A comparison of programmed learning with conventional lecturing in the teaching of spectroscopy and ionic equilibria to undergraduates

An investigation, comparing the effectiveness of formal lecturing with programmed learning, in the teaching of first year undergraduates reading chemistry is described.In Chapter 1, problems facing early workers, such as Skinner and Crowder, are discussed and the relevance of programmed learning to tertiary level teaching considered. Recent advances in the teaching of science subjects are described, particular attention being paid to the use of programmed methods in chemistry. A review of comparative studies in other disciplines is made with critical comment on experimental designs used. Finally suggestions are made concerning the use of experimental criteria in comparative studies.The second chapter describes the experiments which were carried out but, prior to this, discusses the aims and scope of the research, dealing with such aspects as the selection of the sample, internal and external validity, and the hypothesis to be tested. The problem of experimental design is dealt with at length and details of the two designs chosen (namely Latin square and randomised group) are given. Experiment 1 is then described. Details concerning the topics, teaching methods and tests are given and the results dealt with using analysis of variance. Experiment 2, while of different design from Experiment 1 was carried out to test the same hypothesis the statistical technique in this case being analysis of covariance.Finally analysis of the post -test is carried out by assessing (i) how marks are distributed for experimental and control groups (chi -square) and (ii) which particular behavioural objectives are measured by each question. Suggestions are put forward to explain the experimental results in terms of post -test sensitivity.The concluding chapter consists of a detailed discussion of research into teaching methods concentrating particularly on how results should be interpreted and used. It is suggested that considerable further study is required, and those areas where such study is likely to be fruitful are identified. Finally, it is pointed out that there remains a number of unsolved problems and suggestions for the future solution of these are put forward