Praxis of Instructional Systems Design on
Teaching and Curriculum Development
C h e n g - H s i u n g L u S h u - F e n C h e n g
Abstract
According to Dick, Carey, and Carey’s (2005) instructional systems design (ISD) theory, the authors designed instructional materials for second graders in an American school. The research project applied the essential components of instructional systems design to develop teaching contexts for comparing the life styles of modern and primitive societies. The purpose of this project was to examine the effect of the systematic approach in designing teaching materials and learning outcomes, and the results after empirical teachings and evaluations were accordingly denoted as follows: 1. Iconic pictures were useful to promote students’ learning interests. 2. Story-telling technique could serve as a binding thread to sequence
the teaching contexts.
3. Students scored 92% correct in the entry behavior test which
recognized that the six tryouts owned beginning ability to learn the designed materials.
Cheng-Hsiung Lu: Associate professor, Department of Curriculum Design and Potential Development, National Dong Hwa University
Shu-Fen Cheng: Associate Professor, Department of Early Childhood Education, National Dong Hwa University
4. The total mean scores of the pretest were 54% correct and raised to be 85% in the embedded test. This revealed that immediate
practice helped students for learning teaching contents.
5. The pretest scores of 54% correct were eventually raised to 89% correct in the posttest. The obvious improvement in correct rate showed that systematic approach was effective in teaching and curriculum development.
以系統化教學設計實踐教學與課程發展
呂 正 雄 鄭 束 芬
摘 要
Introduction
To facilitate an effective teaching, the instructional systems design (ISD) had generated a great deal of theoretic basis to serve the purpose. With its unique procedures that would fit the needs of all target audiences, the systems approach emerged as an essential method to implement appropriate instructional materials for children. Thus, this research project analyzed the various models on systematic
instructional design, and adopted story-telling techniques and iconic graphics to accomplish a practical teaching materials for children.
The background of this study resided in the authors’ time period during practicum at an American elementary school. During
one-semester ’s observation and class supplemental teaching at a second grader ’s classroom, the authors noticed that the curriculum of modern and primitive society at that school spread out between first and second grade’s program. Therefore, the authors were motivated to utilize the learned systems approach to design an empirical
curriculum for verifying the instructional systems design (ISD) theory into a real setting of the practice.
Following the background message, the purpose of this study was: Could ISD theory be applied fittingly to the theme of modern and primitive society? And the study questions were denoted as: 1. How could the Dick and Carey’s procedures be employed in a step-by-step formula? 2. Could the designed materials bring about effective learning for the target subjects? Thus, this program was designed for second grade students between the ages of 7 and 8. Since students' curiosity and interest in this age cohort were very high in its extent, the contents of this instructional design intended to make the
Since the instruction would be delivered in the story format and the feedback would be a continuous source of encouragement for the students to finish the lesson, students would be easily taught in a self-contained print-based instruction. This meant that the students could achieve the lesson goal under individualized learning status or class lecture format. In addition, as Lu (2006) found that embedded pictures were useful for instructional effectiveness, many interesting pictures accompanied with the story were presented to introduce the life styles of the primitive and modern society. For example, when the print-based instructional program presented the type of primitive clothes, pictures of primitive clothes were shown at the same time. This certainly promoted students’ learning interest and incorporated the empirical threads of the instructional systems design.
Literature Review
In the wake of 1980s, instructional efficiency was emphasized in pursuit of the educational quality. Traditionally the instructional process involved teachers, learners, and the textbooks. Therefore, the challenge was: how to combine these three elements for the best educational productivity? Systems approach was considered as a method that could bring about effective interactions among the instructor, the learners, and the instructional materials. In the past twenty years, systems approach models had been an outgrowth in terms of educational discussions and researches. As an integrated teaching process, systematic design concerned the step-by-step procedures with considerations of curriculum design, development, implementation, and evaluation. The step-by-step components of the approach might vary with the different system experts, the value of the systems design maintained the same as to promote the instructional effectiveness.
