Computer-assisted instruction as a supplement to lectures in an introductory psychology class

Web-Based Tutorials for Teaching Introductory Statistics

“…These results are consistent with previous research that found that computer-assisted instruction increases the learning and recall of material (Kulik & Kulik, 1987;McNulty, Halama, Dauzvardis, & Espiritu, 2000;Wilson & Harris, 2002). Student performance on the remaining test questions suggest that the learning benefits of the tutorials were domain-specific and did not generalize to other course material, a finding consistent with other evaluations of computer-assisted instruction (Worthington et al, 1996).…”

“…Students who completed course evaluations were quite positive about the tutorials and emphasized components that have been favorably evaluated in other studies-practice exercises with immediate feedback, ability to isolate key concepts, visual presentation of material, and unlimited access to the material (Desrochers et al, 2001;Mitchell & Jolley, 1999;Varnhagen & Digdon, 2002;Wilson & Harris, 2002;Worthington et al, 1996). Students suggested additional tutorials on topics within analysis of variance, a recommendation that was consistent with the finding that the factorial analysis of variance tutorial was the only one with no demonstrable impact on learning.…”

“…Computer-based demonstrations and tutorials used as supplements to course lectures may provide added benefits to student learning. Worthington et al (1996) found that students who used computer-based exercises in an introductory psychology class had higher scores on the final exam than students in a lecture-only section of the course and that these scores were due to better performance on concepts emphasized in the exercises. More recently, Wilson and Harris (2002) evaluated a commercial Web site that offers interactive tutorials on topics typically covered in introductory psychology classes.…”

“…Research has shown that effective use of multimedia can increase student learning (Erwin & Rieppi, 1999;Fletcher-Flynn & Gravatt, 1995;Forsyth & Archer, 1997;Kazmerski & Blasko, 1999;McNeil & Nelson, 1991) and instructors are increasingly encouraged to incorporate multimedia into classroom teaching. Computerized demonstrations that are used for active learning exercises during class sessions and for supplementary, out-of-classroom learning and review have been developed for teaching: 1) introductory psychology (Chaparro & Halcomb, 1990;Worthington, Welsh, Archer, Mindes, & Forsyth, 1996), 2) research methods (Kazmerski & Blasko, 1999;Varnhagen & Digdon, 2002), 3) clinical diagnosis (Desrochers, House, & Seth, 2001;Jachna, Powsner, McIntyre, & Byck, 1993), 4) decision-making (Misale, Gillette, & del Mas, 1996), 5) perception and cognition (Neuhoff, 2000); 6) social psychology (Sherman, 1998), 7) behavioral principles (Lambert, 1987;Silva, Yuille, & Peters, 2000), and, most relevant for the current work, 8) statistics (Aberson, Berger, Healy, Kyle, & Romero, 2000;Britt, Sellinger, & Stillerman, 2002;Franklin & Cooley, 2002;Hurlburt, 2001;Richardson & Segal, 1998;Warner & Meehan, 2001;West & Ogden, 1998). Students consistently give favorable reviews to these computerbased learning resources emphasizing their interactive nature, ease of use, graphical presentation of material, and the ability to review concepts.…”

The Use of Principles for Organising the Introductory Psychology Course

“…The published research reports a variety of ideas regarding how to address these concerns in the general psychology course. For example, research on how to deal more effectively with the size and complexity of the fi eld includes altering the presentation order of topics (Laffi tte, 1986), computer-assisted instruction (Worthington et al, 1996), frequent in-class writing assignments (Boyles, Killian and Rileigh, 1994), and receiving prepared outlines or advance organisers of lecture material (Kiewra et al, 1997;Northcraft and Jernstedt, 1975). Research addressing student expectations includes the use of summary writing during lectures (Davis and Hult, 1997).…”