University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses

Delay Of Feedback And The Acquisition And Retention Of Verbal Material Inthe Classroom

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Delay Of Feedback And The Acquisition And Retention Of Verbal Material Inthe Classroom

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Content This dissertation has been 69 - 633
microfilmed exactly as received
MORE, Arthur John, 1940-
DELAY OF FEEDBACK AND THE ACQUISITION
AND RETENTION OF VERBAL MATERIAL IN THE
CLASSROOM. [ ’’The Alphabetical Variable Answer
Programing Device", page 88, not microfilmed at
request of author. Available for consultation at
University of Southern California Library],
University of Southern California, Ph.D., 1968
Education, psychology
University Microfilms, Inc., Ann Arbor, Michigan
DELAY OP FEEDBACK AND THE ACQUISITION AND RETENTION
OP VERBAL MATERIAL IN THE CLASSROOM
by
- - Arthur John More
A Dissertation Presented to the
FACULTY OP THE GRADUATE SCHOOL
UNIVERSITY OP SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
DOCTOR OP PHILOSOPHY
(Education)
June 1968
UNIVERSITY O F S O U T H E R N CA LIFO RN IA
TH E GRADUATE SC H O O L
U N IV ERSITY PARK
LO S A N G ELES. CA LIFO RN IA 9 0 0 0 7
This dissertation, written by
Arthur John More
under the direction of h.ljs... Dissertation Com
mittee, and approved by all its members, has
been presented to and accepted by the Graduate
School, in partial fulfillment of requirements
for the degree of
D O C T O R OF P H I L O S O P H Y
Dean
Date...
DISSERTATION COMMITTEE
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The writer would like to express appreciation to the
members of* the Guidance Committee for their many helpful
suggestions and support. Committee chairman Dr. C. E.
Meyers has made a particularly significant contribution
both in the development of the study and in guiding the
writer during his graduate studies.
The writer also wishes to thank the faculty and
staff of the Hudson School District for their assistance in
conducting the study. The generous support of Mr. Gordon
Naylor, Director of Pupil Personnel Services,is particu
larly appreciated. The effective administration of the
study was made possible by school principals Mr. E. Eddlngs,
iMr. G. Edgerton, Mr. J. Jackson and Mr. R. Jolley, and
classroom teachers Mr. T, Besse, Mr. L. Delgado, Mr. P.
Goralskl, Mr. B. Jaynes, Mr. A. Marsala, Mr. M. Millls,
jMrs. M. Moore, Mr. J. Robinson and Mr. L. Smith.
The writer owes special thanks to his wife, Jan, for
her helpful suggestions, her many sacrifices and her moral
support, and to his infant daughter, Caryn, whose very
| presence has been an inspiration.
ii
r
i
TABLE OP CONTENTS
Page
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS................ ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS.................... iii
LIST OP TABLES.................... iv
LIST OP FIGURES......................., ............ vi
CHAPTER
I. PROBLEM................................... 1
Statement of the Problem
The Study of Feedback
Purpose of the Study
Definitions
Experimental Hypotheses
II. THIS STUDY............................. 21
The Sample
Learning Materials and Tests
Administration Procedures
The Dependent Variable
The Covarlates
Data Analysis
Assumptions .
III. RESULTS.................................. . 38
The Covarlates
The Dependent Variable .
IV. SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION .... 53
Summary
Conclusions
Discussion
REFERENCES ................................... 62
APPENDIX A ......................................... 69
APPENDIX B ........................................ . 76
APPENDIX C ......................................... 89
APPENDIX D ............................ 99
H i
LIST OF TABLES
Table Page
1. Summary of Studies Relating to Delay of
Knowledge of Results, Grouped According
to Support of Immediate Kn, No Signifi
cant Differences and Support of K n ........... 9
2. Classification of Test Items According to
the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
for the Glaciers Test . ................... 26
3. Classification of Test Items According to
the Taxonomy of Educatlonal Objectives,
for the Rhodesia Test, by Judges....... 27
h. Schedule for Administration of the Reading
Passages, Test 1, Feedback and Test 2 . . . . 35
5. Means and Standard Deviations of Intelli
gence and Reading Level Scores for all
Treatment Groups and Total Group,
Glaciers Test ........ .............. 39
6. Means and-Standard Deviations of Intelli
gence and Reading Level Scores for all
Treatment Groups and Total Group,
Rhodesia Test .............. ^0
7. Results of One-Way Analysis of Variance of
Intelligence and Reading Test Scores,
Glaciers Groups . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4*1
8. Results of One-Way Analysis of Variance of
Intelligence and Reading Test Scores,
Rhodesia Groups ............................. 4-1
9. Means and Standard Deviations of Test 1 and
Test 2 Scores, and Adjusted Means on Test
2 for all Treatment Groups and Total Group,
Glaciers Test .............. .. b3
10. Means and Standard Deviations of Test 1 and
Test 2 scores, and Adjusted Means on Test
2 for all Treatment Groups and Total Group,
Rhodesia Test ........ ..
11. Results of Analysis of Covariance for Test 2
Glaciers.......... ^5
iv
12. Results of* Analysis of Covariance for Test 2
Rhodesia..................................... 4*5
13. Differences Between Paired Treatment Means
on Test 2 Glaciers Within Acquisition
and Retention Criterion Groups ........ 50
lty. Differences Between Paired Treatment Means
on Test 2 Rhodesia Within Acquisition
and Retention Criterion Groups ........ 51
v
LIST OF FIGURES
Figure Page
1. A Model for the Design of the Study for
the Science and Social Studies Reading
Passages.................................. 33
2» A Model for the Design of the Study
Including the Adjusted Means for all
Groups.................................... 46
3. Adjusted Means for each Treatment Group,
Test 2 Glaciers............ 47
4. Adjusted Means for each Treatment Group,
Test 2 Rhodesia............................ 48
vi
CHAPTER I
THE PROBLEM
Statement of the Problem
As knowledge and technology expand, it Is not only
necessary to Increase the amount of education, but also to
increase the efficiency of the learning process. Much of
man’s effort is going towards studying ways of making
learning methods more effective.
A significant aspect of learning in a classroom
setting is student answers to questions, and knowledge of
the correctness of the answers. The learner may be asked
a question by the teacher, by a classmate, in a set of
exercises or in a test. Once the learner responds to the
question, the educator should inform the learner of the
appropriateness of his response in a manner which will
most effectively promote learning and retention. The
Information concerning the appropriateness of the learner’s
response is often referred to as feedback.
The problem with which this study is concerned is
providing feedback to the learner in a classroom situation
to maximize learning and retention.
1
2
The Study of Feedback
In 1905 Charles H. Judd placed subjects before a
screen, had the subjects make estimates of the direction of
an Imaginary extension of a given line and Initially gave
no knowledge of the accuracy of the subjects' estimates.
On a later trial he gave the subjects various kinds of
knowledge of results - and the study of knowledge of
results was begun (Judd, 1905).
Subsequent studies of knowledge of performance have j
1 f
used such materials and conditions as a two hand coordina
tion test, a lever positioning device, a ball tossing
arrangement and a simllated tracking device. Subjects have!
1been asked to learn a maze, aim guns, draw lines of a given
length and learn a complex Industrial operation (Ammons,
1956).
Effectiveness of Feedback
Studies of the relative effectiveness of feedback
have Included comparisons of various types of feedback
with regular answer sheets and no feedback (Pressey, 1950;
Sullivan, Baker and Schutz, 1967), with discussion and
question-and-answer (KInzer and Worcester, 1965; Cameron,
1966), with Individual study (Klnzer and Worcester, 1965)»
with prompting (McNeil, 1965) and Iteration and transloca-
tlon (Beillln, 1966). In all cases, except the Klnzer and
Worcester comparison with individual study and the Sullivan
et al comparison with no feedback, differences were signif
icantly In favor of feedback (usually Immediate feedback).
IResearch appears to support the statement that the use of
feedback Is one of the more effective aspects of teaching
|methods.
Feedback is an Integral part of most programmed
learning. The mechanics of such programs is usually
related to provision of Immediate feedback. The present
: concern with linear and branched programming is essentially
a concern for giving feedback which is more appropriate to
particular responses. Very few studies have been done
which study the contribution of feedback to the overall
effectiveness of teaching machines.
Variables Affecting Feedback
Ammons characterized research on knowledge of
results generally as " . . . determining the effects of
giving or withholding various kinds of information about
performance during and for varying amounts of time after
that performance** (Ammons, 1956; p. 279). This characteri
zation appears to involve three variables: (1) giving or
withholding information (his statement would be improved by
describing this variable as degree of information given,
thus including more than the all-or-none situation); (2)
various kinds of information given; and (3) delay in giving
information. Additional variables which are suggested by
the research would include type of learning materials, type
of learning involved (long or short term), type of crite
rion and ability level of subjects.
Nonverbal feedback
Many studies have used nonverbal feedback reinforc
ers such as candy (Penney and Lupton, 1961; Spence, 1967)*
marbles (Brackbill and Kappy, 1962), a loud raucous buzzer
(Meyer and Seidman, i960), systems of lights (Donahoe,
i
i960) and money (Sullivan et al, 1967)- When studies
compared the effects of verbal and nonverbal reinforcers,
few significant differences were found. j
In a classroom situation most feedback concerning
academic work is usually verbal in nature. Therefore the
j
effect of nonverbal feedback can be considered to be a
relatively less important variable in the study of feedback'
in a classroom situation.
Verbal feedback _ _
.
Studies involving verbal feedback usually involve an;
indication of the correctness or incorrectness of a j
!
response, with little or no additional explanation. Spence;
performed a series of studies of various feedback combina
tions. One combination (En) involved the experimenter
saying the word "Bight" when the subject was correct, and
nothing when he was wrong. The second combination (EW)
5!
Involved saying "Right” or "Wrong" when appropriate. The
third combination (Wn) Involved saying nothing when correct;
i
and "Wrong" when Incorrect (Spence, 1967)* The general
result was that the RW and Rn combinations were more effec-;
tive than the Wn combination when no explanation of the
"nothing" experimenter response was given. There were no
significant differences when explanation of the meaning of
no experimenter response was given to the subject.
Negative feedback
One of the major problems in studying feedback is
the effect of negative feedback. Negative feedback occurs
when a subject makes a wrong response and receives informa-I
j
tion that it is incorrect. j
A study by Kaes and Zeaman (i960) varied the amount ;
I
of negative feedback by varying the number of choices in j
multiple-choice Items. They found that an incorrect j
response, followed by feedback of its Incorrectness, is
more likely to occur again than any other incorrect
i
response, but less likely to occur than the correct
response. Karraker (1967) gave his subjectsa multiple- j
choice test and then the same test in completion format.
!
|
He found that the students receiving no feedback on the
first test recalled more incorrect choices than the feed
back group. He also found that the feedback group used as
j
many incorrect responses from the first test as a control
" ; — — — - —
group which wrote only the completion test. The results of
studies of negative feedback Indicate that provision of
feedback does reduce the probability of being incorrect
i
again, but if a subject is incorrect on the same item
again, he will most probably select the same incorrect
response.
Completeness of feedback
Studies generally support the hypothesis that more
complete feedback will result in a higher performance
level. Bourne and Pendleton (1958) compared feedback con
sisting only of "right" and "wrong" with feedback consist
ing of identification of the correct response. The results!
showed that the feedback which included identification of J
the correct response (and was presumably more complete)
produced significantly higher performance. j
Donahoe (i960) suggested that feedback complexity '
may set an upper limit on the effectiveness of more com-
i
i
plete feedback. Using a ship sinking game on a cardboard !
grid, he provided one- and two-dimensional feedback of
|
subjects estimates of the "enemy ships*" position. The
|
group receiving one-dimensional feedback performed signifi-l
i
cantly better than the two-dimensional feedback group.
Donahoe suggested that the two-dimensional information was
too complex to assimilate rapidly.