Rationale of the Instructional Systems Design
reading systems approach (Office of Education, 1975). These guidelines claimed that the systems method might promote the
continuity of learning from level to level, broaden the range of skills taught, and develop interest in reading beyond the demands of
everyday assignments. Therefore, such a comprehensive reading approach provided a rationale for the techniques of diagnosing reading problems and assisted the learner to read effectively.
On defining the instructional systems design, Tripp and Bichelmeyer (1990) contended that a useful instructional systems design was linear in nature and simplified as to analysis, design, development, evaluation, and implementation. Hence, teachers must feel empowered to invest in the task of systems restructuring and accept responsibility of processing the curriculum program. By adjusting relevant aspects of the instructional structure, teachers might explore more universal benefit in the field of systematic design.
Further to the interaction from the classrooms by using the systems approach, Armstrong (2004) narrated that a systems model could always reinforce the relationship between the members of the instructional team which might comprise the instructional system specialist (ISS) and subject matter expert (SME) to make a particular educational output. This teamwork under the systems approach efficiently integrated the package of classroom instruction, including exercise, job sheet, and tests, to ensure that students might earn equal training and make satisfactory performance.
was. By telling indigenous stories to the taught contents, the teacher could spark an otherwise unknown interest in students, and make profound implications for all aspects of learning. Likewise, Dong (2006) found that storytelling played an effective role in the song of Mu Lan which was narrated with a series of drawings. In examining the cross reference of Chinese culture into immigrant's American lives, the form of graphic design gripped the essential cultural heritage and accomplished the educational task of linking the historical legend into younger generation's paradigms of living.
Models of Systems Approach
As far as the content of the systematic plan was concerned, Hales and Jones (1983) believed that there should contain six parts: (1) preparation for the instruction, inclusive of sections on setting ideal goals, establishing a "reality base" and organizing a work flow; (2) content organization, including sections on the structure of reading, using a scope and sequence, and determining the difficulty of
materials; (3) environment management, with sections on the
organization of materials and the organization of the classroom; (4) effective teaching, consisting of sections on preparing for instruction, offering independent reading and instructional phases, and responding to learner needs; (5) working with beginning readers, with section on utilizing student previous experiences, teacher-made materials, and available teaching resources, such as which could be attained from the teachers resources center; (6) review-the process in action, including sections on effective instruction, and a model for teaching and
learning.
to imply that there was neither a specific starting point nor a
sequential linear order. Consequently, the oval model provided the instructional designers with a flexible interdependence among the nine elements. In other words, researchers might construct their
systematic design in their own preferred way, starting with any
element and determining the order they considered logical or suitable. As a matter of fact, a great number of models existed with the label systems approach. Some were complicated, while others were less complex. However, all of them attained similar basic
components. Dick, Carey, and Carey (2005) designated their well-known model with 9 components: (1) instructional goal, (2)
instructional analysis, (3) learners analysis, (4) performance objective, (5) assessment instrument, (6) instructional strategy, (7) instructional materials, (8) formative evaluation, and (9) revision of the instruction, besides the component of “summative evaluation” which they
considered appropriate to be conducted by the third-party evaluation specialists, rather than by the instructional designers themselves. These components interacted in order to bring about learning, and proposed an efficient module for the use of the instructor, content specialist, or media production specialist. The Dick and Carey Model claimed several reasons that systematic approaches to
instructional design were effective: The first was the focus on what learners might be able to do when finished the instruction; secondly, careful linkage was achieved between each component, as well as the affiliation between the instructional strategy and the desired learning outcomes; the third and perhaps most important reason for the success of the systems approach is that:
[I]t is an empirical and replicable process. Instruction is designed not for one delivery, but for use on as many occasions as possible with as many learners as possible. Because it is reusable, it is worth the time and effort to evaluate and revise it. In the process of systematically designing instruction, data are collected to determine what part of the instruction is not
Prospect of the Instructional Systems Design
According to Chevalier (1990), the systems design approach was effective in training programs. He managed a training center in Petaluma, California, and reported a significant change of the learning results during a period of six year service. Consequently, Chevalier claimed that instructional systems design (ISD) should include process of change, curriculum development, criterion-referenced instruction and testing, cost effectiveness, and course evaluation, and was proved to be an effective method.
