Scheduled for Pedagogy I Posters, Thursday, April 3, 2003, 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM, Convention Center: Exhibit Hall A


Effectiveness of Interactive Computer Instruction in the Elementary Physical Education Classroom

Mary Ann Guinn Carr, Martha Whaley and Powell McClellan, Middle Tennessee State University, Murfreesboro, TN

Students in elementary grades devote many hours to playing interactive computer games. If this enthusiasm for learning can be transferred to the elementary physical education classroom considerable learning and increased retention of knowledge may occur. The purpose of this study was to determine the effectiveness of teaching the anatomy of skeletal system using Interactive Computer Instruction (ICI) in the elementary physical classroom. Elementary students attending a university laboratory school were randomly assigned to ICI (n=63) or a traditional instruction (TRAD) group (n=64). The ICI group was provided with access to interactive 3-D models related to the skeletal system (The Ultimate Human Body 2.0, Irwin Publishing Division, Dorling Kindersley, Toronto, Canada). Methods utilized for the TRAD were lecture, discussion, charts, and models. A knowledge test consisting of fourteen questions was administered to both groups at the end of class (immediate recall), and one day after instruction (one-day recall). The same information and test were presented to either the CIC or TRAD groups by the same instructor in one thirty-five minute class. In order to assure that both groups had comparable scientific knowledge at the beginning of the study, Comprehensive Assessment Program (CAP) science scores were compared. The CAP measures the achievement of students in areas of reading/language arts, mathematics, science and social studies. No significant difference F=2.09, p=.15 was obtained between the CAP science scores for ICI (M=657.4, SD=19.8) and TRAD (M=652.5, SD=30.8). An F value of 12.54, p=.001 was obtained for differences between instruction techniques. For immediate recall ICI (M=13.6, SD=0.8), retention of knowledge was 12.5% higher than TRAD (M=11.9, SD=2.1). One-day recall of knowledge decreased 10.3% in ICI (M=12.2, SD=2.0) and 0.0% for TRAD (M=11.9, SD=1.4). The difference between ICI and TRAD of 2.4% at one-day recall was not significant. In conclusion, elementary students who receive interactive computer instruction retain more knowledge the day of instruction than those receiving traditional instruction; however, retention of information one day after instruction is similar.

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