Delay of Feedback
7
Prior to the 1950*s, studies indicated that feed
back, to be most effective, should be given immediately
after the response (Ammons, 1956). This led to Ammons*
generalization that "the longer the delay in giving knowl
edge of performance, the leBS effect the given information
has" (1956, p. 287). Learning theorists including Hull
(19^3), Porter (1957) and Skinner (195*0 held this to be an
important learning principle. Skinner (195*0 1958) applied
this principle of immediate feedback (or "reinforcement" as
he termed it) to teaching machines, and it is now "... a
universal feature of teaching machines (Brackbill, 1964,
1
p. 148).
j However, since i960, studies by Brackbill (1964,
1966), English and Kinzer (1966) and an earlier study by
Gilbert (1956), question the generality of the principle of
immediate feedback. The result is that the study of the
effectiveness of delayed feedback has become one of the
more controversial areas of the study of feedback.
The more recent studies of delayed feedback are
|summarized and presented in Table 1. To compare the
!studies more efficiently the information is categorized
:under the headings of subjects, learning materials, results
|and criterion measure. The studies which favor immediate
Kn are presented first, then follow studies resulting in no:
significant differences and finally the studies favoring
delayed Kn are presented. Within each of these three
groups, the studies are presented in chronological order by!
author•
Studies favoring immediate feedback
A review of the type of criterion measure used in
the studies which favored immediate feedback shows that,
with two exceptions, the criterion measure was an acquisi
tion type of measure. That is, the criterion measured some
factor related to performance either during or immediately
following the learning situation. j
The two exceptions are the Angell (19^9) study and |
the Paige (1966) study. In these two studies a confounding!
variable was amount of feedback. In both cases the group
which received immediate feedback also received delayed
feedback which took the form of a discussion of the test.
The immediate and delayed feedback groups were involved in |
the discussion together. Since completeness of feedback j
has been shown to be an effective feedback variable, I
|
performance differences in the Angell and Paige studies j
1
1
cannot be unequivocally attributed to the feedback delay
i
variable.
Another common characteristic of this group of
studies is that they involve psychomotor or meaningless
TABLE 1
SUMMARY OF STUDIES RELATED TO DELAY OF KNOWLEDGE OF RESULTS (Kn),
GROUPED ACCORDING TO SUPPORT OF IMMEDIATE Kn, NO
SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES AND SUPPORT OF DELAYED Kn
Subjects Learning Materials Results Criterion
Part A. Studies supporting immediate Kn
Lorge and Thorndike. 193 5
"Educated" Throwing ball without see- Favored immediate Kn
adults lng the target. 0, 1, 2,
k, 6 sec. delay
Angell, 19^9
College
students
Saltzman, 1951
College
students
Bourne, 1957
College
students
Chemistry quiz. 0 and 3
day delay
Favored immediate Kn
Verbal maze. 0 and 6 sec. Favored immediate Kn
delay
Geometric figures. 0 and Favored immediate Kn
8 sec. delay
Sax, 1958
High school Chinese symbols paired
students with nonsense syllables.
0, 10, 20 and 40 sec.
delay
Favored immediate Kn
Acqui s it ion-score
during learning
Retention-final
exam in course
Acquisition-trials
to criterion
Acquis ition-trials
to criterion
Acquisition-trlals
to criterion
vo
Hockman and Liosltt. I960
Grade 5 Multiple discrimination
children with lights. 0, 10 and
30 sec. delay
TABIE 1 (continued)
Favored.immediate Kn
Denny et al. i960
College Draw a line 60 "glubs"
students long. 0, 10 and 20 sec.
delay
Paige. 1966
Grade 8
students
Arithmetic concepts. 0
and 1 day delay
Favored immediate Kn
Favored immediate Kn
Acquis it ion-number
of correct responses
in learning
Acquisition-trials
to criterion
Hetention-test 3
weeks later
Part B. Studies resulting in no significant differences.
Klntsch and McCoy, 1964
College
students
Ottina, 196^
Grade 7
students
Associating visual stimu
lus with key pressing
responses. 0, 4, and 8
sec. delay
No significant differ,
ences between delays
Teaching machine programs No significant differ-
in algebra, 0 and 10 sec. ences between delays
delay
Acquisition-number
of errors in
learning
Acquisition-test
given immediately
after learning
H
o
TABLE 1 (continued)
Part C. Studies favoring delayed Kn
Gilbert, 1956
College Educational psychology
students course material
Brackbill and Kappy, 1962
Gracfe 3 Two choice discrimination
boys of line drawings. 0, 5
and 10 sec. delay
Brackbill. Bravos and Starr, 1962
Grade 3 Two choice discrimination
boys, kin- of line drawings. 0, 5
dergarten and 10 sec. delays
Brackbill. Isaacs and Smelklnson, 1962
Grade 3 Nonsense bigrams. 0 and
boys 10 sec. delays
Brackbill. Wagner and Wilson, 1964
Grade 3 French-English equiva--
boys lents. 0 and 10 sec.
delays
Favored delayed Kn
Favored delayed Kn for
1 day retention but
not 8 day retention
Favored Kn delay on 1
day and 8 day reten
tion
No significant differ
ences on acquisition,
favored delayed Kn on
retention
No significant differ
ences on acquisition
favored delayed Kn on
retehtlon
Betention-tested
four weeks after
treatment
Acquisition and
Retention-trlals to
criterion and errors
in learning and
relearning
Retention-trials to
criterion on
relearning, 1 or 8
days later
Acquisition and
Betention-trials to
criterion on learn
ing and relearning
Acquisition and
Retention-trials to
criterion and errors
in learning and
relearning
TABLE 1 (continued)
Llntz and Brackbill, 1966
College Bigrams in paired associ-
students ate or discrimination
form. 0 or 10 sec. delay
English and Kinzer, 1966
| College Journal articles. 0,
1 hour, 2 days and
1 week delays
No significant differ
ences on acquisition
and retention.
Favored delayed Kn on
paired associates
retention
Favored some delay of
Kn
Acquisition and
Retention-trials to
criterion on learning
and relearning
Retention-test one
week later
H
N>
13
materials - with the exception of the Paige study which is
discounted above.
A third characteristic of these studies is that they
involve relatively short periods of delay. The longest
delay involved is 4o seconds, a relatively short time when
it is compared to the length of time for a classroom
teacher to return a scored test.
Brackbill, Wagner and Wilson present a discussion of
the findings from 1913 to 1963 related to the extrapolation
of results from animal studies:
Throughout the intervening 50 years, the results
of such research have demonstrated without question
that in lower animals, learning efficiency decreases
the longer the feedback delay. Under some condi
tions, with delays of only a few seconds, learning
may not occur at all.
It is this finding, based largely on the perform
ance of rats, that has been used to support the ■
claim that teaching machines must Incorporate imme
diate feedback in order to be maximally effective
for human learning.
Rats and men have yielded surprisingly similar
results in terms of a variety of simple responses
to learning and conditioning situations. But there
are other, more complex aspects of behavior for
which it is foolhardy to expect parallel results
across genera. It appears that the human*s
response to feedback delay involves just such
complex aspects of behavior.
In the particular case we are considering, the
complexity seems to arise from the human being*s
distinctive ability to use language in regulating
his present behavior with respect to his remembrance
of past events and his anticipation of future
events. No lower animal has such an ability;
neither, of course, does the infant or very young
child (1962*, p. 149).
14
Studies favoring delayed feedback
Brackbill has performed most of the studies the
results of which favor delayed Kn. She summarized the
results of her work:
I Prom the first of these studies there emerged an
I unexpected result: feedback delay during learning
| actually improved retention of the learned material,
while immediate feedback during learning impaired
retention. . . . /The results have been shown to
hold up for both meaningful and meaningless mate
rial, for kindergarten as well as third grade
children, for difficult as well as easy tasks and
for learning situations free of distraction as well
as those marked by distraction and interference
(Brackbill, et al, 1964, p. 151).
A common characteristic of the Brackbill studies
i
Iwhich differs from the characteristic of the earlier
studies of feedback is that the criterion was a measure of
• j
retention. That is, the subject was required to retain
that which he had learned for periods of up to eight days
before being tested.
Two other common characteristics are that she dealt
exclusively with human subjects, and her materials were
symbolic (usually verbal) in nature.
A final characteristic common to Brackbill*s studies
jis that her subjects were young boys, usually in grade^3.
|One recent study is an exception (Lintz and Brackbill,
|
1966) in which her subjects were college students.
Her statement above that results held up for
!
"meaningful" materials is only true as far as her opera
tional definition of meaningful is acceptable. The most
15
"meaningful" learning materials were French-English equiva
lents, examples of what Ausubel would term "rote learning
materials" (Ausubel, 1963).
A limitation of her studies is the relatively short
ifeedback delay which she used. All of her studies involved
a maximum delay of 10 seconds.
A study by English and Kinzer (196*1-) overcame these
two limitations of the Brackbill studies. The meaningful
material consisted of four journal articles in educational
I psychology and the feedback delays were one hour, two days
i
;and one week. The results of this study showed that the
jfeedback delay of one hour and two days had more effect on
retention than the zero and one week delays.
The study by Gilbert also involved highly meaningful
material and the results generally favored delayed feed
back. Gilbert also used college students.
No studies of feedback delay have been performed
with school children which Involve highly meaningful mate
rials. One limitation of such a study, if the materials
were presented in written form would be that students
I would need to have acquired the ability to read and compre-
|
| hend the materials.
i
College subjects can be assumed to have more effec
tively developed abstract thought processes than school
;children. Such thought processes may be an important
ifactor in the effectiveness of delay-improved retention.
This raises a question of how effective the longer delays
of the English and Kinzer study would be with school
children learning highly meaningful materials.
In summary, the main difference between the studies
supporting immediate feedback and those supporting delayed
feedback is in the use of acquisition or retention crite
rion measures. The studies of young children do not
closely approximate the classroom situation in terms of
the meaningfulness of materials and length of feedback
delay. Studies which do approximate the classroom situa
tion have been performed with college students and have
1
Iproduced results which support delay improved retention.
|
|
Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study was to Investigate the
relation between immediacy of feedback and retention,
specifically to compare the effect of selected feedback
delays on the acquisition and retention of verbal materials
in the classroom.
In the research discussed above the Important theo-
|retleal principle of immediacy of feedback was opened to
1 .
I question. This study attempted to obtain delay-improved
; retention as Brackbill did, but with more meaningful verbal
materials and with feedback delays which more closely
jresemble those of a classroom situation.
It was suggested by Brackbill (196*0 that a feedback
delay is related to improved retention but not to acquisi
tion of Information. Thus another part of the purpose of
this study was to determine whether there is a differential
effect of feedback delay on acquisition and retention.
Delimitations of the study
This study was limited to samples of regular class
pupils in lower middle socioeconomic, predominantly white
jneighborhood in suburban Southern California. All subjects
t
i
were in grade eight.
As the study was limited to students in their early
teens, generalization to younger students who may not yet
have developed the abstract abilities of symbolizing and
generalizing, is not justified.
The study was limited to meaningful verbal materials
and questions on these materials which were of a verbal
nature.
The study was limited to the range of feedback
delays employed in the study. Since immediate feedback was
received up to about five seconds after responding, compar-
lison to results with studies using more exact methods of
jproviding immediate feedback is limited.
Definitions
i
| The following terms are defined below according to
|their intended meaning in the present study.
18
Feedback. Feedback is information given to an indi
vidual concerning the appropriateness of certain of his
behavior. Operationally, feedback is information given to
an individual concerning the correctness-or incorrectness
of his responses to a set of test questions, and an indica
tion of the correct response to each test question.
Knowledge of Results. Knowledge of results (Kn) is
considered to be synonymous with feedback.