Such standpoints were advocated by other researchers. In promoting multicultural awareness about Taiwan, Lu (1994) utilized instructional systems approach to design a series of contents for American students. In accordance with the theory of the Dick and Carey Model (1985, 1996, 2005), the curriculum was implemented through the stages of learner analysis, goal statement, performance objectives analysis, pretest, and posttest. As the scores of the tests were compared, it was found that the passing rate of objectives by all learners was 52 percent in the pretest, while the rate moved to 90 percent in the posttest. The results from that empirical teaching and test proved that learning on the cross cultural materials was affirmed on the basis of systematic approach of the instructional design.
Utilizing an insurance company as a case study, Rothwell and Kazanas (2004) asserted that instructional design, geared to the values, goals, and aspirations of the company, would eventually improve the effectiveness of the institute. Therefore, they claimed that instructional designers had a responsibility to demonstrate the value of the systems approach and made efforts to promote the use of it due to the fact that “a systematic approach to instruction is better and more effective than unplanned, haphazard, or seat-of-the-pants approaches” (p. 16).
In examining the external validity of the study by
schooling setting could be applicable to other similar settings. The answer counted on if the applied theory of action was unique to the setting and teachers employed such a principal theory in their intended research contexts. Likewise, the theme of this study was based on the specific Dick and Carey Model and applied the theory through the whole investigation of the school setting. As a result, the new
knowledge from the replicable independent studies via the unique systems approach would generate valuable findings for the teaching profession in the field of instructional design.
Method
Target Subjects
Since the school schedule was tight, the second grade teacher at the Sunflower Elementary School, which is in a state of the USA, recommended several children to do the research project, instead of the whole class of 20 students. Moreover, she suggested that
children from different regions and reading levels should be chosen so that the results would be more representative. Therefore, after
General Characteristics of the Target Population
This program was designed for second grade students between the ages of 7 and 8. For the most part, these children did not have any mental or physical disabilities that could interfere with learning the material in this module.
1. Affective/Social Characteristics
(1) Interests
Generally, the children in this age group were interested in listening to stories, drawing pictures, and doing activities. In addition, they liked to imagine and simulate fictional and/or real life situations. For example, they might imagine that they were in
another time and place and try to act out that situation. Furthermore, children were generally curious about where human beings came from, and where all our modern conveniences were derived from. However, they were so active that it was hard for them to have a long attention span. In order to keep their attention, the lesson would be presented in small chunks with practice activities interspersed throughout.
(2) Motivations/Attitudes Toward Subject
Children were usually very motivated to exhibit positive
attitudes for the learning materials that they could relate themselves with. When they saw the pictures of their own life styles, a
spontaneous interest and attraction would be generated within them. Usually, they were used to teacher guidance rather than
self-study. Anxiety would be reduced to a minimum with the print delivery instruction because of teacher assurances in the introduction and the interesting pictures that followed.
2. Cognitive Characteristics
(1) Prior Learning:
First, they realized that their mothers used ovens, stoves, and/or microwaves to cook food. Second, they comprehended how and where clothes were made and what clothes to wear according to the weather. Third, they knew what kind of materials were used to construct a building. Finally, they were familiar with different means of transportation used to transport people from one place to another.
(2) Developmental Stage:
According to Piaget and Inhelder (1969), children between the ages of 7 and 8 belonged to the st age of concrete concepts and then began to perform other logical manipulations. Therefore, this age group had the ability to learn to compare the life styles of modern and primitive societies.
(3) Reading Level:
Approximately 70% of the 20 students were working at a second grade level in the language arts area. But, almost every student was able to read and understand the simple sentences used in the module for delivery of instructions, test questions, and feedback. In addition, the students were proficient in writing simple words.
Formative Evaluation
To examine the effect of this teaching module, one group pretest-posttest was adopted to conduct the function of formative evaluation. Regarding the possible designs in evaluation work, Opie (2004) asserted that an actual example existed as the model of one group pretest-posttest. It could be illustrated as (p. 90):
O1 X O2
needed to imply the validity of the evaluation as the design was employed. For such a design, there were comments from other
researchers. In explaining the internal and external validity, Gay and Airasian (2003) indicated that research design should be determined not only by the controls, but by the nature of the study and the setting in which the evaluation is going to be employed. For example, the one-group pretest-posttest design might be appropriate when the behavior of the intended subjects was not likely to change unless by the effect of the treatment.
