Doctoral Dissertations

Date of Award

8-1999

Degree Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy

Major

Curriculum and Instruction

Major Professor

Lonnie McIntyre

Committee Members

Everett Myer, Priscilla Blanton, Russel French

Abstract

The purposes of this study were to assess the feasibility of usingHyperStudio™ generated applications to help students with specific needs to overcome their weaknesses, and to determine the perceptions of students about the experience.HyperStudio™ is an authoring tool that can be used to create multimedia applications. Sounds graphics and color can be combined in the design of thestack, a series of cards connected by buttons.The data was collected at an inner city elementary school in EastTennessee. Participants were ten 4th grade students aged 9 to 10. Pretest, posttest and retention tests were administered to determine gains in knowledge. The three tests were the same test and they were ten point tests. A questionnaire was prepared to assess participants’ perceptions on the experience.The first and second research questions regarding students’ gain knowledge and retention of knowledge were analyzed quantitatively. Gains from pretest to posttest were computed by group and individually. Retention of knowledge was measured by comparison of posttest and retention tests scores.Students’ perceptions of this experience were assessed using a questionnaire. Responses to each question were summed. The basic data treatment was limited to arithmetic computation, and results were reported in “number of total responses” format.Results of the analysis of data answered the research questions. Findings From this study point to several conclusions related to the research questions. Thefollowing are conclusions from this study;(1)The value of HyperStudio™ applications as remedial instruction for some students in some content areas is still open to questions. Some gains are not considered substantial for remedial students who are being instructed in the same content for a second time.(2)No patterns were found in relation to students’ gains. Students gained from1 to 7 points in different contents and applications.(3)The students who interacted with the applications seemed to enjoy them.(4)Retention was limited to short-term memory. Accuracy of measurement is questionable since a few students demonstrated gains between posttest and retention test without additional instruction.Suggestion for further investigation where research can be productive are given.

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