| Re inforcement. Reinforcement is any occurrence -
| within an Individual or his environment which results in a
!
! change in probability of occurrence of certain behavior of
j
| the individual.
I Reinforcement and feedback as used in the present
I
| study are related but are not synonymous. A major differ-
t
i
| ence is that feedback does not necessarily result in a
| change In behavior probability, whereas an occurrence must
I
jby definition result in such a change to be termed rein-
:
I forcement. In fact, the present study is concerned with
!
| the reinforcement properties of feedback.
| Acquisition Criterion. An acquisition criterion is
a comparison, standard or test which is applied within one
hour of learning.
Retention Criterion. A retention criterion Is a
comparison, standard or test which is applied more than one
hour after learning.
19
Experimental Hypotheses
The following hypotheses were subjected to Investi
gation by the study:
1. Performance level on an acquisition test is
higher than on a retention test. The Brackbill
studies which used various intervals between
learning and relearning demonstrate this hypoth
esis (Brackbill, Bravos and Starr, 1962).
2. Length of feedback delay has a significant
effect upon performance level on acquisition and
retention. The Brackbill studies, the English
and Kinzer studies, and Benner's review (Benner,
196*0 support this hypothesis.
3. Performance level on a test following various
intervals of feedback delay depends upon both
the type of criterion and length of feedback
delay.
a. Delay of feedback results in a lower
performance level when an acquisition crite
rion is applied. _
b. Delay of feedback results in a higher
performance level when a retention criterion
is applied.
This hypothesis is supported by the Brackbill
studies, and the English and Kinzer studies
20
within the limitations discussed above.
These experimental hypotheses are stated in null
! form in Chapter Two.
I
i
i
i
i
CHAPTER 2
THIS STUDY
The purpose of this chapter Is to present a descrip
tion of the sample, learning materials and testBused and
to outline the research design and procedures of this
investigation.
I
The Sample
The subjectswere 663 grade eight students in Zk
classes from four Junior high schools in Hudson Elementary |
School District in Southern California.
The community served by the schools consists prlraar-j
ily of persons of lower-middle and upper-middle soclo- j
economic status as subjectively estimated by the writer.
The community includes less than five per cent Negroes and |
approximately 20 per cent Mexican-Araericans.
Special classes for educable mentally retarded or
gifted students were not included. I
i
i
i
!
Learning Materials and Tests
Reading passages
Two reading passages were used, the first containing
i
22 |
i
material from science and the second from social studies.
The following criteria were used in the selection and
development of the articles: 1) approximately at the grade:
eight reading level? 2) probable interest to the students;
3) topics readily comprehensible to most grade eight
students and 4) topics which were neither a specific part
of the curriculum nor completely new to the student. The
reason for the fourth criterion was to approximate the
usual classroom situation in which many students have had
|
at least some exposure to topics before they are brought up
in class.
Science Article. The Science article was entitled
j
"Glaciers" and was adapted from an article in the Sclentif-!
>
ic American (Field, 1955)* The article was originally
i
adapted by Kropp and Stoker (1966) in a study related to j
!
validation of the Taxonomy of Educational Objectives
(Bloom, 1956). The version of the article used in the
present study was virtually the same as that used by Kropp j
i
and Stoker. The only changes consisted of the use of syno-i
nyms which, in the opinion of the present writer, were morej
comprehensible to grade eight students. !
j
The article was concerned with the effect of
glaciers on the water economy of the earth. It describes
|
present glacial systems and how these have varied through
|
history.
23
The article was about 1,300 words long and was
printed on three pages of white paper, by 11 inches in
size. A copy of the article appears in Appendix A.
Social Studies Article. The Social Studies article
was entitled "Problems in Rhodesia" and was written by the
present writer, with suggestions from the Social Studies
Consultant from the school district and a number of class
room teachers.
The article was concerned with the British-Rhodeslan
problems which came to a head in 1965 when Prime Minister
Ian Smith of Rhodesia proclaimed the Unilateral Declaration
of Independence. It discusses related historical events
and makes some prognostications.
j The article was about 1,100 words long and was
1
(printed on three pages of white paper, 8§- by 11 inches In
size. A copy of the article appears in Appendix A.
Test One. Two sets of twenty multipie-choice test
items were developed by the writer, one set to accompany
each reading passage. These were entitled "Test 1-Glaciers"
and "Test 1-Rhodesia." The items In Test 1-Glaciers were
adapted from the Items used in the Taxonomy Validation Study
j(Kropp and Stoker, 1966). The items in Test 1-Rhodesia
(were developed by the present writer. The items for both
(tests were developed using the levels of the Taxonomy of
(Educational Objectives: Cognitive Domain (Bloom, 1956).
j
(Most of the items were from the Knowledge and Comprehension
(levels. Virtually none of the questions were at the
2k
Evaluation or Synthesis level because of the inappropriate
ness of the multiple-choice format to these levels. Two
faculty members who have taught graduate courses in
measurement at the University of Southern California were
asked to classify independently the items of the Rhodesia
Test as to their level within the Taxonomy. The results of
this classification, and Kropp and Stoker's classifications
of the Glaciers Test items, are presented in Tables 2 and 3*
The two sets of twenty items were included in a
pilot study in which twenty-five items were used. Some of
the twenty-five items were eliminated after the pilot
Jstudy, while others were altered.
! Each test was printed on four sheets of white paper,
|
8 - j j r by 11 inches in size. The first page consisted of four
practice items and directions. The remaining pages
contained the 20 test items.
Copies of Test 1 Glaciers and Test 1 Rhodesia appear
i
in Appendix B.
Feedback Materials. A subject was informed of the
correctness of his responses to Test 1 by two different
i
jdevices depending on whether the subject was in an immedl-
|ate or delayed feedback treatment group.
The immediate feedback group responded to Test 1
! questions on a Trainer-Tester Response Card. The cards
were six by eight inches in size and contained spaces for
keying the answer to forty multiple-choice questions using
25
a four choice format. Immediate feedback was provided by
the appearance of the letter "TM when the subject erased a !
light ink overlay. A copy of the card is presented in
1
Appendix B. The cards were developed by Kinzer and
Worcester (1965) especially for a series of studies of the
effectiveness of adjunct auto-instruction. If a student
selected an incorrect response he was instructed to select !
another until he obtained the correct response for the
question.
The delayed feedback groups responded to Test One
on the test itself. To the right of each question was a
box in which the student printed the letter of the choice j
which he believed to be correct.
Feedback was provided to these students by means of j
yellow colored strips of paper which were glued to the j
i
right hand margin of each test page after the student had
taken the test. On these strips were printed boxes j
containing the letter of the correct response. A red check|
mark was placed beside the correct student answers and the ]
student's score out of twenty was placed at the top of the |
first page of the test.
During the feedback portion of the study, students
were told to go over the test without talking and try to
learn as much as possible by comparing their answers with
the correct answers. Teachers were instructed not to
TABLE 2
CLASSIFICATION OF TEST ITEMS ACCOEDING TO THE TAXONOMY
OF EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOH THE GLACIERS TEST
Test One Test Two
Item Number Item Number Classification
5
6 Knowledge
6 10 Comprehens ion
7 9
Knowledge
8 18 Comprehens ion
9 19
Knowledge
10 k Knowledge
11 20 Comprehens ion
12 Ik Knowledge
13
2 Application
1^
15
Application
15 17 Comprehension
16 11 Application
17
12 Application
18
13
Application
19
1 Knowledge
20 16 Knowledge
21
5
Analysis
22
3
Application
23 7 Analysis
2k 8 Comprehens ion
271
TABLE 3
CLASSIFICATION OF TEST ITEMS ACCORDING TO THE TAXONOMY OF
EDUCATIONAL OBJECTIVES FOR THE RHODESIA TEST, BY JUDGES
- Test One Test Two Classification
Item Number Item Number Judge One Judge Two
5 7
Knowledge Knowledge
6 8 Knowledge Knowledge
7
18 Comprehens ion Evaluation
8 12 Comprehens ion
•
Knowledge
*
9 9
Comprehension Comprehens ion
10 10 Knowledge Knowledge
-
11 20 Knowledge Knowledge
12
13
Evaluation Comprehens ion
13 17
Knowledge Knowledge
14
19
Analysis Analysis
15
4 Analysis Evaluation
16 16 Application Comprehens ion
17 3
Knowledge Analysis
18 14 Knowledge Knowledge
19 15
Application Comprehens ion
20
5
Comprehension Comprehens ion
21 6 Knowledge Comprehension
22 1 Knowledge Knowledge
23 11 Comprehension Comprehens ion
24 2 Knowledge Comprehens ion
explain any items or answers to students. After ten
minutes, the papers were collected.
Test Two. Test Two was administered after the
i
students had read the passage, and responded to and
received feedback on the 20 questions described above as
Test One. The test consisted of the same 20 questions as
Test One except that the sequence of questions was changed j
using a table of random numbers to assign position. The
first question was not assigned randomly, but one of the
easier questions was used to give confidence to the
students. In addition, the sequence of choices within each!
i
quest ion was changed using the same randomization procedure.!
!
I
Administration Procedures
i
The study was administered in an identical manner j
for the two reading passages. Approximately half the
students in each class used each reading passage. Students!
were assigned randomly to reading passages.
The experimental treatments were administered during
the same week in the four schools. In all cases, the
treatments were begun on a Monday which was not preceded by
a holiday weekend.
All subjects were read instructions by the class
teachers who had previously consulted personally with the j
writer. The instructions described the procedure of the
treatment. A copy of the Instructions is found in Appendix
29 I
D. Subjects were told that the results of their work would
be recorded.
Subjects were then given a copy of the appropriate
passage and asked to read it. The subjects had 12 minutes |
to read the passage. Then the articles were collected and ;
Test One distributed. Subjects were"given 25 minutes to
take Test One. When the subjects had completed Test One
their papers were collected and feedback strips were added
where appropriate.
Test One with feedback strips was returned to
students after two and one-half hours (Di), one day (D2)
or four days (D3). Feedback had already been given to the j
subjects using the Trainer-Tester cards (Do). |
The subjects were given the Criterion test in one of
two ways. One half of the subjects were given the Crite- j
' r
rion test after being permitted to review the feedback form!
|
for 10 minutes. In the case of those receiving Immediate
feedback a ten minute rest was given before the Criterion j
test was administered. This group was called the MAcquisi-j
|
tion" group to indicate that the Criterion test was assumed!
to measure how much the subject had acquired without havingj
to retain it for a significant period of time. I
|
The remaining subjects were given the Criterion
test exactly three days after reviewing the feedback form.
This group was called the "Retention" group to indicate
that the Criterion test in this case was assumed to Include 1
301
a measure of how much was retained over a significant
period of time.
In no case was the teacher to answer questions
concerning the test questions or the content of the reading;
passages.
The Dependent Variable
The dependent variable was the number of questions
correct on the Criterion test. The Criterion test is
described above. The effect of reading ability and intel
ligence level was statistically controlled by the analysis
i
of covariance procedure. j
i
i
The Covarlates j
Reading ability
The total reading score on the reading portion of
the California Achievement Tests Junior High Level, Form W j
(Tiegs and Clark, I963) was used as the covariate for j
reading ability. This score is in grade level units. j
i
The California Achievement Tests had been adminis- j
tered to all grade eight students four months prior to the |
present study as part of the testing program of the school !
district.
The tests consist of three parts: reading, arith
metic and language. The reading"part consists of a test of
reading vocabulary and a test of reading comprehension.
3 1 !
The total reading grade level of a student Is obtained front
the sum of his raw scores on the comprehension and vocabu- !
lary tests, which is in turn converted to grade level
I
|
equivalent by use of norms published in 1963*