Empirical instructional systems
implementation
Comparing the life styles of modern and primitive societies was a verbal information skill that involved many verbal components, such as defining concepts and stating descriptions. In addition, there were some intellectual skills such as discriminating modern and primitive pictures. Therefore, a hierarchical approach was used to identify the subordinate skills that would enable the learner to effectively learn the prescribed lesson.
As stated above, approximately 70% of the target population read at a second grade reading level, and they were proficient in writing simple words. The sentences used in the instructional packet would not be difficult for the children to understand. Also, the children were used to imagination and simulation of factual and/or fictional situations. Thus, they would be attracted by the pictures and simulated situations in this print delivery instruction. In order to avoid confusion, adequate space between lines and wisely placed headings would be used in the lesson.
learned from the beginning to the end based on student-oriented locus of control. However, the authors were available all the time to
answer the impromptu questions whenever the tryouts had in regard to the texts of the teaching module.
In order to know the evolution of human society, children must know the life styles of primitive society. Generally, second grade children knew the life styles of modern society, including food,
clothing, housing, and transportation. Spontaneously, these children had an intrinsic need to understand how their society had evolved to its present life styles. Although there were some introductory materials concerning with this area in the elementary school, they were spread out into trivial contexts, rather than an organized set of presentation. Thus, it is necessary to compile good materials to teach children the comparison of modern and primitive societies. Further, by knowing the evolution of human beings, children would develop their imagination and predictive abilities.
To proceed with the systems approach, the statement of the instructional goal was required to be indicated initially. Therefore, the aim of the teaching speculated that students would be able to distinguish and write down the differences between primitive and modern societies in the four aspects, as they were given contexts of the primitive and modern societies:
1. Eating: identify what kind of food modern and primitive people eat and indicate the characteristics of primitive and modern food.
2. Clothing: identify what kind of clothes modern and primitive people wear and indicate how they make clothes.
3. Housing: indicate the types of dwelling places primitive and modern people live in.
Diagram of the Instructional Analysis Process
There were a number of steps involved in achieving the
instructional goal. Also, many subordinate skills were included to identify the basic concepts. A description of the diagram follows:
First, in order to compare the life styles of modern and primitive societies, students must know the concepts of "modern" and
"primitive" (1.1). Second, students must state the concept that we were living in a modern society inst ead of a primitive society (1.0). Next, students would learn how to compare modern and primitive societies in regard to four aspects: food, clothing, housing, and
transportation. Since eating was the most important thing to us and it was very familiar to children, the teacher would introduce the food aspect first (2.0), and then clothing (3.0), housing (4.0), and
transportation (5.0). Also, students were familiar with everything in modern society, so modern soci ety would be introduced before
primitive society in the four aspects.
Each area of instructional analysis had several subordinate skills which were related to each other. For instance, in order to identify which pictures showed modern food (2.1.4), the learner must learn to describe that modern people ate processed food (2.1.3). The other subordinate skills of clothing, housing, and transportation had the similar relationships between each other.
Although there were many subordinate skills on the chart, it would not be difficult for students to learn those skills when
S t a t e t h e con cep t t h a t we a r e livin g in a m od er n
s ociet y in s t ea d of a p r im it ive s ociet y
S t a t e t h e con cep t of "m od er n " a n d "p r im it ive"
( 1 .0 )
( 1 .1 )
S t u d en t s will b e a b le t o d is t in gu is h t h e d iffer en ces b et ween m od er n a n d p r im it ive s ociet ies in
t h e a s p ect s of ea t in g, clot h in g, h ou s in g, a n d t r a n s p or t a t ion . Com p a r e t h e food in m od er n a n d p r im it ive s ociet ies ( 2 .0 ) Id en t ify wh ich p ict u r es s h ow m od er n food ( 2 .1 .4 ) Id en t ify wh ich p ict u r es s h ow p r im it ive food ( 2 .2 .4 ) In d ica t e t h e ch a r a ct er is t ics of m od er n food ( 2 .1 .3 ) S t a t e h ow p r im it ive p eop le p r ep a r e food ( 2 .2 .3 . ) Lis t wh a t k in d s of food m od er n p eop le ea t ( 2 .1 .1 . ) In d ica t e wh a t k in d s of a p p lia n ce m od er n p eop le u s e t o cook food ( 2 . 1 . 2 . ) Lis t wh a t k in d s of food s p r im it ive p eop le a t e ( 2 .2 .1 ) Des cr ib e t h e r is k s of ea t in g r a w food ( 2 .2 .2 .)
