Effects of Logo and CAI on Black First Graders' Achievement, Reflectivity, and Self-Esteem

Abstract

This article addresses the issue of how successfully minority students' learning styles could be matched with computer instruction and the concomitant effects on their achievement, reflectivity, and self-esteem. 36 first-grade children were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 conditions: Logo, CAI, or a no-exposure control group. Children worked in pairs in the computer groups, receiving biweekly, 30-min sessions for 10 weeks with 2 female Caucasian instructors who used a mediated teaching approach. 2 significant race × condition interactions resulted: (1) Logo minority students outscored Logo majority students on a standardized test of math achievement, and (2) black students in the CAI condition scored lower on a measure of self-reflectivity than either black or white students in the other 2 conditions. It is suggested that the effects of interactive computer programming be examined from the perspective that learning style is mediated through social and cultural contexts and that minority access to computer programming be encouraged.