The reading vocabulary test consists of sections on
i
mathematics, science, social science and general vocabu
lary. The reading comprehension test consists of sections !
on following directions, reference skills, and interpreta
tions.
All questions are multiple choice and are answered
on a standard punch card answer sheet by filling in the
appropriate box with a pencil mark. !
j '
Intelligence level j
The intelligence quotient (I.Q,.) obtained from the
i
California Short-Form Test of Mental Maturity, Elementary I
Level (CTMM) was used as the covariate for intelligence.
The CTMM had been administered to all grade eight |
students four months prior to the present study as a part !
i
of the testing program of the school district. |
j
The CTMM M . . . is an instrument for appraising j
mental development or mental capacity . . . This test j
samples mental processes in four areas: spatial relation- j
ships, logical reasoning, numerical reasoning and verbal
concepts" (Sullivan, Clark and Tiegs, 1957).
32
The test consists of multiple-choice items which are
answered in the same manner as the California Achievement
Tests.
Data Analysis
Statistical Design. Statistical analysis of data
was by means of analysis of covariance. A 4 by 2 factorial
design was employed to determine the significance level for
the main effects and interaction for each dependent vari
able, A diagram of the model for the experimental design
appears in Figure 1. This design involves two independent
variables. These are length of delay of feedback (0, 2
hours, 1 day and b days) and type of learning criterion
(acquisition and retention). The dependent variable is the
number of correct responses on the Criterion Test. The
schedule for administering the study is given in Table
In order to administer the study it was necessary to
assign classes to treatments rather than individuals to
treatments. Once a class was assigned to a treatment, the
students were randomly assigned to one of the two reading
passages. The schools involved in the study used hetero
geneous grouping in assigning children to classes, and
therefore, it was assumed that the assignment to classes
tfas random procedure. The validity of this assumption was
tested by a one-way analysis of variance of the mean scores
of the treatment groups on each covariate for each reading
Science Heading Passage
1
5
>
None Dq
2 6
2 hours Di
3 7
1 day I >2
k 8
days D3 4
^ Feedback Delay
Acquisition Hetentlon
Criterion Type
Social Studies Reading Passage
None Dq '
1
5
2 6
3 7_
h 8
2 hours Di
►Feedback Delay
1 day D2
4 days Dj
Acquisition Retention
Criterion Type
Figure 1— A model for the design of the study for the
science and social studies reading passages
3^1
passage. To eliminate statistically any remaining differ
ences between the classes, the analysis of variance proce- !
dure was utilized with intelligence and reading achievement!
test scores as covariates.
Null Hypotheses Tested for Each Dependent Variable
Main effects
Ho^s There are no differences in mean Test Two
scores between Criterion Type groups.
Hog5 There are no differences in mean Test Two 1
scores between paired feedback delay groups.
|
Two way interaction
Hoy Feedback delay by Criterion type =0. |
Ho^as There are no differences in mean Test
Two scores between paired feedback j
delay groups on which the Acquisition
Criterion was applied.
Hc^tjS There are no differences in mean Test
Two scores between paired feedback
delay groups on which the Retention j
1
Criterion was applied.
The null hypotheses are related to the experimental
hypotheses belows
Hoi is the null form of the first experimental
hypothesis which states that performance level on an acqui-]
sition test is higher than on a retention test.
TABLE k
SCHEDULE OF ADMINISTRATION OF THE READING PASSAGES,
TEST 1, FEEDBACK AND TEST 2
I
1
Day 1 2
Treatment Cell Number
3 ^ 5
6
7
8
1 Reading,
Test 1,
Feedback,
Test 2
Reading,
Test 1,
2 hours
Feedback,
Test 2
Reading,
Test 1
Reading,
Test 1
Reading,
Test 1,
Feedback
Reading,
Test 1,
2 hours,
Feedback
Reading,
Test 1
Reading,
Test 1
.
2 Feedback,
Test 2
Feedback
3 '
Test 2 Test 2
5
Feedback,
Test 2
Test 2 Feedback
6
7
8
-....!... .
Test 2
Ho2 ls the null form of the second experimental
hypothesis which states that length of feedback delay has
a significant effect upon performance level on acquisition j
!
and retention. !
!
Ho^ Is the null form of the third experimental
hypothesis which states that performance level on a test
following various Intervals of feedback delay depends upon
i
both the type of criterion and the length of feedback
delay.
Significance level
The writer accepted the five per cent risk of makings
a Type I error; consequently this significance level was i
I
set as the maximum probability at which the Null hypothesis j
could be rejected. |
Assumptions. !
It was assumed that the students had not been previ
ously exposed to the reading passages used In the study. j
It was assumed that the Criterion test was a valid
and reliable Indicator of the amount of material acquired !
1
from the reading passage and the feedback treatment when j
the Criterion test was administered immediately after the j
subjects had received feedback. It is further assumed that
the Criterion test was a valid and reliable indicator of
the amount of material acquired and retained from the
reading passage and the feedback treatment when the
Criterion test was administered three days after the feed
back had been administered.
It was assumed that the assignment of students to
classes was a random procedure.
CHAPTER III
RESULTS
The Covarlates
Intelligence test scores and reading levels were
used as covarlates in the analysis of the results. The
means and standard deviations of the covarlates for all
treatment groups taking the Glaciers tests are presented
in Table 5. The corresponding data for the groups taking
the Rhodesia tests are presented in Table 6,
As a check on the results of the randomization
procedures, a one-way analysis of variance for the eight
experimental groups for each reading passage was computed
for intelligence and reading level. The results of these
analyses appear in Table 7 for students taking the Glaciers
tests. The corresponding data for those taking the Rhode
sia tests are presented in Table 8. In all cases the
resulting P ratio Indicates that differences between groups
on the covarlates were insignificant.(the lowest value of p
was These values confirm that the randomization
procedure effectively eliminated significant bias between
experimental groups on intelligence and reading level.
1 8
TABLE 5
MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF INTELLIGENCE
AND READING LEVEL SCORES FOR ALL TREATMENT
GROUPS AND TOTAL GROUP, GLACIERS TEST
Intelligence Score Reading Level Score
Group Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
1 108.3 15.4
8.89 1.89
2
108.3 12.9 8.69 1.78
3
105.8 13.9
8.61 1.60
4 108.4 14.5 9.18
1.85
5
105.2 16.0 8.34
1.77
6 104.6 16.8 8.92 1.90
7 105.5
14.6 8.8?
1.79
8 102.8 12.1 8.27 1.66
Total 106.1
14.5 8.72
1.75
TABLE 6
MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OF INTELLIGENCE
AND READING IEVEL SCORES FOR ALL TREATMENT
GROUPS AND TOTAL GROUP, RHODESIA TEST
Group
Intelligence
Mean
Score
S.D.
Reading Level Score
Mean S.D.
1
99.7
16.5 8.22 2.00
2 101.4
13.9
8.31 1.92
3
102.6 15.2
8.39
1.88
i f .
107.8 15.8
9.07 1.83
5 101.5 17.5 8.49 1.79
6
107.3
15.2 8.98
1.71
7 103.3 20.7 8.75
2.34
8
103.7 13.7 8.67 1.80
Total 103.4 16.2 8.61
1.91
41
TABLE ?
RESULTS OF ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE OF INTELLIGENCE
AND READING TEST SCORES, GLACIERS GROUPS
Intelligence Reading
Source df MS F p MS F
P
Between Groups 7 144.6 .676 .7 332.5 1.044 .4
Within Groups 272 213.7
318.3
TABLE 8
RESULTS OF ONE-WAY ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE OF INTELLIGENCE
AND READING TEST SCORES, RHODESIA GROUPS
Intelligence Reading
Source df MS F p MS F
P
Between Groups 7 281.8 1.07 .4
335.7 .91 .5
Within Groups 272 262.7
368.5
i
I
1 " 1 *21
!
The correlations between the covarlates and the
criterion tests were computed to evaluate the degree of
relationship between the covarlates and the depending vari-;
j
ables. The correlations of Intelligence test score and
reading level with Test 2 Glaciers were .67 and .68 respec
tively. These correlations suggest a substantial relation
between the covarlates and the dependent variable.
The Dependent Variable
The dependent variable was the score on Test 2. The;
means and standard deviations on Test 1 Glaciers and Test 2\
Glaciers, and the adjustment means on Test 2 Glaciers for
all experimental groups and the total group are presented
in Table 9. The corresponding data for Test 1 Rhodesla and
Test 2 Rhodesia are presented in Table 10.
The results of the analysis of covariance on Test 2 i
Glaciers and Test 2 Rhodesia are presented in Tables 11 and;
12. All P ratios were significant beyond the .01 level. j
The model for the design of the study including the ;
adjusted means for each experimental group is presented in j
Figure 2. j
The adjusted means for Test 2 Glaciers are plotted
;
in Figure 3» to demonstrate the interaction effect between
criterion type and feedback delay. Figure k contains a
similar presentation for Test 2 Rhodesia.
TABLE 9
MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OP TEST 1 AND TEST 2 SCORES,
AND ADJUSTED MEANS ON TEST 2 FOR ALL TREATMENT
GROUPS, AND TOTAL GROUP, GLACIERS TEST
Test 1 Test 2
Group Mean S.D. Mean S.D.
Adjusted
Mean
1 10.6
3.9
15.8
3.5
15.6
2 12.3 3.0 17.0
2.3 16.9
3
11.0
3-3 16.5 3.4
16.5
4
12.7
4.0
17.5 3-5 17.3
5
10.2
3.3
12.0 3.6 12.1
6 11.2 4.1
15.3 3.3
15.4
7
11.6 3.4 16.5 2.8
16.5
8 10.8
3.1 13.7 3-0 14.0
Total
11.3
3.6 15.6 3.6
15.5
441
TABLE 10
MEANS AND STANDARD DEVIATIONS OP TEST 1 AND TEST 2 SCORES,
AND ADJUSTED MEANS ON TEST 2 FOR ALL TREATMENT
GROUPS, AND TOTAL GROUP, RHODESIA TEST
Group
Test 1
Mean S.D. Mean
Test
S.D.
2
Adjusted
Mean
1
10.9 3.7 14.5 3.9 14.7
2 12.3
2.7 16.5 3.1 16.7
3
10.6
3.5 15.1
4.1 15.2
4 12.0
3.3
17.8 2.6
17.5
5 10.3
3.0
11.3 3.3 11.5
6 11.6
3.3
14.1
4.3
13.8
7
12.4 4.0
15.1
4.8
15.1
8 11.2
3.1
12.5
4.5
12.5
Total 11.4 3.4 14.6
4.3
14.6
45
TABLE 11
BESULTS OF ANALYSIS OF COVAHIANCE FOH TEST 2 GLACIEBS
Source df MS F EMSa Percent*5
Criterion Type 1 248.8 53.05** 1.74 20
Feedback Delay
3
86.8 18.50**
1.17
14
Interaction
3
29.0
6.17** .69
8
Within Groups 270
4.7 4.7 58
**p <.01
aExpected Mean Square
^Percent of total variance
TABLE 12
BESULTS OF ANALYSIS OF COVARIANCE FOB TEST 2 RHODESIA
Source df MS F EMSa Percent*3
Criterion Type 1 632.6 80.79** **.46
31
Feedback Delay
3 55.1
7.0* 1 ** .68
5
Interaction
3
56.1
7.17** 1.38 10
Within Groups 270 7.8 7.8 54
**p <.01
aExpected Mean Square
^Percent of total varlanoe
46
Glaciers
1
15.6
5
12.1
2
16.9
6
15.4
3
16.5
7
16.5
4
17.3
8
14.0
Acquisition Retention
Criterion Type
None Do
2 hours Di
1 day D2
4 days
^Feedback Delay
1 5
14.7
11.5
2 6
16.5
14.1
3
7
15.1 15.1
4
8
17.8
12.5
Rhodesia
None Dq
2 hours Di
1 day D2
4 days ^
^ Feedback Delay
Acquisition Retention
Criterion Type
Figure 2— Model for the design of the study including the
adjusted means for all treatment groups.
■*— Retention Criterion
i
Adjusted
Wean
— Acquisition Criterion
17.0
16.0
15.0
13.0
12.0
days
Z\ 1
hours day
0
Feedback Delay
Figure 3-— Adjusted means for each treatment group, Test
Glaciers.
Adjusted
Hean
— X— Retention Criterion
— -0— Acquisition Criterion
17.0
16.0
12.0
11.0
1 0
hours day days
Feedback Delay
Figure 4— Adjusted means for each treatment group, Test 2
Rhodesia.
49
Differences between treatment means within Criterion
types were computed. The significance of the resulting
differences were evaluated by computing the F ratio for
multiple comparisons with analysis of covariance (Cochran,
1957) P- 278; Winer, 1962, p. 592). The results of these
computations for Test 2 Glaciers are presented in Table 13.
The equivalent information for Test 2 Rhodesia is presented
iin Table 14.
|
|
I On Test 2 Glaciers, the one day feedback delay group
(D2) achieved a significantly higher mean than the other
three feedback delay groups which were administered the
Retention Criterion. The immediate feedback group achieved
a significantly lower mean than the other three feedback
delay groups. Figure 3 indicates an increase in Test 2
Glaciers score as feedback delay Increases, until an opti
mum point is reached at one day feedback delay. After the
Ioptimum point an increase in feedback delay is accompanied
!
!by a decreased score.
On Test 2 Glaciers, the hour and four day feed
back delay groups scored significantly higher than the
immediate feedback group, among those groups which were
administered the Acquisition Criterion. No other differ
ences achieved significance. Figure 3 indicates a general
ly increasing score as feedback delay is increased.
Test 2 Rhodesia results were similar to those of
Test 2 Glaciers. Among those groups which were administered
50
TABLE 13
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PAIRED TREATMENT MEANS
ON TEST 2 GLACIERS WITHIN ACQUISITION
AND RETENTION CRITERION GROUPS
Group D& GMto D GM D GM
Acquisition Criterion
Group 2 Group 3 Group i f
1 1.2* 2
0.7 3 1.7**
i f
2 - 0.5 2
0.5
i f
3
- 1.0 if
i if - -
Retention Criterion
Group 6 Group 7 Group 8
5 3.3** 6 if.5** 7 1.7**
8
6 - 1.2* 7 1.6** 6
7
- 2.8**
7
8
-
-
aDifference between means
! ^Greater mean
i
* P < .05
**p < .01
TABLE
DIFFERENCES BETWEEN PAIRED TREATMENT MEANS
ON TEST 2 RHODESIA WITHIN ACQUISITION
AND RETENTION CRITERION GROUPS
Group
TP - GMb D GM D GM
Acquisition Criterion
Group 2 Group 3 Group 4
