CCE Theses and Dissertations

A Study To Determine The Effectiveness of a Secondary School Hypermedia-Based Instructional Program in Basic Library Skills And Its Relationship to Student Learning Styles

Date of Award

1994

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)

Department

Graduate School of Computer and Information Sciences

Advisor

Marlyn Kemper Littman

Committee Member

Steven R. Terrell

Committee Member

Paul L. Catano

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to compare two methods of library skills instruction: the traditional lecture method and the hypertext program "What A Problem!" to determine which method was more effective. In 1991 an instructional design was developed for the basic library skills orientation program. From this design a hypermedia computer instructional program "What A Problem!" was written. Sixty subjects were randomly selected (using a table of random numbers) from a population of 430 students enrolled in ninth grade English classes at South Fork High School in Stuart, Florida. This study used a multiple time-series experimental design; there were two experimental groups.

The first hypothesis that was addressed in this study was that there was a significant difference in test scores between subjects who had received the hypermedia treatment and students who had received the lecture treatment. The first null hypothesis that was tested was that no significant difference existed in the test scores between students who had received the hypermedia instruction and students who had received the traditional lecture method of instruction. Data from equivalent form posttests (A, B, C) were used to support or not support the null hypothesis. Posttest A was given one day following instructional treatment. Posttest B was given seven days after instructional treatment. Posttest C was given twenty-one days after instructional treatment. Using a t-Test, the mean scores of the two instructional treatments were compared to see if the mean scores differed significantly at the .050 level. The mean scores did not differ significantly on the Posttests; therefore, the first null hypothesis was supported.

The second hypothesis that was examined was that there was a significant correlation between subjects' perceptual response learning styles and the hypermedia method of instruction. The second null hypothesis was that there was no significant correlation between the hypermedia method of instruction and perceptual learning style. Subjects were given the NASpSP Learning Styles Profile and scored on the three subscales of the perceptual learning style subscale: the visual subscale, auditory subscale, and the emotive subscale.

The subjects' perceptual response subscale scores were then compared to the posttest scores of the library skills tests to determine if a significant relationship existed. A Pearson r was used to determine the correlation coefficient between the subscales and the posttest scores.

In the hypermedia treatment group, significant positive correlation was found between the mean scores on Posttest Band Posttest C and the visual learning style subscale responses; therefore, the second null hypothesis was not supported on these posttests. No significant correlation was found between Posttest A's mean scores and the visual learning subscale.

Therefore, the second null hypothesis was supported on Posttest A. A significant negative correlation was found on all the Posttests (A, B, C) and the auditory subscale of the NAASP Learning Style Profile of the hypermedia group. Therefore, the null hypothesis was not supported on the auditory subscale. A significant negative correlation was also found between the scores of Posttest Band Posttest C and the emotive response subscales. Therefore, the null hypothesis was not supported on Posttest Band Posttest C with the emotive subscale responses.

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