Sherman (1978) points out, the literature shows that sex differences in mathematics and spatial ability is debated. It would seem that if it is difficult to describe the nature of spatial ability in terms of psychological process variables (Lohman, 1979a, 1979b). If the differences sex-wise show up mainly in post adolescent subjects and not in pre-adolescent subjects (Fairweather, 14 1976; McGee, 1979), attributing individual differences in ] spatial ability to sex is unjustified. Piaget and Inhelder (1967) investigated whether a person's ability to think about space develops in well- defined stages, from topological beginnings through projective and Euclidean stages, to a stage of maturity ' which is typically reached during early adolescence. They emphasized that only when representational thinking has ^ been fully developed, so that mental images can be internally manipulated, is an individual spatially ^ mature. It is important to note that children who are spatially mature can construct, mentally, three- dimensional coordinate systems and work with ! transformations of figures. There is, however, no ^ evidence of agreement in the literature. Data from i I I several sources (Kapadia, 1974; Martin, 1976; Kidder, I I 1976) disprove what constitutes mature spatial ability and’ how that ability develops. According to Lohman (1979b), spatial relations is j defined by performance on tasks requiring subjects to | rotate figures or objects mentally, and probably represents both the ability to solve the problems correctly as well as the amount of time a person takes to j carry out the necessary mental rotations. ; 15 Guay, McDaniel and Angelo (1978) argue that gestalt processing, which is characterized by the formation and transformation of mental visual images as organized wholes is the essence of true spatial ability, and that many well established pencil and paper tests of spatial visualization and orientation require only minimal amounts of gestalt processing but large amounts of analytic I processing, i Lohman (1979a) identifies three major factors in ; spatial abilities. He calls the first factor spatial j relations. It is defined by such group tests as Card, Flags, and Figures (Thurstone, 1938) and the experimental tasks of Shepard and Metzler (1971). The common element i in these tests is alleged to be the mental rotation of a , visual stimulus. The other two factors are spatial i orientation and visualization. Other researchers (McGee, 1979; Eliot & Hauptman, 1981) agree that careful review of, i the factor analytic literature strongly points to the j existence of two or three spatial factors. McGee (1979) 1 states that there is vast disagreement about the classification of standard tasks of spatial abilities and Fairweather (1976) states that the term spatial refers to j a collection of skills, and therefore, it is difficult to I report any generalizations from the vast amount of ! research that has been reported. ' 1 6 L As Snow (1978) points out, a clearer understanding of the role of spatial ability in learning from instruction can be obtained from further research detailing the information processing demands placed on individuals in situations and relating these to an improved, process understanding of spatial ability. B. Interactive Effects of Aptitude and Instruction "The educator continually devises and applies new ! instructional treatments, hoping for improved results. He seeks the best method of instruction for a given purpose. Since learners differ, the search for generally superior methods should be supplemented by a search for ways to fit the instruction to each kind of learner. One can expect I interactions between learner characteristics and instructional method. Where these exist, the | instructional approach that is best on the average is not i best for all persons." So state Cronbach and Snow (1981) I in their perspective on aptitude and instruction. In the educational context this search, to find the best instructional method for each student, is at the heart of I teachers who intuitively look for ways to reach individual youngsters. j In the methodological context, Cronbach and Snow I (1981) explain that the scientific problem is to find | 17 J interactions of individual differences with certain instructional treatments. This combines both experimental and correlational research. When one treatment has one effect on one kind of student and a different effect on another, an interaction is said to be present. In a study reported by Kyllonen, Lohman, and Snow (1984), strategy training and performance feedback treatments were successful in improving performance on spatial visualization tasks for which training was i specifically designed and also on a transfer task. The j effect of a treatment was shown to depend substantially on the aptitude profile of the learner. Subjects with high aptitude performed best with a treatment in which they practiced items and received feedback and worse with treatments that provided explicit alternative strategies. This finding adds further support to the hypothesis that the best treatment for those who have demonstrated a high , I level of proficiency in a particular domain is the one | that provides the opportunity to sharpen already I I well-developed idiosyncratic strategies and skills through; i practice and feedback, rather than imposing alternative I strategies. For such able students the modeling treatments may even have interfered. In an earlier study by Salomon (1974b), two major ; ! hypotheses were tested in three experiments. The second | hypothesis was that learners with