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Browsing by Author "Sherman, Gregory P."

Now showing 1 - 5 of 5
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    The Design, Development and Evaluation of a Web-based Tool for Helping Veterinary Students Learn How to Classify Clinical Laboratory Data
    Danielson, Jared Andrew (Virginia Tech, 1999-07-07)
    Veterinary students face the difficult task of learning to classify clinical laboratory data. In an effort to make this task easier, a computer and web based tool known as the Problem List Generator (PLG) was designed based on current literature dealing with learning theory and medical education which are reviewed in chapter 1. Chapter 2 describes the design and the development process for the PLG. The PLG allows the students to access any number of cases (determined by the professor) of increasing complexity which provide signalment, history, physical exam, and laboratory data for a number of patients. Using the PLG, students analyze the data, identify data abnormalities and mechanisms, arrange them in a problem list, diagnose the problem, and compare their problem list and diagnosis to an expert problem list and diagnosis. The PLG was evaluated using a four step evaluation process involving an expert review, one-to-one evaluations, small group evaluations, and a two-part field trial, and was evaluated in terms of clarity, feasibility, and impact. The PLG is usable, in terms of clarity and feasibility, though fixes are recommended. There is no evidence to infer, statistically, that the PLG has any effect on learning outcomes. However, trends in the quantitative data and logical inference based on the context of the evaluation suggest that the PLG might help students, particularly those of low and average ability to produce more accurate problem lists.
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    The Development and Evaluation of a Music Mnemonic-Enhanced Multimedia Computer-Aided Science Instructional Module
    Kimmel, Karl Joseph (Virginia Tech, 1998-12-14)
    "CellSong" is a computer aided instructional (CAI) science module designed to help students recall information about cellular physiology. The program is designed to teach middle school learners the music mnemonic "Cell's Organelles" (© 1995 Karl Kimmel) in order to facilitate the recall of the targeted biological information. In addition to music, a computer animation is synched to the five minute music file to provide visual reinforcement for the song's lyrics. Two male teachers, from two different rural southern schools (mTeacher and sTeacher) implemented the "CellSong" module in their classes. Students in mTeacher's class consisted of 12 fifth grade biology students. The other group was initially composed of all of sTeacher's sixth grade science classes (n=38). This group was divided into the regular three classes on its second exposure to the program. The students filled out attitude surveys after five exposures to the program. All the sixth grade students took an aided recall tests immediately after the fifth exposure to the program. Thirteen of the sixth graders took the same test (retest) after seven days. Although the test scores were generally low, students who took the retest tended to be able recall the same items that they had recalled the week before. The fifth grade class took one recall test four days after their last exposure to the program and scored higher than the sixth grade from the other school. These students were more favorable in their responses on the attitudinal survey. Students in the fifth grade class (and female students in the sixth grade classes) tended to enjoy the module and music mnemonic strategy. The sixth grade boys reported not enjoying it.
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    The Effects of Speech Cues on Long-term Memory
    Whitt, Gary L. (Virginia Tech, 2000-10-24)
    This research examines a possible relationship between intentional memory and possible phonologic cues in the human voice. Specifically, if someone has told us something in the past, does hearing that same voice at the time of recall affect our ability to remember what was said? Also, if voice cues do affect memory, is the effect voice-specific? Since most standardized assessments of student learning and tests of human memory rest their conclusions about human learning solely on non-aural tests, it is necessary to determine if student performance changes with test modality. Via a computer program, ninety-five adults each listened to a male voice read a one-minute story and were then randomly assigned to take one of three different tests consisting of multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank items. In the first test, the male voice from the story read all questions and possible answers. The second test used a different male voice to read while the third test was text-only. All tests contained identical content and gave single-modality cues only, text or speech. Results show no significant difference in long-term recall or recognition with respect to test-modality. Further research in this area is encouraged to determine if conclusions are generalizable to wider populations and hold for longer memory intervals.
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    The Effects of Visual and Verbal Cues in Multimedia Instruction
    Steffey, Carrie Swanay (Virginia Tech, 2001-02-09)
    Various forms of presenting content via computer differ in the number and quality of visual and verbal cues. Many of these cues such as eye contact, tone of voice, appearance, facial expressions, proximity, and gestures have been found to be beneficial to the learning process. This study seeks to uncover what effects multimedia instruction, which contain a high degree of visual and verbal cues, compared to multimedia instruction, which contains a low degree of visual and verbal cues, may have on college students perception of social presence, satisfaction with their instruction, motivation, and achievement. The relationships among these dependent variables were also investigated. One hundred and fifty students were randomly assigned to five treatment groups. The treatment groups received three computer based multimedia lessons that included either full visual and verbal cues (video), limited visual and full verbal cues (still picture with audio), limited visual cues and no verbal cues (still picture and text), no visual cues and full verbal cues (audio only), or no visual or verbal cues (text only). Results show no significant differences among treatment groups regarding social presence, motivation, satisfaction, and achievement. Significant correlations were found between social presence and satisfaction; social presence and motivation; satisfaction and motivation; and motivation and achievement. Correlations for social presence and achievement, and satisfaction and achievement were not significant. This study suggests that visual and verbal cues in multimedia may not be important for student learning. Further research using different lesson content and a revised social presence scale is encouraged.
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    Navigation Tools' Effect on Learners' Achievement and Attitude
    Farrell, Inez Hofner (Virginia Tech, 2000-03-07)
    Navigation tools can be used to direct the amount of learner control and interactivity available in a hypermedia hybrid CD-ROM environment. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if varying the amount of learner control and interactivity through the used of navigation tools would influence the achievement and attitude of learners. The design of the study was a quasi-experimental study with random assignment of three ability levels of students to three navigation tool treatment groups. A 3 (navigation tool treatments) by 3 (ability levels) by 2 (achievement and attitude) factorial design was employed to test the hypotheses. A module titled The Poetry Portal was constructed to test 3 navigation tools (linear, menu and search engine) and their effect on achievement and attitude scores. One hundred forty-six eighth grade students were stratified into 3 ability levels (low, middle, high) by Stanford 9 scores. The module content correlated to the English 8 Virginia Standards of Learning. Results of this study based on the data are derived from descriptive statistics, two-way ANOVA, one-way ANOVA and a Tukey/Kramer Post Hoc test. The level of significance was set at .05. Results show a significant gain in achievement for high ability level students using the navigation tool search engine. Significant difference in attitude was found for all ability levels using the navigation tool menu. Suggestions for further research in this area are included.