Table 2 Analysis of the Instructional Process
Compare the houses in modern and primitive
societies Identify which pictures show modern clothes ( 3.1.4 ) Identify which pictures show primitive clothes ( 3.2.3 ) Compare the clothes in
Table 2 Analysis of the Instructional Process
Compare the transportation in modern and primitive societies ( 5.0 ) Identify which pictures show primitive houses (4.2.4) Indicate the types of dwelling places
Performance Objectives
To illustrate what goals of the instruction should be fulfilled, a list of subskills and their counterpart performance objectives would be an effective way to examine the purpose. Thus, following the above Table 2, the indicated skills and subskills were listed on the left
column. The contents in these two columns should show reasonable matching relationship between subskills and performance objectives.
Skills and Subskills Performance Objectives 1.0 State the concept that we are
living in a modern society instead of living in a primitive society.
1.0 Given a statement
concerning a period of time, the student will be able to identify correctly that the society he/she living in is a modern society, not a
primitive society 1.1 State the concept
of"modern" and "primitive".
1.1 Given two terms and their definitions, the student will be able to identify the concept of "modern" and "primitive" accurately 2.0 Compare the food in modern
and primitive societies.
2.0 The objective can be achieved by the following subskills.
2.1.1 List what kinds of food modern people eat.
2.1.1 Given three kinds of food, the student will be able to identify what kinds of food modern people eat. (Entry behavior)
2.1.2 Indicate what kinds of appliances modern people use to cook food.
2.1.2 Given some kinds of
appliances, the student will be able to identify what kinds of appliances modern people use to cook food. (Entry behavior)
…… (abbreviated)……
5.2.2 State the inconvenience of primitive transportation.
5.2.2 Compared with modern transportation, the student will be able to identify accurately the
inconvenience of primitive transportation.
5.2.3 Identify which pictures show primitive
transportation.
Instructional Materials
With the previous designed components, this instructional materials were, therefore, finalized in a format containing the quiz, instructional materials, practice of the questions, feedback, posttest, and the opinionnaire. The sequence of the presentation of the content was important because it involved the factors of the learning. As Gagne (1985) indicated in his theory of learning psychology, gaining attention and interest played essential roles in the process of the teaching. Therefore, this designed materials adopted the story telling technique to attain the interest of its target audiences for the initial necessary attention. Then, the whole content was constructed with the presentation of the knowledge, questions, feedback, and the posttest.
The following storytelling was the whole contexts the authors designed for the target subjects. Since this was for the second
graders, the principles of the design considered less wording and more space with the picture illustration. For fulfilling such principles, the English letters were amplified to a larger extent so that children could easily read and feel comfortable in terms of the reading atmosphere. In addition, the iconic graphs were designed in the posttest. By doing such editing, the cognitive understanding of the children could be reinforced and the clarity of the materials' meaning could be achieved. The original contents had 12 pages with inserted pictures and drawings. Learners could read contents as a children’s storybook. Due to the space limitation in the research report, some pictures and drawings were omitted, and contents were condensed into the
following texts:
Hi! How are you today! My name is Tom. I would like to make friends with you.
Let me tell you something...
One day, Jacky Lu reads a novel. He feels so tired that he falls asleep.
Suddenly, he falls down and hears a strange sound around him.
He opens his eyes and sees two strange animals.
Each of them has two eyes, a noise, a mouth, two hands and two feet like him.