low, relevant aptitude 18 scores profit more from films which model for them schematic operations to be internalized than do high-aptitude learners. It was concluded that filmic modeling of schematic operations can lead to their internalization, thereby improving the ability of low scorers to use the operations as covert mental skills. ; Aptitude-treatment interactions emerged in all three i experiments as expected. It was thought that more | skillful learners would experience interference and demonstrate depressed performance. Threadgill-Sowder and Julifs (1980) suggest that ' high-aptitude students experience interference when given I treatments which provide them with mediators they can ' provide on their own. Whereas low-aptitude students benefit when mediators they are lacking are provided overtly. In an article reviewing progress toward the I development of a cognitive theory of aptitude for learning! i and presenting descriptive and prescriptive goals for I aptitude theories. Snow and Lohman (1984) conclude that , high-G learners do especially well under instruction that j is significantly incomplete, because it demands and I affords opportunities for the idiosyncratic exercise and | elaboration of such organization— the active retrieval and adaptation of old assemblies and particularly, the invention of new assemblies. Direct instruction that 19 L attempts to be detailed and complete in its explication of common assemblies inhibits or interferes with high-G students not so much because it does not fit the components they have, but because it does not fit the personal organizations of components they have, or want to produce and exercise. Attempts to train particular abilities and skills can help students low in these abilities and skills but can hurt students already ^ somewhat accomplished in them. : I Heidt (1976) proposes a similar hypothesis. The | learner with a low degree of spatial visualization ability needs comprehensive external simulation of the visual transformation required. The learner with a high degree of visualization ability benefits most from a low amount of supplantation. One of the hypotheses that Salomon (1979) set out to . I test in four experiments was that coding elements that ’ activate skills, facilitate skil1-mastery in already skillful learners; coding elements that short-circuit skills have little cultivating effects; and coding j i elements that overtly model skills facilitate j skill-mastery in initially unskilled learners. The j I results showed that two types of coding elements can be made to affect skill-mastery. As expected, activation of a skill benefitted the learner with some initially fair j mastery of it, whereas modeling benefitted the less 20 skillful learner who was not able to carry on the process from its initial state. The modeled operation supplanted its mental counterpart and interfered with the application of the learner who had internalized the skill. In a study by Rovet (1976) using film to teach mental rotations, the more a treatment provided information about' rotations the greater its benefit for less competent j children. The result suggested that the effects of ! training are most beneficial for the initially less I ; I competent subjects, the children who needed the ! ' information about rotations to alter their performance. | C. Using Media's Symbol Systems to Cultivate Mental Skills The better a symbol system conveys the critical features of an idea or event, the more appropriate it is. | Salomon (1974a) goes on to state that the critical j features of an event change, depending on the goal, that is, on the new differentiations the learner is expected to* ' I learn. Therefore, the ability of a medium to convey | I specific information is not entirely an attribute of the | I medium. The nature of the task, as well as the skills and knowledge of the receiver, play an important part. There 1 I ' must be a match. Bruner and Olson (1973) state that learning through I i media most readily substitutes for direct experience in L. 21J formal schooling. One of the more transparent instructional approaches is that of modeling or providing demonstrations. Observational learning is realized through the provision of a model. This can be done through visual media. They argue that teaching by media is important not only for the knowledge that is taught but' also because "the medium of instruction, the form of i experience from which the knowledge is gleaned, has important consequences on the kinds of intellectual skills children develop" (p. 226). I According to Salomon (1974a), media are composed of three major components: symbol systems, messages, and technologies of transmission. Of these, the symbol systems are most important in information extraction and processing. The processes affect the acquisition of some particular content. However, the common and peculiar effects of media have relevance only when they match the specific educational objectives to be attained by ! particular learners. This four-way interaction between I medium, message, task, and learner enables media to accomplish two superordinate functions; informing and developing mental skills. These two basic functions may be further differentiated to indicate five types of uses , in education. ' 1. Media as coding systems whose uses have specific i cognitive effects while the information is transmitted. i 2 2 I 2. Media used to short-circuit specific mental operations for better acquisition of information. 3. Media used to arouse or activate specific mental operations deemed relevant to the task, when then can be developed. 