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ERIC Number: ED293600
Record Type: RIE
Publication Date: 1988-May-10
Pages: 25
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
The Impact of Computer-Assisted Instruction on Students' Knowledge of Basic Writing Skills.
Stumhofer, Nancy C.
Several years ago, the English faculty at the Schuylkill Campus of Pennsylvania State University entered into a cooperative venture with the campus learning center to use computer-assisted instruction in the basic rules of grammar as part of the remedial English course. The software used for the lab is the Houghton Mifflin English Microlab program, which consists of a 75-item assessment test, a 50-item quick check test, 11 mastery tests, a data disk to record scores, and 11 modules. The software provides instruction in complete sentences, run-ons and comma splices, misplaced modifiers, subject-verb agreement, pronoun choice, commas, apostrophes, semicolons and colons, parentheses and dashes, quotation marks and italics, and capitalization. Results of student evaluations of the microlab program and a statistical analysis of achievement gains led to the following conclusions: (1) high achievement levels were evidenced by students who did at least 20 exercises and worked on at least 8 instructional modules; (2) some students who worked on fewer than five modules had lower scores on the post-test than they did on the pre-test; (3) although males did better on the pre-test than females, males and females did equally well on the post-test; and (4) when asked what they liked least about the program, the most frequent comments were "It was too time-consuming,""The program ran too slowly," and "There wasn't enough feedback on errors," while the most frequent positive comments were "It helped me learn more about grammar,""It was easy to understand," and "I could always get the module I wanted, a computer, and help if I needed it." Guidelines for setting up a similar program are included. (EJV)
Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive; Tests/Questionnaires
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Pennsylvania State Univ., Schuylkill Haven. Schuylkill Campus.
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A