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The relationship between field-independence and instructional strategy on performance on elementary mathematics algorithms. O'Brien, Margaret Anne

Abstract

A study was conducted to determine the interaction effect, if any, between the field-independence construct and two instructional strategies, a pattern strategy which used diagrams extensively and an algebraic strategy which used algebraic field properties familiar to the child and was devoid of diagrams. Two algorithms classified as simple and two algorithms classified as complex formed the content of the instructional materials. One half the children in each of twelve grade five classes, which were participating in a study conducted by a doctoral student, were randomly selected to form the sample of the study. The Children's Embedded Figures Test was individually administered to the sample. Three null hypotheses were tested each at < = .05. These were: (1) There is no significant difference in mean post-test scores between students taught by a pattern instructional strategy and students taught by an algebraic instructional strategy; (2) There is no significant difference in mean post-test scores between groups of students differing in degree of field independence; (3) There is no significant interaction between students' degree of field independence and instructional strategy. Multiple linear regression techniques were used to analyse the data. The results of the study indicated that extreme field independent children did respond differently to the two instructional strategies, although for the sample as a whole the two strategies did not produce significantly different results. For extreme field independent students, the algebraic strategy was superior to the pattern strategy.

Item Metadata

Title	The relationship between field-independence and instructional strategy on performance on elementary mathematics algorithms.
Creator	O'Brien, Margaret Anne
Publisher	University of British Columbia
Date Issued	1972
Description	A study was conducted to determine the interaction effect, if any, between the field-independence construct and two instructional strategies, a pattern strategy which used diagrams extensively and an algebraic strategy which used algebraic field properties familiar to the child and was devoid of diagrams. Two algorithms classified as simple and two algorithms classified as complex formed the content of the instructional materials. One half the children in each of twelve grade five classes, which were participating in a study conducted by a doctoral student, were randomly selected to form the sample of the study. The Children's Embedded Figures Test was individually administered to the sample. Three null hypotheses were tested each at < = .05. These were: (1) There is no significant difference in mean post-test scores between students taught by a pattern instructional strategy and students taught by an algebraic instructional strategy; (2) There is no significant difference in mean post-test scores between groups of students differing in degree of field independence; (3) There is no significant interaction between students' degree of field independence and instructional strategy. Multiple linear regression techniques were used to analyse the data. The results of the study indicated that extreme field independent children did respond differently to the two instructional strategies, although for the sample as a whole the two strategies did not produce significantly different results. For extreme field independent students, the algebraic strategy was superior to the pattern strategy.
Genre	Thesis/Dissertation
Type	Text
Language	eng
Date Available	2011-04-27
Provider	Vancouver : University of British Columbia Library
Rights	For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.
DOI	10.14288/1.0101912
URI	http://hdl.handle.net/2429/34032
Degree	Master of Arts - MA
Program	Mathematics Education
Affiliation	Education, Faculty of; Curriculum and Pedagogy (EDCP), Department of
Degree Grantor	University of British Columbia
Campus	UBCV
Scholarly Level	Graduate
Aggregated Source Repository	DSpace

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UBC_1972_A8 O27.pdf -- 7.39MB

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Rights

For non-commercial purposes only, such as research, private study and education. Additional conditions apply, see Terms of Use https://open.library.ubc.ca/terms_of_use.