4. Media as sources of coding systems to be internalized and schematically used as mental tools. 5. Media to teach coding systems so that learners will be better able to extract information from media and to handle new domains of content. Developing mental skills justifies the use of the medium not only because it can be made to represent the information desired but also because its code is isomorphic in some way to the learners* symbolic mode of thinking. The ways in which the information-processing skills are affected and the quality of the processes that are affected must be of primary importance in the choice of any medium. Olson (1976) suggests that media be used to enhance j cognitive processing strategies with visual displays. Schramm (1977) points out that knowledge and values are , not the only learning outcomes of television. Viewers ! also learn skills. Sometimes the learning of motor skillsj is intentional or, as an experiment in El Salvador showed,I the acquisition of skills are unintended and unexpected. When given general ability tests, the television groups ini 23 El Salvador gained steadily in general ability throughout their time in school, and significantly more than the non-television groups. Most of the difference was in performance on the non-verbal parts of the test, the parts that used drawings to test analogies and diagrams to illustrate process. Schramm concluded that even though j the television students were not learning much more verbal- cognitive information, they were learning the skills of processing iconic information. In an experimental study by Rovet (1976) dealing with the visualization of rotations in space, subjects saw a j film that overtly supplanted the process of rotating cubes in space, saw stationary slides and had to execute the rotations in their imaginations or manually rotated actual solid cubes. The results showed that audiovisual media can facilitate the development of cognitive skills in children. The children's ability to rotate images internally was facilitated by viewing external representations of objects rotating in space and such facilitations were comparable to the facilitations from direct active experience. Salomon (1979) summarizes four experiments using films to cultivate mental skills and suggests that at least three kinds of covert skills— singling out details, visualization, and changing points of view— can be affected by filmic coding elements. The results show that 24 two types of coding elements can be made to affect skill-mastery. Salomon makes the claim "that in contra-distinction to the instructional roles usually assigned to the medium of film, its symbol system can be made to affect cognition, and thus film offers new ends for its educational utilization." I i 25 I I _ —I III. PROCEDURE I I A. Introduction This study is essentially a replication of studies conducted by Gavriel Salomon (1979) which were designed to investigate the impact of films which had been designed to' cultivate mental skills. The films that were used as treatments in this study were produced by the researcher and had as the main element the change in points of view that occurs by the rotation of an object in front of the ' I camera. Three films were produced, each presenting a | different condition of the treatment. | The population used in the Salomon study was seventy-two second-graders, equally divided between boys i I and girls, and randomly assigned to four groups. The i population used in this study was high school age | students. The study was conducted in the classroom; therefore, it was quasi-experimental, as opposed to the - Salomon study which was experimental. j I 26J B. Experimental Design This is a quasi-experimental study of control group design with pretest and posttest measures. The main dependent variable in the study is the score on the Mental Rotations Test, developed by Vandenberg (1978) and based j on the stimuli used in the Shepard, Metzler test of Mental Rotations (1971). The independent variables are the instructional treatment and the initial spatial visualization ability of the student as measured by the ; Mental Rotation Test. i C. Research Hypothesis There is a significant interaction between the level of students' initial spatial visualization ability and the method of instruction as measured by a posttest measure ofj mental rotation. ' j . D. Selection of Materials I The videotape, a common mode of visual presentation | which is relatively easy and inexpensive to produce, was j I I used in the study. Each videotape presented a different | condition of the treatment. The programs varied in time I from four to nine minutes in length with the modeling 1 condition being the longest and the activation being the shortest. Each program showed sixteen different objects. 