1 2.0** 2 0.6 3
3.3** 4
2 - 1.4* 2
1.3 4
3
- 2.7** 4
4
-
Retention Criterion
Group 6 Group 7 Group 8
5
2.8** 6 3.8** 7 1.2 8
6 - 1.0 7 1.6* 6
7 . - 2.6** ?
8 mm mm
aDif*ference between means *p < .05
^Greater mean **p < .01
the Retention Criterion, the greatest mean was achieved by
the one day feedback delay group (D2). As with the
t
Glaciers test, the D2 group scored significantly higher
than either the immediate feedback or the four day delayed
feedback group. However, the difference between the D2
group and the hour feedback delay group failed to
achieve statistical significance. Figure 4 indicates a
trend in Test 2 Rhodesia group mean scores which is very
similar to the trend of the Test 2 Glaciers scores under
the Retention Criterion.
Among those groups which were administered the
Acquisition criterion on Test 2 Rhodesia, the highest mean
was achieved by the four day delay group. This mean was
significantly higher than the immediate feedback and the
one day feedback delay groups. As with the Glaciers test,
Figure ^ indicates a generally increasing score on the
Acquisition criterion accompanied by an increase in feed
back delay.
CHAPTER IV
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION
Summary
Purpose
The purpose of the present study was to Investigate
the relation between immediacy of feedback and retention,
specifically to compare the effect of selected feedback
delays on the acquisition and retention of verbal materials.;
in the classroom.
In recent studies (Brackbill et ad, 196^, and
|
English and Klnzer, I966), the important principle of imme
diacy of feedback was opened to question. These studies j
resulted In a greater amount of retention by subjects for
whom feedback had been delayed for periods up to one week,
than by subjects who had received immediate feedback.
i
These studies Involved learning materials such as j
nonsense syllables which were not representative of learn- j
! |
Ing materials used in the schools or they involved college |
1
age students. The present study was designed to use grade j
eight students as subjects, and reading passages as learn- |
Ing materials.
Furthermore the studies suggested that immediate
feedback was effective when the criterion test was adminis
tered a number of days after feedback. The present study
was designed to investigate the relation between the type
of criterion test and the effect of feedback delay.
Procedure
The subjects were 663 grade eight students in four
schools of an elementary school district in Southern Cali
fornia. Because of absence during the study, incomplete
data or random removal to equalize group size, this number
was reduced to 560 before analysis of the data. Mean
intelligence test score was 105.9 and mean reading level
was 8.2.
Subjects read one of two reading passages. The
first reading passage contained science information and was
entitled HGlaclers"; the second contained social studies
information and was entitled "Problems in Hhodesia." After
reading the articles, subjects were tested on the content
of the appropriate article (Test 1). Then four different
delays occurred between Test 1 and feedback. These feed
back delays were immediate feedback (Do), two and one-half
hours (Di), one day (D2) and four days (D3).
Those subjects receiving immediate feedback
responded to Test 1 items on a special answer card. Feed
back for a correct response was provided by the appearance
of the letter "T" when the subject erased aJLight ink
551
overlay. The letter "E," "H" or "LM appeared if he
selected the incorrect response. Delayed feedback was
provided by pasting yellow strips of paper to the right
hand margin of Test 1. On the yellow strips were printed
boxes containing the letter of the correct response to each
item. These boxes were positioned to be Immediately adja
cent to the boxes on Test 1 where the student had earlier
printed his responses to the item.
Subjects were retested (Test 2) either immediately
after receiving feedback (acquisition criterion) or three
days after receiving feedback (retention criterion). Test
2 consisted of the same items as Test 1. However the
sequence of items was changed using a table of random I
i
numbers, and the order of choices within items was changed j
i
using the same procedure. j
The dependent variable was the score on Test 2. A :
2 x k factorial design was used for each reading passage, j
The first factor was type of criterion and consisted of thej
two levels discussed above. The second factor was feedback
delay and it consisted of the four levels presented above.
The data were analyzed using the analysis of covari-
]
ance procedure. The covariates were intelligence test
score and reading grade level.
|
Results
The following results were obtained:
' ... ’ ” 56!
1. Criterion Type, There was a significant differ
ence between the two criterion types for both reading
passages. The subjects who were administered Test 2 imme
diately after feedback scored significantly higher than
those tested three days later. This factor accounted for
twenty per cent of the variance on Test 2 Glaciers and
thirty-one per cent of the variance on Test 2 Rhodesia.
2. Feedback Delay. There were significant differ
ences between the four feedback delay groups for both
reading passages. Within the retention criterion groups,
the one day delay group significantly outperformed the
immediate feedback. The feedback delay factor accounted
for fourteen per cent of the variance on Test 2 Glaciers
and five per cent of the variance on Test 2 Rhodesia.
3. Interaction. There was a significant interac
tion term for both reading passages. This interaction
accounted for eight per cent of the variance of Test 2
Glaciers and ten per cent of the variance of Test 2
Rhodesia.
Among the groups which were retested three days
after receiving feedback, the one day feedback delay group
achieved the highest mean score while the immediate feed
back group achieved the lowest, for both Test 2 Glaciers
and Test 2 Rhodesia. There was an optimum point at one
day feedback delay after which an increase in feedback
delay was accompanied by a decreased mean score.
Among the groups which were retested Immediately
after receiving feedback, the four day feedback group
achieved the highest score while the immediate feedback
|
group achieved the lowest. There was a generally lncreas- I
ing mean score as feedback delay increased.
Conclusions
1. Ho^, the hypothesis that there are no differ
ences in mean Test 2 scores between criterion
i
Type groups, was rejected at the one per cent
level of significance for both Test 2 Glaciers
and Test 2 Rhodesia.
2. Ho2 » the hypothesis that there are no differ- j
ences in mean Test 2 scores between paired feed-j
back delay groups, was rejected at the one per j
cent level of significance for both Test 2
Glaciers and Test 2 Rhodesia.
3. Hoo, the hypothesis that the interaction between j
j
feedback delay and criterion type is zero, was
rejected at the one per cent level of signifi
cance for both Test 2 Glaciers and Test 2
!
Rhodesia. |
I
a. Ho^a* the hypothesis that there are no
differences in mean Test 2 scores between
paired feedback delay groups on which the
; I
Acqui s it ion Criterion was applied, was j
rejected at the five per cent level on two
of the six paired treatment means for Test 2
Glaciers, and on four of the six paired
treatment means on Test 2 Rhodesia.
b. Hojb* the hypothesis that there are no
differences in mean Test 2 scores between
paired feedback delay groups on which the
Retention Criterion was applied, was
rejected at the five per cent level for all
paired treatment means for Test 2 Glaciers, ;
and for four of the six paired treatment
means on Test 2 Rhodesia. j
Discussion
i
The results that the students tested immediately j
j
after feedback scored significantly higher than those
tested three days later, is not unexpected in the light of
the rapid loss of acquired knowledge over even a few days, j
The markedly lower score of the immediate feedback - acqui-j
sition criterion group was not anticipated. These lower j
t
scores could be attributed to fatigue, interaction between j
pupil and answer card or massed-practice considerations.
However, the present study was not designed to Investigate
the cause of these lower scores.
The higher scores of the acquisition groups have
little relevance to education in the schools. In ..most. . . . . . . .
situations retention of that which is learned is a main
objective of instruction and testing. In such situations
there appears to be little use for a testing procedure
which measures acquisition rather than retention. The
importance to this study and to school learning of the
acquisition test is presented In the discussion of the
interaction term below.
On the basis of the generally accepted principle
that immediate feedback is more beneficial than delay, the
significant differences on the feedback delay factor for
the acqusltlon criterion might be anticipated. However,
the same immediacy principle would suggest decreasing
results as feedback delay increases. The results do not
demonstrate this. Within the acquisition criterion portion
of the study, feedback delay was accompanied by generally
higher scores. Within the retention criterion portion of
the study, delays of up to one day appear actually to
Improve retention, with a decrease in scores after a four
day feedback delay. Thus, within the retention portion,
the present study has demonstrated what Brackbill terms
|"delay-improved retention" (Brackbill and Kappy, 1962,
|p. 9^7). The present study was not designed to investigate
the causes of this phenomenon but it may be hypothesized
|that some type of mental functioning occurs during the
j
delay period, which results in a greater ability for the
i
jsubject to utilize the feedback.
The significant interaction between criterion type
and feedback delay suggests different processes or factors
in short term as opposed to long term retention. The
presence of different processes or factors is a possible
partial explanation for the apparent contradiction between
the generally accepted principle of immediacy of feedback
and the results* of the present study.
The great similarity of results over subject matter j
minimize the possibility that the delay improved retention
phenomenon is a function of the subject matter of the
learning materials.
The implications of the results of the present studyj
to education may be divided into two areas - implications
for educational and learning theory., and immediate implica-
t
tions to teaching. |
The results of the present study suggest a factor
which must be accounted for in learning theories if imme-
i
diacy of feedback is to remain a principle of learning.
i
If learning theory can assimilate this phenomenon effec
tively then education in the long run will benefit.
i
The more immediate implications to education are |
for those teachers who make a great effort to return graded|
tests to students as quickly as possible. The results of
the present study suggest that it may be beneficial to wait
at least a day before returning tests. A much more j
61
important implication is in the area of programmed learn
ing. Considerable time, thought and expense often goes
into incorporating immediate feedback features into
programmed learning materials. The results of the present
study suggest that this effort may not only be ineffective,
but may actually inhibit retention learning.
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APPENDIX A
HEADING PASSAGES
GLACIERS
Ice plays a critical role in the water economy of the
earth. About 86 per cent of it is in the Antarctic,
where it exerts a profound influence on the weather
in all parts of the world.
By William 0. Field
Water is one of the few substances on earth existing
lin nature in all three physical states— liquid, solid, and
gaseous. Altogether our planet contains some 350 million
;cubic miles of water, most of it, of course, in the oceans.
Of the total water on the earth, not much more than one per
bent is In the solid form of Ice or snow, and far less than
[that in the form of water vapor in the atmosphere. Yet
these proportions make up a delicate balance which Is very
'important to life on the earth. Any great change in the
ratios of water, ice and atmospheric moisture would have
icatastrophic consequences for man and his economy. The ice
piled in glaciers on the lands, for Instance, exercises
tight control over sea levels, climate and water supplies
of whole continents.
| Glaciers now cover about one-tenth (nearly six million
square miles) of the world*s land area. Our estimate of the
Itotal amount of water In them is only a rough guess, mainly
because we have only a hazy idea of the thickness of the
Antarctic ice sheet. This vast icecap accounts for about
86 per cent of the world* s glacial area. The Greenland ice
cap makes up another ten per cent. The remaining four per
cent is very important, as far as Its effects go, for it
Includes tens of thousands of square miles of glaciers on
^mountains in the temperate zones, where they intimately
influence man's climate and water supplies.
Estimates of the total volume of water in the world’s
glaciers range from about million to more than six
million cubic miles. If all this ice melted, the level of
the world's oceans would rise by something like 65 to 200
feet!
i
| Glaciers can grow only in areas where the snowfall Is
great enough year after year to exceed the annual rate of
melting. As a result, the ice sheet is not necessarily
