Comparative effects of ability and presentation mode in computer-assisted instruction and programed instruction

Summary The duration of the current experiment was admittedly quite short—30 minutes to an hour of learning time. A longer program may have produced more pronounced differences. Sixty-four students including 32 high and low ability males and females were randomly assigned to programed instruction and computer-assisted instruction programs on the topic of Significant Figures. The results indicated that the students using programed instruction performed significantly better than those using CAI. This difference was attributed primarily to the very poor performance by the low ability students in the CAI group. There was also a significant ability effect. The posttest and retention test results, as well as number of errors in the actual learning sequence, indicated there was a trait by treatment interaction which was interpreted primarily as a very poor performance by low ability students on CAI, with almost equal performance by high and low ability students utilizing programed instruction. The data would not support such explanations as the use of recognition responses or the inability to achieve any particular concepts in the program for the performance of low ability students on the CRT-oriented CAI. Further research is suggested. The work reported herein was sponsored by the Florida State University Computer-Assisted Instruction Center and the Office of Naval Research under Grant No. N00014-68-A-0494.