27 r The first five objects were easily identifiable, a shoe, a cup, a small sculpture of a child on a horse, a wooden pepper grinder and a small wooden horse. The remaining eleven objects were abstract structures constructed from eight to twelve 2cm cubes. The structures were similar to the stimuli on the Vandenberg Mental Rotations Test. i The modeling condition: The object is seen facing the viewer. The object rotates slowly on a turntable so * that the viewer sees the object from all angles. The j object is rotated rather than the viewer moving around the object to model the mental activity of the viewer. This process is repeated for all of the objects. Maximal explicitness is assumed. ! Length of film: nine minutes. The short-circuiting condition: The object is seen facing the viewer then the subject sees the object at the j 180® position. This is partial explicitness. Length of film: seven minutes. i The activation condition: The object is seen facing the viewer. This is minimal explicitness. Length of film: four minutes. The control condition: A pretesting and posttesting with no treatment. The programs were shot on one-inch videotape and dubbed to one-half inch for showing in classrooms. The I 28 I programs were displayed on 19-inch video monitors in classrooms. E. The Measurement Instrument A paper-and-penci1 test of spatial visualization constructed from the figures used in the chronometric I study of Shepard and Metzler (1971) was the test used in I the study. In a sample of 3,268 adults and adolescents of age 14 years or older, this test displayed substantial internal consistency, Kuder-Richardson 20+.88, a test-retest reliability (.83), with a similar sample of 336 subjects after a year or more and in an age corrected I sample of 456 the test-retest reliability after a year of more was males with consistent sex differences over the entire range of ages investigated. Correlation with other measures indicated strong association with tests of Î spatial visualization (Vandenberg & Kuse, 1978). | The Mental Rotations Test contains twenty items in i four pages of five items each. Each item is composed of a criterion figure, two correct alternatives and two j distractors. The criterion figure in each item is one of | the four different structures used by Shepard and Metzler | (1971). Correct alternatives are always identical to the . criterion in structure, but are shown in a rotated I position. For half the items, the distractors are rotated mirror-images of the criterion, while distractors in the 29 other items are rotated images of one or two of the other structures. The test is hand scored by giving two credits for a line with both choices correct, none if one choice is correct but the other one incorrect, or if both are incorrect. If only one design was chosen and it is correct, one credit is given. This system eliminates 1 I the need to apply a correction for guessing. There are ' I forty possible points. The time limit is 10 minutes or ^ I five minutes for each half of the test. F. The Study Setting of the Study I I The study was conducted in two schools in San Diego County, School A and School B. The population of School B ! might be described as fairly stable; however, many of the j students are from enlisted Navy families. School A also | has a diverse, lower middle class population with many of • the students from military families. Students from ninth, tenth and eleventh grade English classes were included in ! the study in both schools. All levels of English classes j were included except for advanced placement students. \ ! I I Conducting the Study I I The study was conducted in eight different I_______ . 3 , 0 J classrooms, four classrooms at each of the two high schools. Students were administered the Mental Rotations Test on one day of the week. The following day, the students viewed the videotape presentation and were administered the posttest. In each classroom, the teacher introduced the | investigator and explained to the students that they were ; going to take part in a special activity and that nothing , they did for the next two days in connection with the activity would affect their grade for that class. ; Students were encouraged to do the best they could on the pretest and posttest. They were also told that it was best not to guess on the test. Students in the modeling condition group were instructed to watch the video carefully to see how each object looked as it rotated. Students in the | I short-circuiting and activation condition groups were instructed to look at each obj ect on the video and imagine what it would look like from all sides. Students in the | control group were receiving regular instruction in their | I respective classrooms during this period. | I G. Treatment of the Data * I The tests were hand scored following the protocol, j giving two credits for a line with both choices correct, i no credits if one choice was correct but the other , 31.J incorrect, or if both choices were incorrect, and one credit if only one design was chosen and it was correct, 32 IV. RESULTS I This chapter addresses the research hypothesis that was advanced. Related analyses are presented in the chapter that follows. In order to analyze the research hypothesis of a : I significant interaction between treatment and ability, the: four research groups needed to be divided into ability groups. To determine high and low ability, the pretest was used as an estimate of ability. The mean pretest score of 20 to 40 possible points was used to divide the groups into high and low. Those at 20 and below were assigned to the low group, those at 21 and above were | assigned to the high group. The groups were very j j distinct. When the mean of the low group was compared to the mean of the high group, there was a significant ! I difference in the two groups (t=19.99, df=138, p<0.001). I A. Analysis of the Research Hypothesis | Hi : The initial research hypothesis is that there is| I an interaction between the level of the student's initial * spatial visualization ability as measured by a pretest of 33 0 ) I — I JQ ( 0 EH C O 0 ) u o Ü CO 4-» C O 0 ) +) C D P L | C O C «3 S C O Qa 0 0 U U 1 CH o 0 0 PL| • 0 V P h 00 Q ro < y \ E h (T) o\ 1 • U 0 <Ti 'C3 0 i n 0 0 4J *H i n 1 0 CO *H w 0 0 c T3 0 M -H (d -P o> 0 0 T3 fd CO CO C -H <d > T f m P C D CO Q r>. 