But, they don't wear shirts and trousers. They only wear trousers made of leaves. He doesn't know what they are!
He feels afraid because the two animals lift him up. He doesn't know where they are going to take him. When they stop, he sees more strange things.…
If you were Jacky Lu, would you feel afraid?
We will continue this story after I tell you the following things:
From Jacky Lu's story,
you will learn about two societies and how different they are. For example, you will learn that the food they eat,
the clothes they wear, the houses they live in, and the transportation they use are totally different.
After I tell you these things,
you will answer a few questions to find out how much you have learned.
I will give you the answers when you are finished.
After you finish the whole story, I will give you some easy tests.
So, listen it well and take it easy.
Let us continue Jacky Lu's story: When the two strange animals stop,
Jacky sees many strange animals like these two.
It seems that they are a big family with fathers, mothers, and children.
Some of them don't wear anything, but some of them wear leaves.
Finally, he sees an old man wearing a T- shirt, trousers, and shoes like his own.
The old man waves to him and speaks loudly: "Welcome!" Jacky Lu is so surprised when the old man comes to him. The old man says: "Welcome to this primitive society!" Jacky Lu is confused and he asks: “What is a primitive society?"
The old man smiles and answers:
" Primitive means the first and earliest period of the world, before recorded events; that is, a primitive society is the beginning of human society."
Jacky asks again: "Then, what is the society we live in now called?"
The old man answers: "We live in a modern society. Modern means present and recent time."
modern society.
Primitive means the first and earliest period of the world, so those animals live in a primitive society."
The old man says: "Very good!"
"But, what are the differences between us and the primitive people?" Jacky Lu asks.
The old man answers: "Let me take you to their place, and you will see what the differences are."
"What do you eat usually?" The old man asks. "I eat hamburger, pizza,...etc." Jacky Lu answers. "If your mother wants to cook for you,
she can use an oven, a stove, and/or a microwave to cook food.
So you eat prepared and/or cooked food.
Figure 2 Food in modern society
But primitive people don't have ovens, stoves, and microwaves.
Moreover, they don't have fire.
Therefore, they use the bone knives to kill animals and eat raw food.
Do you think eating raw meat is safe or dangerous?" The old man says.
"It is very dangerous because it is not clean." Jacky Lu answers.
"Correct!" The old man answers.
Jacky Lu has many questions so he asks again:
The old man answers: "You know we use machines to make clothes,
so we wear different kinds of clothes according to the weather.
For example, we wear a coat in the cold weather, and wear a T- shirt in the hot weather.
But, primitive people don't have machines to make clothes. They just use animal bones to make leaves or animal skins to become clothes. In other words, in the hot weather, they wear leaves; and in the cold weather, they wear animal skins."
Jacky Lu is more interested and asks again:
"We, modern people, live in apartments or houses, but why I don't see their houses?"
The old man points out the mountain and says: "Those are their homes.
Primitive people live in a cave which means a hollow in a mountain or big tree .
When primitive people live in a mountain,
they cannot protect themselves from attacking animals (like tigers or bears);
when they live in a big tree,
they cannot find the shade preventing them from rain. So, living in a cave is very dangerous and uncomfortable ."
"Last year, I took an airplane to New York,
and I know we also can take a train to New York. Moreover, my Dad drives his car to the office and
my brother rides a motorcycle or bicycle to school everyday. But, do primitive people have transportation as we have?" Jacky Lu asks.
transportation that we can go everywhere very easily. But primitive people don't have any
transportation,
they must go everywhere on foot .
So they have to go very slowly and it is not handy." The old man answers.
Figure 3 Transportation in modern society
Jacky Lu sleeps and sleeps until... "What is the sound?"
Jacky Lu opens his eyes and wonders where he is. "Hi! You have been sleeping for a while." Lucy says. "Oh! I had a dream and I learned many things...." Jacky Lu says.
Hello! Have you learned something like Jacky Lu? Before we say good-bye,
let's try the tests and see how much you know.
The tests will be scored and I will let you know how many scores you get.
So, do your best, and see you next time!
