Effectiveness of a Self-Scoring Instructional Device in an Introductory Psychology Course

Abstract

This study was an exploration of the effectiveness of a self-scoring punchboard device in a one semester intro ductory psychology course. Fifty-two Ss were used in four matched groups of 13 each. Group I used the device both for testing and review purposes, Group II for testing only, Group III for review only, while Group IV did not use the device at all. Comparison of the groups yielded significant differences between I and III on the mean amount of change taking place as measured by later performance on the test used for matching the groups, and on the mean cumulative course quiz scores between II and IV. It was noted that this difference could be accounted for by a dif ference in the things being measured by the test and the course quizzes. An inhibitory effect of the device when used for review purposes was also suggested. It was concluded that although this device's use for testing might be justi fied, its effectiveness otherwise remains unsupported. THE LAST few years have seen an increased interest in the use of various kinds of auto instructional devices. One line of such develop ment coming from Pressey's early work has been concerned with producing relatively inexpensive devices which provide immediate self-scoring for multiple-choice tests or review items. Among these are the devices reported by Angel? and Troyer (1), Pressey (4), Barlow (2), and Sa koda and Greenwood (5). Although Pressey and Angel? and Troyer indicated some early encourag ing results, little other evidence is available con cerning their effectiveness in classroom learning situations. Research by Jones and Sawyer (3) using the Angel? and Troyer punch boards indi cated that when quizzes were answered with this device instead of an answer sheet, there was a trend toward better scores on a final examination even though this trend did not reach significance (t reported as 1.68). The study reported here was an attempt to explore more fully the possible effectiveness of such a device used in various ways within the context of a one semester introductory course in psychology.