1 0 C r o r - (d o> 0 C D "4* <T> \ S CM crt T— CM C O U C D C D C O jQ (d C\ T - e Ü M CO n % p 0 C D 0 C > C D 0 Eh rH P n C O CL CI4 cd C D g 13 'H P O 0 M C D M U (d M U U > P L| 34J spatial ability and the method of instruction. As can be seen, there is no significant difference in terms of the treatment variables (f(3,132)=<1.00,p=0.417). This particular hypothesis was non significant. The analysis of this hypothesis is presented in Table 2. B. Analysis of the Null Hypothesis NH1: The initial null hypothesis is that there is no' significant interaction between the level of the students' , initial spatial visualization ability as measured by a pretest of spatial ability and the method of instruction, i As appears in Table 2, there was no significant ; i interaction between the treatment and ability variables | (F(3,132=1,p=.096), The initial null hypothesis was not j I rej ected. There was a significant difference between the two levels of ability (F(1.132=159.000,p<0.001). This was due to the fact that the low ability groups scored significantly lower than the higher ability group in terms 1 of their visualization skills as measured by the 1 posttest. The low group had an average of 18.90; the high group had an average of 33.87. This analysis appears in | Table 3. This chapter presented the data analysis for the research hypothesis and the null hypothesis. Though there was a significant difference between the high and low , - - 3 5 <N ( D I — t A t d Eh C O •H p (d N •H I —I (d g •H > p o p Ü (d t H P O Ui •H 0 3 > 1 rH (d 1 p -H I —I •H (d 03 p c 0 ) s p (d 0 ) M E h o o # o T — o ID o G o o CT> o • • • • • •H o o o O o W V V 00 o o o in o o o 00 k # • • • • CM T ™ c^. H* V * in V CM CD ( T \ # CM o r~ <T \ 00 ID 00 cr < T \ T P in O CM CO • • # • • • • y— m T P Tp CM ID O G ID TP CM CM O (d < y \ 00 0 ) S H * m 00 CM en Q 00 00 0 ) U CO 00 , — T " 00 CM v o (d m < y \ r- m 00 in 00 G ID ID T P TP v o T— tr • • • • • • • CO in T ™ T P 00 cr» o O H* 00 CM in 00 H* p 00 00 00 o en 0 VD 00 e G CO P Ü • G M X U (d 03 C D > P P P P U G G G p 0 ) ( D >1 ( D -H T3 0 p e P e C D P p p -H p >1 G <d 0 ) w G r —1 (d p -H G Ü 0 •H ( ü -H G T3 P u G U A M P P •H (d G ■H E h < E h - h A 03 p O (d A X C D 0 CO S (d H P l i E h 36 Table 3 Mean Scores on Mental Rotation Test for the Four Groups and the Two Levels of Ability ABILITY Low High GROUP I 18.00 33.08 (22) (13) GROUP II 19.56 35.12 (18) (17) GROUP III 18.14 32.31 (22) (13) GROUP IV 20.35 34.39 (17) (18) Average 18.90 33.87 37 groups in terms of their posttest visualization scores, this could not be explained by difference in age. There was no significant interaction in terms of treatment by ability. As a result, the primary null hypothesis was not rej ected. 38 V. SUMMARY The purpose of this study was to investigate the j I potential improvement of a specific cognitive skill by viewing a symbolic representation of that skill. Although there is some disagreement among researchers as to the very nature of spatial ability, the degree to which it can be linked with mathematical learning and how essential it is for most scientific and technological occupations; it seems appropriate to investigate whether spatial ability i skills can be improved in light of the focus on mathematical and technological instruction. I Taking into account the great differences that exist among learners and searching for ways to best meet the needs of different types of learners, the study investigated the potential interaction between learners* I initial spatial visualization ability and the method of instruction. ^ The question to be answered was to what degree does a I demonstration of objects rotating in space improve the | ; 1 ! subjects* ability to perform on a test of spatial ability which measures skills in mental rotations of objects and | I for whom are the different kinds of instruction most ! I - _ 39 beneficial. Classes of high school English students were^ given the pretest to measure their initial spatial ability, shown a short film, each with a differing degree of explicitness of objects rotating in space, and given a pretest to measure the effect of the film on the ability to solve spatial problems. The results of the study indicate that there were no significant differences between the subjects' ability to ; I perform on the test before viewing the treatment film and I after viewing the film. There was no interaction between the level of the students’ initial visualization ability and the method of instruction. As the study was conducted in each classroom, the teacher introduced the researcher and explained that the ; i activity would in no way influence the grade of the students in the class. i i I Two of the demographic factors that were collected oh I the data were the sex of the subjects and their age. It | was determined that there was no significant difference in terms of the distribution of sexes between the four groupS; in the study. There was a significant difference between > the four groups in terms of their age but when age was j used as a covariate, it was not a significant factor. There was a significant difference between the males and females in terms of their ability to visualize. The females scored much lower than did the males. 