thickest where the climate is coldest. In Alaska the great
est concentration of glaciers is along the southern coast,
Which is the warmest part of the Territory but has the
71
i
heaviest winter snowfall. Parts of northern Greenland have
no glaciers because there is not enough snowfall.
i
I As snow accumulates, the pressure of the mountainous
[layers compacts it into ice. Under its own weight ice
[begins to flow to lower elevations. The rate of flow of
jglaciers varies tremendously: some move very slowly while
lothers slide as much as 50 feet per day during the summer.
At the lower elevations, the glacier melts or discharges
Icebergs into the sea. But under suitable conditions, the
glacier front may advance over the land year after year,
jit takes only a slight change in the combination of annual
[snowfall, melting-season temperatures and other meteoro
logical conditions to produce an advance or retreat of a
jglacier.
i
Probably during most of the earth's history it has
jbeen free of glaciers. We are in an exceptional era—
[neither glacial nor nonglacial. During the last million
[years there have been at least four great ice ages; at their
[maximum, ice covered about one-third of the world* s land
surface. The Ice ages were separated by long warm intervals
[during which the glaciers nearly disappeared. At present we
seem to be in an in-between stage, somewhere between a
glacial and an inter-glacial age. Some glaciers are grow
ling; others are disappearing.
' During the last Ice Age the sea level probably was more
than 300 feet lower than now. Over the world the tempera
tures averaged 7 to lb degrees colder. There were five
[continental ice sheets of more than one million square miles
[each. Three of these, In North America, Europe and Siberia,
have disappeared, but the two in Greenland and Antarctica
remain. Mountain glaciers have all shrunk.
Human civilization began to arise In Western Asia and
North Africa just as the European and North American sheets
were disappearing. About 3000 B.C. the climate in many, if
;not all, parts of the world was drier and warmer by two or
three degrees than at present. The sea level was apparently
jflve to six feet higher. The glacial region in the Alps was
[at least 1,000 feet higher than today. Ice in the Arctic
jOcean probably melted completely each summer. Parts of the
temperature regions where small mountain glaciers now
[furnish the summer water supply must have been arid.
i
| Conditions began to change drastically about 1000 B.C.
The climate became colder and more stormy In many parts of
the world, and by about 500 E.C. glaciers began to grow
again. Then, in the first thousand years after Christ came
{ a period of glacier recession. After that, glaciers
72
'advanced again to a maximum in the l?th to 19th centuries,
'This resurgence of glaciers was watched/directly by observ
ers in the Alps, Scandinavia and Iceland. Since the second
[half of the 19th century, glaciers throughout the world have
[tended to shrink once again. As a result the sea level has
[apparently been rising recently at the rate of approximately
i 2.5 Inches per century. Some glaciers, however, have
advanced, contrary to the general trend. In parts of the
[western U.S. there is a growth of glaciers at present which
[may indicate a changing climate.
i
Glaciers have been studied seriously for a little more
[than 100 years. Beginning in 1919 Hans Wison Ahlmann of the
[University of Stockholm (now Sweden’s Ambassador to Norway)
introduced a new era in glaciology. He took a new look, in
[greater detail, at glaciers in Scandinavia, Iceland, Spitz-
jbergen and northeast Greenland, and his examination led to
inew methods of measuring their nourishment and wastage.
[Observations of glaciers are now being made on a systematic
'basis In several parts of the world. During the last ten
r yearBy: important studies have been carried out in Greenland,
especially by Paul Victor’s French Polar Expeditions, which
determined the volume of the Greenland ice sheet and
|studied its regimen over a broad area.
The little-known Antarctic ice sheet Is more than one
[and a third times the size of the U.S. and its territories,
jIt covers practically the whole continent of Antarctica.
Fully three million square miles of the continent have never
been seen even from the air. The continent’s icecap is
[known to rise as high as 10,000 feet, but the thickness of
[the ice has been measured In only a few places.
73
| PBOBIEMS IN BHODBSIA
f
■ Bhodesia is a nation in the southern part of the Afri-
jcan continent. It is lush and fertile and has clear dry air
;and a near-perfect climate. To some people Bhodesia symbol
izes the promise of the entire African continent.
Between the promise and the fulfillment falls the
ishadow of the continuing crisis in Bhodesia. Two years ago
;the government of Prime Minister Ian Smith proclaimed the
[Unilateral Declaration of Independence (UDI). By the UDI
Bhodesia tried to cut all ties with Great Britain and the
iCommonwealth of Nations. The Smith government was deter
mined to preserve rule of Bhodesia by the white race.
I
In the elections of May, 1965 Prime Minister Smith and
his Bhodesia Front party swept to victory. Smith has ruled
Bhodesia ever since. After his election Smith repeatedly
jtold Britain that the white minority in Bhodesia would never
'approve full freedom for the nation*s. nonwhite majority. In
Bhodesia there are four million black Africans and only
225,000 whites. The blacks outnumber the whites 18 to one.
;Yet, of the four million nonwhites only 11,000 are eligible
jto vote. The future of the nation rests as securely with
jthe whites as it did in the 19th century.
The traditional claim by the whites to rule Bhodesia
goes back to the story of Cecil John Bhodes (1853-1902), for
whom the nation is named. Bhodes was a British colonial and
Imperial statesman who went to Africa for his health.
Before he was 19, he had become very rich from Bhodesia*s
newly discovered gold and other precious mineral mines. He
wrote in his will when he was 22 that his greatest achieve
ment would be setting up a British Imperial claim to rich
southern Africa.
There was a native uprising in 1896, which threatened
Britain*s stake in Africa. Defying danger to his life,
Bhodes rode unarmed into the camp of the tribal leaders. He
explained to the natives that they could not hope to win
;against the British Empire. "Now, for the future, is it
peace or war?" he asked. The native leaders put their
spears aside, telling the others to follow. They answered
with one word: "Peace."
t
!
Control of Nonwhites
Since then the nonwhites have lived a century with
almost no peace. At first the nation was the South Africa
Company, chartered by the crown and controlled by Bhodes.
j l n 1923 it became a self-governing member of the British
r .. .......r“ - 74
Commonwealth. And in 1961 it was granted its first consti
tution as a beginning step towards independence. But
Britain insisted that before Bhodesia could be given
bomplete independence, full equality and representative
government would have to be granted to the nonwhite majori
ty. The answer from Smith* s party was that "racial partner
ship" would guarantee nonwhite freedom, but the whites would
be the rulers.
The problem of Rhodesia seems very difficult from a
distance, but up close it appears insoluble. Political
domination by whites is supported by customs and laws that
keep the nonwhites down. An adequate education is available
Only to the whites. The better Jobs and homes are only for
the whites. Only whites can earn enough to improve their
future. Rhodesia is one of the last few white-controlled
putposts in Africa.
! A British spokesman pointed out that Smith's posi
tion is hopeless because it involves controlling
people. The entire Rhodesian legislative, racial
and economic system is designed to protect semi
skilled and unskilled whites from African competi-
I tlon. This system could not survive without
special laws. There are special policies such as
"land apportionment," which favor white settlers.
There are Job limits. The earnings of nonwhites
are taxed to subsidize the earnings of whites. It
! is almost impossible for a black man to get a posi
tion as a manager.
Britain introduced crippling trade restrictions on
Rhodesia when it proclaimed independence. But Smith's
government, using its gold and tobacco products, bought from
other nations who were less fearful of reprisals from the
rest of Africa.
i
1 There was a dramatic scene in the British-Rhodesia
drama in December of 1966. British Prime Minister Harold
Wilson and Smith met aboard the British cruiser HMS Tiger,
at sea. There Wilson presented Britain's ultimatum for
jsettlements a new constitution with independence, providing
|that Rhodesia would guarantee everyone the right to vote,
and government by majority. The Rhodesia Front government,
Smith's party, rejected the plan. Smith declareds "The
record shows that we tried and we tried and we tried."
75
! What Will Happen?
| It seems that Smith will have to try again. Britain
Iwill not give up its authority in a nation right beside the
Iracist country of South Africa. Military force cannot be
iused because Communist nations would accuse Britain of
‘ returning to colonialism. The United Nations cannot help
because It cannot Interfere in the internal affairs of a
country— and technically this is a British problem.
Britain will continue to pressure Rhodesia because this
is a problem concerning the lives of humans. Britain can
luse economic pressure. Rhodesian money has already
Idecreased in value, and recently there have been many criti
cisms against Smith's formerly unchallenged power.
I Smith's government requires Rhodesian police and
jsoldiers, members of the parliament and Judges to take a
ispecial oath of allegiance; to rebel against the Smith
government is treason.
The question in everyone's mind— in Rhodesia, In
Britain, in Africa, and in the world— iss How long? How
long will the Smith government persist in striving for
Isomething like the racist policies of the nation of South
lAfrica? Or will it go the way of many other British colo-
jnies and finally accept nonwhite rule?
APPENDIX B
TEST 1 GLACIERS, TEST 1 RHODESIA
AND SPECIAL ANSWER SHEET
Test 1
GLACIERS
Name
Practice Questions
3 + 2 =
a. 5
b. 23
c. 1
d. 6
23 - 17 =
a. 40
The 1968 Summer Olympics are to be held In
a. Tokyo
b. Mexico City
c. Los Angeles
d. Grenoble
How long does it take a rock to fall 100 feet?
a. 1-| seconds
b. 5 seconds
c. 1 second
d. seconds
(Do not turn this page until told to do so)
78!
j
5. In which physical state Is most of the earth*s water?
a. liquid (____ _ )
b. frozen
c. gaseous
d. Ice
6. The Antarctic ice sheet is approximately the size of
a. Europe and Asia, (____)
b. The Arctic Ice sheet.
c. The United States and Mexico.
d. The United States and Russia.
7. How many Ice ages have occurred during the last —
million years?
a. 2 (____)
b. 1
c. k
d. 3
8. Which of the following best describes conditions
' during the past 2,000 years?
a. The number and size of glaciers have varied.(___ )
b. Sea level has been constantly decreasing.
c. Water in the atmosphere has decreased.
d. America*s continental glaciers have disap
peared, but Europe's have not.
9. Of the five continental ice sheets formed during the
last ice age two remain. One of them is located in
a. Greenland.___________________________________(____)
b. Canada.
c. Norway.
d. Siberia.
10. We now live In a period which is neither glacial nor
non-glaclal. Which of the following is the best
evidence of this fact?
a. The climate is constantly changing. ( )
b. The -annual snowfall is decreasing.
c. Extremely large glaciers are melting.
d. Some glaciers are growing and others are
shrinking.
791
11. If glaciers cover about ten per cent of the land area,
or about six million square miles of the earth, then
the land area of the earth, In square miles, Is
approximately
a. 5,^00,000 (____) ;
b. 60,000,000
c. 5^,000,000
d. 6,000,000
12. The ice in glaciers does not control
a. sea level ( )
b. water supply
c. climate
d. wind speed
13. Which is the most correct statement?
a. Amount of glaciation is unrelated to (___ )
amount of water in the oceans.
b. An Increase in amount of glaciation in
the world occurs with an increase in
amount of water in the oceans.
c. An Increase in amount of glaciation in j
the world occurs with a decrease in j
amount of water in the oceans.
d. The relationship cannot be determined |
from this passage.
Ik, Which is the most correct statement?
i
a. An Increase in amount of snowfall occurs (____) j
with an Increase in the size of glaciers.
b. An Increase in amount of snowfall occurs
with a decrease in the size of glaciers. |
c. Amount of snowfall is not related to the
size of glaciers. j
d. The relationship between amount of snow
fall and size of glaciers cannot be
determined from the reading passage,
15. A glacier can best be described as a i
\
a. snow field_________________________________(___ ) j
b. valley packed with ice
c. moving ice field
d. produce of low temperature
i**NOTE: The following information applies to
questions 16, 17» and 18.
In a newly discovered country the average annual snow-
i fall is equal to the average annual melt. The average
temperature in the summer is yo degrees P. There,
| conditions have existed for 100 years.
16. This newly discovered country probably
a.
b.
! C.
I < 3 - .
jl7. If the annual melt were reduced In this country, how
would conditions change?
I
a. Annual snowfall would increase. (____ )
b. Annual snowfall would decrease.
