A study of the effectiveness of interactive television as the primary mode of instruction in selected high school physics classes

The study gathered and analyzed data about the impact of interactive television on student achievement and attitude in high school physics classes. Students enrolled in a distance learning program using interactive television to teach physics were the study population. Data were obtained from eighty-five students at six remote sites and the originating site. Z-tests of the mean scores obtained by the study population on each section of the American Association of Physics Teachers/National Science Teachers Association (AAPT/NSTA) Introductory Physics Examination Version 1988R indicated the study population achieved at a level significantly lower than the test norming population in all four areas analyzed. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA Model) was completed on achievement data arranged by group according to type of classroom monitoring. Group 1 had certified teachers acting as on-site facilitators; Group 2 had no on-site facilitators. There was no significant difference (p > .05) in achievement between the two groups. A survey was administered to determine the attitudes of students toward interactive television as the method of instruction and to assess student attitude toward the course content. Frequency and percentage distributions of responses to each question on the student survey were descriptive of student attitude. A one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA Model) failed to demonstrate any significant difference at the .05 level in attitudes between the group in classrooms monitored by certified teachers and the group in classrooms which were self-monitored. Students enrolled in the interactive television physics course held slightly more positive than negative attitudes toward interactive television as the method of instruction. Student attitude toward interactive television was less positive after taking the course than prior to taking the course. Students in interactive television classes generally held positive attitudes toward the content of physics.Department of Educational LeadershipThesis (D. Ed.