Doctoral Dissertations
Date of Award
12-2001
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy
Major
Education
Major Professor
Christopher H. Skinner
Committee Members
Donald J. Dickinson, Charles H. Hargis, Richard A. Saudargas
Abstract
The current study extended research on assignment choice and the interspersal procedure by exposing seventh-grade students to educationally valid, grade-level English assignments and requiring students to complete assignments with 20% more work. In Experiment 1, students were asked to work on control English assignments containing 20 discrete complex target tasks and experimental assignments containing 24 equivalent target tasks plus eight interspersed briefer/easier items. Students worked on each assignment for 10 minutes and did not complete either assignment. In Ejq)eriment 2, assignments were reduced to five target items (i.e., control assignment) and six target items plus two interspersed easy items (i.e., experimental assignment). Students completed both assignments within a class period. Across experiments, after working on the assignments students ranked the assignments for time, effort and ease and chose an assignment for homework.
No significant differences for time, effort, or ease rankings were found. However, significantly more students chose the experimental assignment for homework even though these assignments included 20% more target items plus the eight interspersed items. Experiment 1 showed, significantly greater item completion rates on experimental assignments relative to control assignments but no significant differences in academic performance (i.e., accuracy or item completion rate) on target items. Individual analysis of choice data showed that discrete task-completion rates accurately predict assignment choice across 85% of the cases.
Educators can improve assignment perceptions and the probability of students choosing to engage in assigned tasks by reducing assignment demands (i.e., watering down the curriculum). The current results show that educators can cause students to choose assignments that require more effort to complete by giving them more work (i.e., the interspersed items). Thus, the current study suggests that the interspersal procedure may be effective for increasing student learning rates by increasing opportunities to respond (i.e., thickening up the curricula).
Group and individual student findings support the hypothesis that completion of discrete tasks is a reinforcing event. Therefore, interspersing additional briefer tasks may enhance both tasks-completion rates and rates of reinforcement. Applied and theoretical implications are discussed and directions for future research are provided.
Recommended Citation
Meadows, Sadonya F., "Causing students to choose more language arts work : an educationally valid investigation of the interspersal procedure. " PhD diss., University of Tennessee, 2001.
https://trace.tennessee.edu/utk_graddiss/8544