c. Glaciers would begin to disappear.
d. Glaciers would begin to form.
;18. What would cause the annual melt to decrease?
a.
b.
c.
d.
#**
19. Where is most of the world's water?
a.
b.
c.
d.
:20. There are fewer glaciers in northern Alaska than in
southern Alaska because northern Alaska has
a. fewer valleys in which glaciers could (____)
form.
| b. colder weather.
c. more snowfall.
d. less snowfall.
in the oceans (____ )
in the atmosphere
below the ground
in glaciers
Increase in annual snowfall. {____)
Increase in average summer temperature.
Decrease in atmospheric pressure.
Decrease in average summer temperature.
has a few large glaciers. (____ )
has no glaciers.
has many glaciers.
is near a glaciated area.
81
21. It is estimated that there are about four million
cubic miles of water in the world's glaciers. In
order to make this estimate, a scientist would have
to know:
a. The average snowfall per year. (____) !
b. The average world temperature.
c. The volume of water in the oceans.
d. The volume of ice in glaciers.
22. What might happen if the earth's glaciers were to melt
during the next ten years?
a. Greenland would develop into an important (____)
nation.
b. Antarctica would emerge as a large
continental mass.
c. The great seaports of the world would
disappear under water.
d. Australia would submerge.
23. What is the primary reason that glaciers do not exist
in central Canada?
a. The altitude of this region is less than___(____) j
13,500 feet. j
b. It is too far from the polar Ice cap.
c. The temperature gets extremely cold in j
the winter months. j
d. The temperature gets very hot in the ;
summer months.
2^. The serious study of glaciers began about the time of ;
the
a. French Bevolution_________________________ (____) ;
b. Civil War
c. discovery of America
d. Golden Age of Greece
82
Test 1
RHODESIA
Name_____________________
Practice Questions
1. 3 + 2 =
a. 5 (____)
b. 23
c. 1
a. 6
2. 23 - 17 =
a. 40 (____)
b. 5
c. 46
d. 6
3. The 1968 Summer Olympics are to be held In
a. Tokyo (__ )
b. Mexico City
c. Los Angeles
d. Grenoble
4. How long does it take a rock to fall 100 feet?
a. l£ seconds (_____)
b. 5 seconds
c. 1 second
d. 2\ seconds
(Do not turn this page until told to do so)
83
The climate of Rhodesia is
a. clear and dry. (____)
b. often wet and foggy.
c. very cold in winter.
d. hot and humid in summer.
One of the reasons Britain will not surrender its
authority in Rhodesia is that
a. Britain wants to remain a colonial power. (_____)
b. Britain needs the oil produced by Rhodesia.
c. Rhodesia is bordered by racist South Africa.
d. Rhodesia is too small to govern itself.
Assume you could get into a time machine and see
Rhodesia as it will be in 1973* five years from now.
Which situation would you probably not see?
a. Nonwhites in control after a bloody rebellion. (_)
b. Rhodesia still having racist policies and
Britain still trying to pressure Rhodesia
by economic sanctions.
c. Fully equal rights for nonwhites, finally
granted by Smith’s Front Party.
d. A compromise solution between Britain and
Rhodesia with some disagreements remaining.
Which statement is most correct?
a. Britain is applying only economic and (____)
,political pressure on Rhodesia.
b. Britain is applying economic pressure and
military force on Rhodesia.
c. Britain can turn to the United Nations for
military help in Rhodesia.
d. Britain is trying to help develop the
Rhodesian economy.
When Rhodes asked the rebelling natives "Is it peace
or war?", the natives answered, "Peace." By this the
natives meant they would
a. stop fighting against rule by the whites. ( )
b. stop fighting against the British for
independence.
c. stop fighting and share control of Rhodesia
with Rhodes.
d. join the United Nations.
r ' ' ........... ..... ~ ' 8 ^
I
| 10. Out of four million black Africans In Ehodesla, the
number who are allowed to vote is about
I
a. no black Africans are allowed to vote._______ (___ )
b. £ million.
c. 1 million.
! d. 11,000.
11. Since the Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Inde
pendence
a. Rhodesia* s relations with the Congo have ( )
improved.
b. criticism of Smith*s power has been
increasing in Rhodesia.
c. Rhodesia has increased trade with Britain.
! d. Rhodesia's relations with South Africa
| have worsened.
i
;12. The main topic of the article is
a. the rising political power of nonwhites in (___)
| Rhodesia.
I b. the role of Cecil John Rhodes in the growth
of Rhodesia.
c. the problems of Britain in African countries
like Rhodesia.
d. the Smith government's determined efforts to
keep control of Rhodesia in the hands of the
white minority.
i 13• Rhodesia is
a. an island off the African continent. (___)
b. a city in the southern part of Africa.
c. a nation in the southern part of Africa.
d. a part of the Congo.
lty. Which is the most correct statement?
a. Britain will grant independence to Rhodesia (___)
if Rhodesia will guarantee everyone the
right to vote.
b. Britain will not grant independence to
Rhodesia under any circumstances.
c. Britain will grant independence to Rhodesia
if Rhodesia will change the name of the
country.
d. Britain will grant independence to Rhodesia
if Rhodesia will stop selling gold to South
Africa.
85
! 15. If Rhodesia was not a former British territory, would
Britain still have the right to pressure Rhodesia into
dropping its racial policies?
i
i
a.
b.
c.
d.
16. Before the problems in Rhodesia can be solved,
Rhodesian whites must choose between
|
I a. independence or remaining a British (____)
i colony.
b. white or nonwhite rule.
c. democracy or communism.
d. allowing or not allowing nonwhites to
live in Rhodesia.
17. The United States and Rhodesia are the only British
territories to declare their Independence without
permission from Britain.
i •
a. Both Rhodesia and the United States broke ( )
away from Britain because they were paying
high taxes without representation.
b. Rhodesia broke away from Britain because
Rhodesians were paying high taxes without
representation, but the United States broke
away for other reasons.
c. Neither the United States nor Rhodesia
broke away from Britain because they were
paying high taxes without representation.
d. The United States broke away from Britain
because Americans were paying high taxes
without representation, but Rhodesia broke
away for other reasons.
| 18. One of the ways by which nonwhites in Rhodesia are kept
down is
a. forcing all nonwhites to live In fenced-in ( _ _ ___)
compounds.
b. taking a special oath of allegiance to the
queen.
No, because Britain is not an African (____)
nation.
No, because many nations have racial
policies against nonwhites.
Yes, because the problem is about the
individual rights of fellow humans.
Yes, because Britain is a relatively
powerful country.
86
j c. giving nonwhites jobs a long way from the
j cities.
d. a tax which is taken from the wages of
| nonwhites and given to whites.
119. A man living in Rhodesia owns a farm. He works very
j hard because if he does well he may one day become
manager of the local Farmers Organization. He is most
likely
a. a white man ( ____)
b. a black man
c. either white or black.
d. neither white nor black.
;20. According to the reading passage, Britain introduced
j crippling trade restrictions on Rhodesia. This means
! that the British
a. would only accept cash for Rhodesian goods, ( )
and would not trade with Rhodesia.
b. tried to stop Rhodesians from trading with
each other.
c. stopped Rhodesia from trading with other
j countries.
d. stopped buying many things from Rhodesia.
21. By the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Rhodesia
a. imposed a tax on nonwhite workers. (____)
b. agreed with Britain on the nation*s future.
c. became the United States of Africa.
d. cut all ties with Britain.
22. In Rhodesia there are
a. 5 blacks for every white. (____)
b. 10 blacks for every white.
c. 18 blacks for every white.
d. There is about the same number of blacks and whites
123. Rhodesian prime minister, Ian Smith said, "The ideal
! for which we are striving is a system which acknowl
edges our different communities.” By "different_ .
I communities" Smith means
a. the British and Rhodesian communities. ( )
b. the reading passage doesn*t give enough
information.
c. the communities or nations making up the U.N.
d. the white and nonwhite communities.
If Britain gave up and agreed to Rhodesian independ
ence, and agreed to Prime Minister Smith*s policies
towards nonwhites
a. the problems in Rhodesla would be solved, (___
b. black people in Rhodesia would have much
less chance of gaining equal rights,
c. the white minority would gradually turn
the rule of Rhodesia over to the nonwhites.
d. black people in Rhodesia would have a much
greater chance of gaining equal rights.
PLEASE NOTE:
"The Alphabetical Variable Answer
Programing Device", @ 1966 by Van
Valkenburgh, Nooger 6 Neville, Inc.,
page 88, not microfilmed at request
of author. Available for consultation
at University of Southern California
Library.
UNIVERSITY MICROFILMS.
APPENDIX G
TEST 2 GLACIERS AND TEST 2 RHODESIA
Test 2
GLACIERS
Name
PRINT THE LETTER OF THE CORRECT ANSWER
ON THE ANSWER SHEET PROVIDED
Where Is most of the world* s water?
a* in the oceans
b. In the atmosphere
c. below the ground
d. in glaciers
Which is the most correct statement?
a. An Increase in amount of glaciation in the world
occurs with a decrease in amount of water in the
oceans.
b. An Increase in amount of glaciation in the world
occurs with an Increase in amount of water In the
oceans.
c. Amount of glaciation is unrelated to amount of
water in the oceans.
d. The relationship cannot be determined from the
passage.
What might happen If the earth*s glaciers were to melt
during the next ten years?
a. Greenland would develop into an important nation.
b. The great seaports of the world would disappear
under water.
c. Antarctica would emerge as a large continental
mass.
d. Australia would submerge.
We now live in a period which is neither glacial nor
nonglacial. Which of the following is the best
evidence of this fact? —
a. The climate is constantly changing.
b. The annual snowfall is decreasing.
c. Some glaciers are growing and others are shrinking.
d. Extremely large glaciers are melting.
90
■ “ “ " 91
It Is estimated that there areabout four million cubic
miles of water in the world*s glaciers. In order to
make this estimate, a scientist would have to knows
a. The volume of ice in glaciers,
b. The volume of water in the oceans.
c. The average world temperature,
d. The average snowfall per year.
In which physical state is most of the earth’s water?
a. liquid
b. frozen
c. gaseous
d. ice
What is the primary reason that glaciers do not exist
in central Canada?
a. The altitude of this region is less than 13,500
feet.
b. It is too far from the polar ice cap.
c. The temperature gets extremely cold in the winter
months.
d. The temperature gets very hot in the summer months.
The serious study of glaciers began about the time of
the
a. French Revolution
b. Golden Age of Greece
c. discovery of America
d. Civil War
How many ice ages have occurred during the last million
years?
a. b
b. 3
c. 2
d. 1
The Antarctic ice sheet is approximately the size of
a. The United States and Mexico.
b. The United States and Russia.
c. Europe and Asia.
d. The Arctic ice sheet.
92
♦*NOTE: The following information applies to questions 11,
12, and 13.
In a newly discovered country the average annual snow
fall is equal to the average annual melt. The average
temperature in the summer is yo degrees F. There,
conditions have existed for 100 years.
11. This newly discovered country probably
a. has no glaciers
b. has a few large glaciers
c. has many glaciers
d. is near a glaciated area
12. If the annual melt were reduced in this country, how
would conditions change?
a. Annual snowfall would increase.
- b. Annual snowfall would decrease.
c. Glaciers would begin to form.
d. Glaciers would begin to disappear.
13. What would cause the annual melt to decrease?
a. Increase in annual snowfall.
b. Increase in average summer temperature.
c. Decrease in average summer temperature.
d. Decrease in atmospheric pressure.
1^. The ice in glaciers does not control
a. sea level
b. wind speed
c. climate
d. water supply
15. Which is the most correct statement?
a. An Increase in amount of snowfall occurs with an
increase In the size of glaciers.
b. An Increase In amount of snowfall occurs with a
decrease in the size of glaciers.
c. Amount of snowfall is not related to the size of
i glaciers.
d. The relationship between amount of snowfall and
size of glaciers cannot be determined from the
I reading passage.
93
16. There are fewer glaciers In northern Alaska than In
southern Alaska because northern Alaska has
a* less snowfall
b. colder weather
c. more snowfall
d. fewer valleys in which glaciers could form
17. A glacier can best be described as a
a. snow field
b. valley packed with ice
c. product of low temperature
d. moving ice field
18. Which of the following best describes conditions
during the past 2,000 years?
a. Sea level has been constantly decreasing.
b. The number and size of glaciers has varied.
c. America’s continental glaciers have disappeared
but Europe’s have not.
d. Water in the atmosphere has decreased.
19. Of the five continental ice sheets formed during the
last ice age two remain. One of them is located in
a. Canada
b • Greenland
c. Norway
d. Siberia
20. If glaciers cover about ten per cent of the.land area,
or about six million square miles of the earth, then
the land area of the earth, in square miles, Is