Pretest and Posttest
posttest. The test items of the entry behavior and embedded test were the same as in pretest and posttest. In this study, the tests questions corresponding performance objectives 2.1.1, 2.1.2, 3.1.1, 3.1.2, 4.1.1, and 5.1.1 were entry behavior test, and other questions were items of embedded test which appeared in the units of the instructional material to give students immediate practice of the learned contents. Overall, the results of these four tests would provide practical scores for the purpose of formative evaluation.
Complete test questions of pretest and posttest:
1. Use a line to connect the terms on the left with the correct answers on the right.
(1) modern a. present and recent time.
(2) primitive b. the first and earliest period of the world, before recorded events. 2. Use a line to connect the terms on the left with the correct answers
on the right.
(1) modern housing a. dangerous and uncomfortable. (2) primitive shelter b. safe and comfortable.
3. Use a line to connect the terms on the left with the correct answers on the right.
(1) modern transportation a. slow and not handy. (2) primitive transportation b. speedy and handy.
4. Write T in the blank line if it is true. Write F in the blank line if it is false. ____(1) Eating raw meat is dangerous.
____(2) Modern people use ma chines to make clothes.
____(3) Primitive people went from one place to another place by car or by airplane.
Circle the correct answer in the following questions. 5. What period of time do we live in?
6. What is the characteristic of modern food?
a. raw b. cooked and/or prepared 7. What kind of food did primitive people eat?
a. hamburger b. raw meat c. fried chicken 8. What kind of equipment did primitive people use to make food?
a. fire b. bone knife c. stove
9. What kind of tools did primitive people use to make clothes? a. sewing machines b. animal bones
10. What kind of clothes did primitive people wear?
a. leaves or animal skins b. T-shirts c. sweaters 11. Where did primitive people live?
a. caves or big trees b. houses or apartments 12. What does the word "cave" mean?
a. a mountain b. a hollow in a mountain or big tree c. a big tree 13. Which pictures show modern food? (Write M in the ( ) )
Which pictures show primitive food? (Write P in the ( ) )
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 14. Which pictures show modern clothes? (Write M in the ( ) ) Which pictures show primitive clothes? (Write P in the ())
( ) ( ) ( ) ( ) 15. Which pictures show modern houses? (Write M in the ( ) ) Which pictures show primitive shelters? (Write P in the())
16. Which pictures show modern transportation? (Write M) Which pictures show primitive transportation? (Write P)
( ) ( ) ( ) ( )
Results
After students read the designed materials and took the tests, the results of the entry behavior test, pretest, and posttest were analyzed in the following Tables.
As shown on Table 3 for student performance on the entry
behavior test, S3, S4, and S6 missed one question (3.1.2) while others got 100% correct. S3 and S6 were aim-medium level in language arts and S4 was aim-high level. Three of them circled the word
Table 3 Student Performance on the Entry Behavior Test Student S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 Mean O 2.1.1 + + + + + + 100 b j 2.1.2 + + + + + + 100 e c 3.1.1 + + + + + + 100 t i 3.1.2 + + - - + - 50 v e 4.1.1 + + + + + + 100 s 5.1.1 + + + + + + 100 Percent 100 100 83 83 100 83 92 of objectives
passed by each learne
"+" indicates objective was achieved; "-" indicates objective was not achieved.
The average of the pretest was 54% which indicated that children had a little knowledge about this lesson (see Table 4). S1 and S6 got high correct percentage--94% and 83% respectively. Both of them missed the same question: "What kind of tools did primitive people use to make clothes? (a) sewing machine (b) animal bones" (3.2.2). This indicated that they were not familiar with the tools which rarely related to their experiences. On the other hand, the least correct item (17%) was the objective (2.2.3): "What kind of equipment did
primitive people use to make food? (a) bone knife (b) fire (c) stove." Similarly, students seldom used equipment and cooked food.
