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Description
In 1989, the National Science Teachers Association proposed a new "Scope, Sequence, and Coordination (SS & C)" for grade 7-12 science. Instead of studying science in one-year packages of physics, chemistry, biology, and earth/space science, proponents of SS & C proposed that students study each of these disciplines every year. The idea that students can learn and retain new material better if they study it in spaced intervals rather than all at once provided the focus for this study.
There is a base of psychological research demonstrating the positive effects of "spaced" practice on recall and recognition, but few of these situations parallel the type of instruction that occurs in the science classroom. The research study which follows compares the effects on conceptual understanding of eighth graders when a three-week sound unit was spaced as opposed to the same material presented all at once to the control group.
Eighth grade students were randomly assigned to an experimental or control group. The experimental group experienced a three-week sound unit in distinct one-week packages each separated by a week of unrelated material. In the control group, the sound unit was experienced as an intact three-week unit. All activities on an individual concept were presented together.
Students were asked to construct concept maps after each week of study in both the experimental and control groups. These maps were used to evaluate levels of students' conceptual understanding. The quality of each concept map was assessed by weighting each valid proposition according to an acquisition level (1-4) and summing these numbers to obtain a weighted total. The total number of valid propositions and the weighted total for each group were compared using a standard t-test. Although there were no significant differences between the concept maps of the control and experimental group, students in the spaced group reported favorable attitudes towards the spaced curriculum.
Keywords
Science education; Curricula; Curriculum development; Teaching;
Publication Type
Book
Publication Date
1992
Department
Science Education Program
Disciplines
Education | Educational Methods | Science and Mathematics Education
Object Description
1 PDF file (172 pages)
Date Digital
2025
Copyright
©1992 Lyn Le Countryman
Language
en
File Format
application/pdf
Recommended Citation
Countryman, Lyn Le, "The Effects of Spacing a Science Unit on Sound on the Conceptual Understanding of Eighth Grade Students as Evaluated Through Concept Maps" (1992). Faculty Book Gallery. 767.
https://scholarworks.uni.edu/facbook/767
Comments
Doctoral thesis, University of Iowa (1992)