40 There are several factors that need to be considered in the light of the results of the study. The fact that there was not a significant improvement in a spatial ability skill as a result of viewing a symbolic representation of the skill may support Salomon's latest research. He has found that the extent to which one expends greater effort in processing a unit of | I material necessarily depends on one's perception of what ' the material is, how much effort it deserves, the worthwhileness of effort expenditure, and on one's belief ' in one's own efficacy (Salomon 1983a). Poorly perceived self efficacy inhibits sustained effort (Bandura, 1982) and very high levels of perceived self-efficacy which are typically associated with televiewing works in a similar way. The strongest debilitating effects are observed with high ability children (Salomon, 1983b). A. Conclusions and Recommendations | After reviewing the results of the study, several | conclusions and recommendations can be made. The first j j deals with the manner in which the researcher was | I introduced to the subjects at the beginning of the study ' in each classroom. As was noted, the teacher explained to the students that the activity would in no way influence I their grade in the English class. In light of the results, it is important to note that this statement may I . 41 j hâve reflected the lack of teacher understanding of the importance of the task and the lack of commitment on the part of the teacher for the students to succeed. This may have affected the students * perception of the importance of the task and, likewise, the effort extended. The fact that the study was conducted in English classes may have | had some influence on the teachers* understanding of spatial skills and their relation to achievement in mathematics. It is, therefore, recommended that teachers be made aware of the importance of spatial skills in relation to success in mathematics and science. A study should be conducted to determine if those students who have a teacher who understands the importance of spatial skills and communicates that importance to the students are able to improve those skills as compared with students whose teacher does not understand the importance of those skills. The researcher was not a part of the regular school faculty and the activity was not a part of the regular curriculum. This may have had an affect on how the classroom teacher perceived the study. The teachers showed little or no interest in the study and, in fact, may have felt somewhat intimidated by the researchers in the classroom. This may have added to the students' perception of the unimportance of the activity and 42 likewise, their lack of commitment. A study which would determine the effect of teacher motivation, with teachers receiving some payoff for students* improved ability in spatial skills should be conducted. It would be designed to determine the extent to which the teacher commitment to the subjects* learning spatial skills i influences student performance. j Another conclusion, based on informal conversations with many of the students after the final testing, was that student motivation was a determining factor in the results. After the posttest, several students asked why ! such an activity had been held. The question seemed to be, what did the study of the rotation of objects have to do ' with school. The investigator explained that research . showed that there was a relation between the skills taught by the video and some professions and vocations, like piloting an airplane. One student made the comment that he had always wanted to fly and that if he had known that j there was some importance to the activity, he would have j tried harder. ! i It is recommended that a study be conducted to see ifj students who are told the relationship between spatial ability and professions perform better than those students who are not told of the relationship. If the activity were seen as a means of accomplishing something important j i 43 I_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ . or the basis of future learning would there be more effort: on the part of the learner? It was also concluded that the students saw no payoff for exerting any effort on the activity. In fact, there was no guarantee that the students would ever know the results of either the pretest or the posttest. If the teacher did not perceive the work as important, if it did not relate in any way to what was happening in the classroom and if it did not relate to anything they were doing outside of school, it may have been that no effort , was exerted at all by the students. It is recommended j that a study be conducted to determine the effect of some ! immediate student payoff for improvement in the ability to' improve on a test of spatial skills. Such a study would give short term reward to students who exerted some ' I effort. The effect of the treatment could be studied | more closely. | Sex seems to make a difference, particularly in post ' adolescent students' ability in spatial skills. The results of this study support the finding, with females scoring lower than males on both the pretest and i posttest. It is recommended that a study be done with | girls to determine if they can be trained in spatial | skills. Further study would determine if training in | I spatial skills had an effect on achievement in mathematics| in females. 