approximately
a. 5,4-00,000
b. 6,000,000
c. 5^,000,000
d. 60,000,000
Test 2
RHODESIA
Name -
PRINT THE LETTER OP THE CORRECT ANSWER
ON THE ANSWER SHEET PROVIDED
In Rhodesia there are
a. 5 blacks for every white.
b. 10 blacks for every white.
c. 18 blacks for every white.
d. There is about the same number of blacks and
whites.
If Britain gave up and agreed to Rhodesian Independ
ence, and agreed to Prime Minister Smith*s policies^
towards nonwhites
a. the problems in Rhodesia would be solved.
b. black people in Rhodesia would have a much greater
chance of gaining equal rights.
c. the white minority would gradually turn the rule
of Rhodesia over to the nonwhites.
d. black people in_Rhodesia would have much less
chance of gaining equal rights.
The United States and Rhodesianare the only British
territories to declare their independence without
permission from Britain.
a. Both Rhodesia and the United States .broke away
from Britain because they were paying high taxes
without representation.
b. The United States broke away from Britain because
Americans were paying high taxes without represen
tation, but Rhodesia broke away for other reasons.
c. Neither the United States nor Rhodesia broke away
from Britain because they were paying high taxes
without representat ion.
d. Rhodesia broke away from Britain because Rhodesians
were paying high taxes without representation, but
the United States broke away for other reasons.
If Rhodesia was not a former British territory, would
Britain still have the right to pressure Rhodesia into
dropping its racial policies?
a. Yes, because the problem is about the Individual
rights of fellow humans.
b. Yes, because Britain is a relatively powerful
country.
c. No, because Britain is not an African nation.
d. No, because many nations have racial policies
against nonwhites.
According to the reading passage, Britain introduced
crippling trade restrictions on Rhodesia. This means
that the British
a. stopped buying many things from Rhodesia.
b. tried to stop Rhodesians from trading with each
other. —
c. stopped Rhodesia from trading with other countries.
d. would only accept cash for Rhodesian goods, and
would not trade with Rhodesia.
By the Unilateral Declaration of Independence, Rhodesia
a. imposed a tax on nonwhite workers.
b. agreed with Britain on the nation*s future.
c. cut all ties with Britain.
d. became the United States of Africa.
The climate of Rhodesia is
a. very cold in winter.
b. often wet and foggy.
c. clear and dry.
d. hot and humid in summer.
One of the reasons Britain will not surrender its
authority in Rhodesia is that
a. Britain wants to remain a colonial power.
b. Britain needs the oil produced by Rhodesia.
c. Rhodesia is bordered by racist South Africa.
d. Rhodesia Is too small to govern Itself.
When Rhodes asked the rebelling natives "Is it peace or
war?”, the natives answered, "Peace.” By this the
natives meant they would
a. stop fighting and share control of Rhodesia with
Rhodes.
b. stop fighting against the British for independence.
96
c. stop fighting against rule by the whites.
&. join the United Nations.
10. Out of four million black Africans in Rhodesia, the
number who are allowed to vote is about
a. 1 million
b. § million
c. 11,000
d. No black Africans are allowed to vote.
11. Rhodesian Prime Minister, Ian Smith, said, "The ideal
for which we are striving is a system which acknowl
edges our different communities.” By "different
communities" Smith means .
a. the British and Rhodesian communities.
b. the white and nonwhite communities.
c. the communities or nations making up the U.N.
d. the reading passage doesn't give enough infor
mation.
12. Which statement is most correct?
a. Britain Is trying to help develop the Rhodesian
economy.
b. Britain is applying economic pressure and military
force on Rhodesia.
c. Britain can turn to the United Nations for military
help in Rhodesia.
d. Britain is applying only economic and political
pressure on Rhodesia,
13. The main topic of the article is
a. the Smith governments determined efforts to keep
control of Rhodesia In the hands of the white
minority.
b. the role of Cecil John Rhodes in the growth of
Rhodesia.
c. the problems of Britain in African countries like
Rhodesia.
d. the rising political power of nonwhites in
Rhodesia.
1^. One of the ways by which nonwhites in Rhodesia are kept
down is
a. forcing all nonwhites to live in fenced-in
compounds.
b. taking a special oath of allegiance to the queen.
97
c. a tax which is taken from the wages of nonwhites
and given to whites.
d. giving nonwhites jobs a long way from the cities.
15. A man living in Rhodesia owns a farm. He works very
hard because if he does well he may one day become
manager of the local Farmers Organization. He is most
likely
| a. a black man.
b. a white man.
c. either white or black.
d. neither white nor black.
I
16. Before the problems in Rhodesia can be solved,
Rhodesian:whites must choose between
a. white or nonwhite rule.
b. independence or remaining a British colony.
c. democracy or communism.
d. allowing or not allowing nonwhites to live in
Rhodesia.
17. Rhodesia is
a. a nation in the southern part of Africa.
b. a city in the southern part of Africa.
c. an island off the African continent.
d. a part of the Congo.
18. Assume you could get into a time machine and see
Rhodesia as it will be in 1973> five years from now.
Which situation would you probably not see?
a. Nonwhites in control after a bloody rebellion.
b. Fully equal rights for nonwhites, finally granted
by Smith* s Front Party. —
c. Rhodesia still having racist policies and Britain
still trying to pressure Rhodesia by economic
sanctions.
I d. A compromise solution between Britain and Rhodesia
with some disagreements remaining.
] 19. Which is the most correct statement?
a. Britain will grant independence to Rhodesia, if
Rhodesia will guarantee everyone the right to vote.
b. Britain will not grant independence to Rhodesia
under any circumstances.
98
e. Britain will grant independence to Rhodesia if
Rhodesia changes the name of the country,
d. Britain will grant Independence to Rhodesia if
Rhodesia will stop selling gold to South Africa.
20. Since the Rhodesian Unilateral Declaration of Inde
pendence
a. Rhodesia's relations with the Congo have improved.
b. Rhodesia has increased trade with Britain.
c. criticism of Smith's power has been Increasing in
Rhodesia.
d. Rhodesia's relations with South Africa have
worsened.
APPENDIX D
INSTRUCTIONS FOR TEACHERS AND STUDENTS
FEEDBACK STUDY
Directions for Articles
There are two articles (or reading passages). One is
entitled "Glaciers" and the other "Rhodesia," About half
the class will read the "Glaciers" article. The other half
will read "Rhodesia,"
Hand out the articles in the following manner— face down.
On the accompanying class list is a column entitled
"Article." If the student has a 1 in this column, give him
the "Glaciers" article. If he has a 2, give him the
"Rhodesia" article. If students do not have a number or are
not on the list give them either article in random order
and record the name and article number on the class list.
Read the following instructions to the class:
"Today you are going to read an article and write a
test on it. You are to do the best you can, but don«t
worry if you find the reading difficult. It is intended to
be a challenge to you. You will have ten minutes to read
the article, then I will collect it and you will take the
test. Read the article slowly and carefully and try to
understand and remember as much as you can. Are there any
questions?"
After answering any questions tell the students to turn
over their papers and start reading.
During the reading period hand out Test 1 Glaciers and Test
1 Rhodesla face down, disturbing the students as little as
possible. Be sure to give the test appropriate to the
reading passage of each student.
100
101
FEEDBACK
Directions for Test 1 (Immediate Feedback)
Tests and the special "Trainer Tester" Answer Sheets should
already have been distributed during the reading time.
♦NOTEs Time could easily run short with this group so spend
only as much time with these instruction as is
necessary.
Head the following instructions to the class:
"Please leave the test face down as I give you these
instructions. This test is being given not only to find
what you learned from reading the article, but to see how
much you can learn from the test. You will get your
results from a special answer sheet as you take the test
and then you will be retested
Let us look at the answer sheet right now. Turn it
over and sign your name and either ♦Glaciers* or »Rhodesla*
depending on which article you read. Also turn over your
test papers ...
The first four questions of the test are for practice
and won’t count in your score. Look at question 1. What
is the letter beside the right answer? . . . Well, if you
think it is *a* then erase the black block on your answer
sheet below where you think the correct answer is. If you
uncover the letter *T* you were right (*T* stands for true
or right). Erase the other black blocks for question 1 . .
You should find E, H and L. They mean "wrong’ ' . , . Now
try question 2. If your first try is wrong, keep erasing
until you uncover a T. ..." (Spend as much time on the
remaining two practice questions as you think is reason
able - but don*t omit them entirely).
"There are 20 more questions in the test and you have
35 minutes. The questions^ are meant to challenge you so
don*t worry if you don’t do very well. For each question,
continue erasing until you uncover the »T*. Are there any
questions? . . , Turn to page 2 and go to work!"
102
FEEDBACK STUDY
Directions for Test 1 (Delayed Feedback Groups)
♦*N0TE; These instructions are not appropriate for students
using the special immediate feedback answer cards.
Tests will have already been distributed during the reading
time.
Read the following instructions to the class:
"Please leave the tests face down as I give you these
instructions. This test is being given not only to find
out what you learned from reading the article, but to see
how much you can learn from the test. You will be given
your test results and be retested ____
The test will be a challenge to you. Do your
best, but don*t make wild guesses. The test has 24 ques
tions, but the first four questions are only for practice
and will not count. Turn over your papers and let's try
the practice questions. Place the letter a, b, c or d in
the box at the right to show which answer you think is
correct. The answer to question 1 is . . .? Right! 'a' is
correct. Did anyone put any other letter in the box? . . .
Now try the next three questions but don't turn the page. .
The correct answers are d, b and d7 Are there any ques
tions? ... You have 25 minutes to do the remaining 20
questions. So sign your name at the top of the page, turn
to page 2 and go to it!"
During the test check each student's paper to see that his
name is on page 1.
103
PEEDBACK STUDY
DirectIons for Feedback (Delayed Feedback Groups)
Hand back the tests face down to students.
Read the following instructions to the classs
“You should now have back the test you wrote on Monday.
Turn your test over . . . and you will notice a yellow strip
of paper glued to the right hand side of the pages. This
is to let you know the correct answer for each question.
Notice also that your score on the last 20 questions is
written in red at the top of page 1. (The first four prac
tice questions didn’t count).
For the next ten minutes you are to go over the test
without talking. Learn as much as you can by comparing
your answer with the correct answer. If you don’t under
stand why your answer is wrong try to figure it out~but
don’t worry if you can’t. I am not allowed to explain any
of the answers to you.
?ou wil'l take another test like this in a few days so
learn as much as you can.”
After ten minutes collect the papers.
104
FEEDBACK STUDY
Directions for Test 2
Give out the appropriate copy of Test 2 face down.
Read the following to the classs
"This is the same test that you wrote on Monday except
that the questions are in a different order and the choices
of answers within questions are in a different order.
The purpose of this test is to find out how much
better you can do the second time.
There are 20 questions and you have 25 minutes. The
answer sheet is between pages 1 and 2. Turn over your
papers, find the answer sheet and go to work. ... Be
sure to put your name on the answer sheet."
During the test check that each student has put his name on
the ..answer sheets.

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Asset Metadata

Creator More, Arthur John (author)

Core Title Delay Of Feedback And The Acquisition And Retention Of Verbal Material Inthe Classroom

Degree Doctor of Philosophy

Degree Program Education

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

Tag education, educational psychology,OAI-PMH Harvest

Format dissertations (aat)

Language English

Contributor Digitized by ProQuest (provenance)

Advisor Meyers, Charles Edward (committee chair), Cliff, Norman (committee member), McIntrye, Robert B. (committee member), Wolf, Richard M. (committee member)

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c18-637229

Unique identifier UC11361029

Identifier 6900633.pdf (filename),usctheses-c18-637229 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier 6900633.pdf

Dmrecord 637229

Document Type Dissertation

Format dissertations (aat)

Rights More, Arthur John

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