The Effectiveness of Videodisc Instruction in Teaching Fractions to Learning-Disabled and Remedial High School Students

Abstract

This study compares the effectiveness of a videodisc curriculum that incorporates principles of instructional design (including discrimination practice and cumulative review) with a traditional basal program designed to teach basic fractions skills. Twenty-eight high school students, including 17 mildly handicapped students, qualified for the study by showing (a) mastery of whole number operations and (b) less than 50 percent mastery of the fractions skills to be taught. The students were matched in pairs based on a pretest score and math scores from the California Achievement Test, and then randomly assigned to one of the treatments. During the ten-day intervention, observers collected data on levels of treatment implementation and student on-task behavior. A criterion-referenced posttest and two-week maintenance test were administered. The videodisc curriculum resulted in significantly higher posttest and maintenance test scores. Levels of on-task behavior were significantly higher in the videodisc sessions, although levels in both conditions were above 80 percent. An analysis of student error patterns indicated that differences in instructional design features contributed to the relative effectiveness of the two curricula.