44.J Students in this study were post adolescence as compared with other studies in which the subjects were primary age students. These subjects had reached maturity in their spatial ability and therefore, may have needed more training in order to improve those skills. I It is recommended that a study be conducted using I younger subjects, below the age of twelve, to see if | subjects whose spatial skills have not been fully developed can benefit from training and to see at what age the training has the most impact. Further study and analysis would determine the effect of the training on females and males at these younger ages. From talking informally with the teachers after this | study, it appeared that teacher expectation of student achievement was inconsistent with the results. Teachers | expected those students who were high achievers in English classes to also achieve on the test. They were surprised ; to find that some students who were determined to be below* average in English class, whose attention span in class j was short and who seemed to be poor students, did very | I well on the spatial ability test both pre and post. These I students were primarily male. On the other hand, many students who were high achievers in English were average or below in spatial ability. It is recommended that a study be conducted to I determine the relationship between students' spatial | 45 j ability and achievement in English classes. If the results are consistent with the researcher's observations, with below average students scoring high and above average students scoring low, an analysis should be conducted to see whether the results are correlated with sex. Research should then focus on ways in which those spatial skills j can be used to raise achievements in academics. [ Several of the youngsters in one class had received some experiences with spatial skill activities in a class , for gifted youngsters in fourth grade. The activities I were with concrete objects and paper and pencil games. : These students scored high on the pretest and the » posttest. It is recommended that a long range study be conducted to determine the effect of early activities with spatial skill building on spatial skill ability in post adolescence. ' It will be noted that the training was extremely | short. Each film was from four to nine minutes and subjects viewed the film only one time. It is concluded that there was not enough time given for the treatment and that more exposure was necessary. It is recommended that studies be conducted to | determine the effects of each training film being made | ! longer and of subjects seeing the existing films more often. This would differentiate between the effects of 46 j increased viewing either by more repetitions or increased length of one viewing. It may also be concluded that the subjects were not able to relate to the objects in the film. The abstract objects were all one color and the only way to differentiate between the sides of each one as they revolved in front of the camera was to note the shadows. Conclusions can be drawn about the subjects' lack of ability to perceive the differences in the shape of the objects from different points of view. The training film did not teach them the skill because they were not able to see the differences. It is recommended that further study use the same abstract structures but that the sides be colored in such I a way as to differentiate the sides of the structures. The film would then have concrete objects, colored abstract structures and uncolored abstract structures. This would enable students to make the transition from concrete to abstract with an intermediary step which would bridge the gap from concrete to abstract. | Past research shows us that media can teach and can be made to teach cognitive skills. There is an increasing I I need to teach these skills in our technological society. : i I The focus has been on the medium, and the instructional i i design of the material as it relates to what we know abouti I i I learning. But the learner brings to the media his own I I J conceptions about it and those conceptions may influence ' what is learned. It seems that media research needs to focus on the conditions that need to exist within the learner in order for media to teach. The influence of the teacher in the learning situation also needs to be considered. The importance ^ that the teacher gives to the media, whether he or she j sees it as a viable transmitter of information and how the information being transmitted is perceived as to its i importance in the curriculum, determines how the student j views the film and the amount of effort expended to learn | the information. There are many questions that must be I answered and certainly further research is called for. Itj would be most beneficial to today's education to find methods to combine the teacher, the learner and technology; in such a way as to create the optimum learning situation. 48 REFERENCES 49 References Anderson, D. R., & Bryant, J. Research on children's television viewing; the state of the art in children's understanding of television. New York: Academic Press, 1983. Bandura, A. Self-efficacy mechanism in human agency. American Psychologist, 1982, 37, 122-147. Barbatsis, G. 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McDaniel, Correlates of performance on spatial aptitude tests, Purdue University: U. S. Army Research Institute for the Behavioral and Social Sciences, 1978. ; Heide, E. V. Instructional media and the individual learner. New York: Nicols Publishing Co., 1976. I Hunt, J. B. Jr. Action for excellence: task force on education for economic growth. Education Commission of the States, Washington, D.C., June 1983. Jamison, D., Suppes, P., & Welles, S. The effectiveness of alternative instructional media : a survey. Review of Educational Research, 1974, 4£, 1-68. Kapadia, J. R. A critical examination of Piaget and Inhelder's view on topology. Educational Studies in Mathematics, 1974, 419-424. i Kidder, R. Elementary and middle school children's ' comprehension of Euclidean transformations. Journal ' for Research in Mathematics Education, 1976, 6, i 41-56. ' Kyllonen, P. C., Lohman, D. F., & Snow, R. E. Effects of I aptitudes, strategy training and task facets on , spatial task performance. 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Journal of Research in Mathematics Education, 1980, 1J_, 367-374. Thurstone, L. L. Primary mental abilities. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1938. Vandenberg, S. G., & Kuse, A. R. Mental rotations, a group test of three-dimensional spatial visualization. Perceptual and Motor Skills, 1978, 47, 599-603. I . - . 5 4 APPENDIX 55 c < Ü iH n C t f X Q ) CO M - l O C O •H 4J ê •H k C Q •H Q Q ) 4 - > m 0 C Q •H m >i f —! f O g ( U u (6 g. W 1 •H S 1 0 0 & •H C ü 0 E - i G O •H 4J (Ü N •H iH <d G 1 0 i> k G O k <ü +J c o c o o k l ü < 1 — 1 < d +J 0 in LO LO in EH m ro ro m O P 4 eu ü • G Q ) m (N V £ > T" o ( 0 x> 1 —t (N r- in ü o ( Ü •H S CN •H G O C r > • r i W ro m < T i m B <N V £ > • C f Q ) k • k m Q G e 1 — 1 G G iH 4J 0 0 U Eh , ü G ( U k 0 k l V £ > tn •H •H G 00 eu G U 4J r — 1 G o G •H 1 G 0 cr o 0 1 —1 4J > k l c o (N M O ) U •H 4J 1 • O 'G 0 4J G •iH 0 ü 0 Xi S C Q A •H IW ü 0 •H -P c o P ■H fd ( 0 P u >1 tH m fd 0 G X 3 m k 0 o p • 0 co ■H 00 k 4 - 1 in (d ' ■ « • LO c o ( D CN co P LO 00 G (d CN L O (d G O LO d ) tr • • S w c o LO co C H d ) 00 CN o p T— m (d o m m g G • • • G cr CN 00 o en en T— 00 o IP CO LO m Q co co CO eu c o G eu 0 G p 0 o P d ) O ü G p d ) G G d ) •H 1 — 1 0 (d en -p -p 4J d ) ■H O PQ !S EH 57_J u < ü I—I Æ ( d EH < ü ü G Q > U < ü cw CW •H Q 4J G fd ü CH •H G en -H en ■P m S PI eo i g eJ en G O U m < ü tn < CH -p 0 ü c eo •H U 1 > i r— 1 fd G < 'H P 0 •H M P C D C D •G -K 4-> O m S O Q* fd fH ^ o -H eu rH > P CJ G G "H -P o ^G - p G -p p 0 ü O P3 S : 1 ■P G -H XI rH -P -H jQ < Q G ■H 13 G G G r4 -H G s> B G G G EH X G W & G •H ü G G G ü -H G U Eh G > G 0 0 O •H ■P CH G 0 N -H W 1 —1 -H G G G >1 G r —1 •H G > G C G ■P G -H U G > 8 G G G G < o G o T - ro T - en LO o O r- O ■H CH ex » o ir> o c x » o en 0 t • t • • # o o o o o o \ / \ / CN o o H w ro 00 00 LO 00 00 ro CN t — LO 00 00 ro o t — r- M CN LO T — LO ro in ro CN Tf r» LO r» CN o CN o r- o I T ) CN G LO <x » CN 00 o CN ex » G ^ — I T ) 00 00 ro ro 00 G P o LD LO 00 ro CN G G • • • • • • • • G G o LD LD ro ro ro LO o S er LO ro o 00 o en < T » ro ex » T— ro ro 00 e x » Q ro ro G LO 00 00 CN 00 00 LO CH G LD r- 00 LO ro ex » ro O P T— O LO LO LO LO T— G S G o O LO ro o o ex» O G er LO o o T— r- LO en en 00 t— ro 00 o ex » r- r- r- LO ro >1 -p •H iH G ■H G en JQ o c < G •H G 0 G -P 4J X *H ü G G ü 4J P -H G G -P >1 •P ü 13 G P -p CH G +J G G G I —1 O G G CH G •H G P G G en > •H W g 1 —H g G •H G p ■P •H 4J 4 - > G rH CH G G G Xi G G 1 —1 -H G o > -H G < G H CL G +J o G P P X G 0 o S! Eh E h M p e ; Eh 59 w G I— I Xi G EH o +J ü G È M G JCJ +J en G -H G -H M g G ü G G -H U > cw O Ui ■ H G > 1 r—I G < X G en G 4J § S G G U Eh G O -H 4J G N -H I —I G G G -H > 4J G G EH G O •H 4J G -p g G 4J G G S § M-l 0 M-t k LO <y\ •H o o o G o o o e n • • « • • •H o O o o o en V' c o <N ro <N u o ro k C M <y\ r o o T " ro ro 'Si* (30 o CN UO ro c o c o 0 0 < 3 0 • 0 0 0 0 o uo CN "sr UO ro CN < 3 0 G < 3 0 < 3 0 CO G P LO in CN LO < 3 0 CN G G • • • • • • • G G a\ UO uo T " O S er <N LO 0 0 O e n r o T -- CN k 'Si* ro ro CN < 3 0 Q ro ro LO ro uo CN 00 r~ - LO G LO T P T P 00 T P 0 0 r o IP G 'Si* in CN ro 00 CN 0 P • • • • • • • G 00 00 U O ro < 3 0 O o g G CO T f LO ro CN G e n 00 T f ro CN T-- 0 0 < 3 0 en en CN CN r o O ro X G en G 0 X * H + J • 4J -P ü 13 G P M-l G G G G 1 — 1 ü G M-l G G P G G P > G g g G •H G G + J X -P + J G 13 1 — 1 0 c p G G G G G 1 — 1 •H G en 0 -P G e n G H C L U 1 4J G P P X G 0 Sî EH EH H « EH 60 k G r —I I G a i 0 p ü < a i G I —I 1 k G G G I —I S M4 O a i G G S -P G G -P +J a i O PL G G G en •H ü G EH g •H +J G N •H I —I G G G •H > P O fp G £ 1 —1 O T- O G LO i r » -P • « « • 0 co ro M Eh CN CN CN CN k -P g S B e n G G p EH 00 00 CTO 00 LO CN OO uo 00 OO LO CN OO CN CN CN ro CN 00 uo OO ro o CN ro T" t— CN CN CN CN CN co 61 o G I—I Si g G C L G O P O 4J § B G G P E h G +J P O MH G ü G G • P P > S MH O G • P G rp G ê G +J G • P P G > S G G G +J G G +J G P ( U G +J g» G •p G n G k < 3 0 e n o C N o •p M - l o CO o e n 0 • • • o O o V V/ T T LO u o CO k r- u o 00 CM u o T— * M \ — O 00 co G co CN <30 00 < 3 0 G P CM co M 00 00 G G co LO u o C N G G • • • • • S en u o CN o O e n o co UO co o M T " OO C N t P co T P u o <30 Q 0 0 CO G co u o 00 00 LD M H G CN <30 t— CO 0 p M OO M T— G # # • # « 6 G u o O <30 O G e n o o C N 1 3 e n e n M T — 00 t— <30 G <30 <30 T f CO G en G G G - p ü G +J 0 G G P "P G CL e +J G G G P P P P L G G G 4J + j G ü G M - l G G G G 1 3 G G 0 0 +J M - l g G I p G G • p G M - l + j G G G G G -M • P H G • P G G G ü G P G G 13 1 — 1 ü ü P - P G G P 1— 1 • P G G P > • P E H eu G 4 J O O 0 G 0 G X G 0 e n > U S H P C E h L 62

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Asset Metadata

Creator McInerney, Jere Dixon (author)

Core Title The interaction of learners' spatial ability aptitudes with filmic schematic operations

School Graduate School

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

Degree Conferral Date 1985-12

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag education,OAI-PMH Harvest

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c30-284518

Unique identifier UC11227974

Identifier DP25062.pdf (filename),usctheses-c30-284518 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier DP25062.pdf

Dmrecord 284518

Document Type Dissertation

Rights McInerney, Jere Dixon

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the au...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus, Los Angeles, California 90089, USA