Table 4 Student Performance on the Pretest Student S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 O b j e c t i v e s 1.0 1.1 2.1.3 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.1.4 2.2.4 3.1.3 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.1.4 3.2.3 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.1.2 4.2.3 4.1.3 4.2.4 5.2.1 5.1.2 5.2.2 5.1.3 5.2.3 Percent of objectives passed by each learner + + + + + + + + + - + + + + + + + + & & & & & & + - - - + - + + + + + + - + + + - - - - - - - - - - - + - + - + - - - -- - - - + - - - - - - - - - - - - -+ - + - + - + + + - + + + + + - - + + + - + + - + + + - + + + + + + + + 94 61 17 6 67 83 Mean 67 33 33 33 83 17 67 67 67 33 67 83 67 83 67 33 33 67 54
"+" indicates objective was achieved. "-" indicates objective was not achieved. * S4 got 6% on the pretest
In terms of the embedded test, students made a great progress by the correct answers of 85% (see Table 5). Individually, S1, S2, and S6 got 100% correct while S4 and S5 got 94%. S4, an aim-high class student, only missed one question and made a great improvement from 6% on the pretest to 94% on the embedded test. He really learned the whole concept from the pr int delivery context gradually by reading the lesson, doing the practice, and getting feedback immediately.
However, S3, an aim-medium student, got one more correct answer on the embedded test. This approved what his mother said about his reading problem in learning new materials.
The target subjects got 89% correct on the posttest (see Table 6). After they did each practice and got the correct answers immediately, they made a little improvement from 85% to 89% on the embedded test and posttest respectively. S1 and S2 both missed one question which they passed on the embedded test. The reason why they made
mistakes was perhaps that they did too fast and/or with careless on the posttest. Both of S4 and S5 made a little progress from 94% to 100%. Also, S3 made improvement from 22% to 39% which meant he got 3 more correct questions on the posttest.
Chinese boy, only made a little improvement from this lesson. He got 17%, and 39% on the pretest, and posttest respectively. Probably, that is due to his language inefficiency.
Table 5 Student Performance on the Embedded Test
Student S1 S2 S3 S4 S5 S6 O b j e c t i v e s 1.0 1.1 2.1.3 2.2.1 2.2.2 2.2.3 2.1.4 2.2.4 3.1.3 3.2.1 3.2.2 3.1.4 3.2.3 4.2.1 4.2.2 4.1.2 4.2.3 4.1.3 4.2.4 5.2.1 5.1.2 5.2.2 5.1.3 5.2.3 Percent of objectives passed by each learner + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + & & & & & & + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + - - - - + - - - - + - + - + - - - -+ + + + + + + + + + + + + - + + + + + + + + + + + + - + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + + 100 100 22 94 94 100 Mean 83 83 83 83 100 83 83 83 67 100 83 100 83 83 83 83 83 83 85
"+" indicates objective was achieved. "-" indicates objective was not achieved. * S4 got 94% on the embedded test
Table6 Student Performance on the Posttest Student S1 S2 S3 * S4 S5 S6 Mean 1.0 + + - + + + 83 1.1 - + - + + + 83 2.1.3 + + - + + + 67 2.2.1 + + - + + + 83 2.2.2 + + - + + + 83 2.2.3 + - - + + + 67 2.1.4 + + + + + + 100 2.2.4 & 3.1.3 + + - + + + 83 3.2.1 + + + + + + 100 3.2.2 + + + + + + 100 3.1.4 + + + + + + 100 3.2.3 & 4.2.1 + + + + + + 100 4.2.2 + + + + + + 100 4.1.2 + + - + + + 83 & 4.2.3 4.1.3 + + - + + + 83 4.2.4 & 5.2.1 + + - + + + 83 5.1.2 + + - + + + 83 & 5.2.2 5.1.3 + + + + + + 100 O b j e c t i v e s & 5.2.3 Percent of objectives passed by each learner 94 97 39 100 100 100 89
Tab l e 7 C o m p a r i s o n o f E a c h St u d e n t P er f o r m a n c e o n th e P r e t e s t an d P o s t t es t Stu d en t S 1 S 2 S 3 S 4 S 5 S 6 M e a n P r e t e s t 9 4 6 1 1 7 6 6 7 8 3 5 4 P o s t t e s t 9 4 9 4 3 9 1 0 0 1 0 0 1 0 0 8 9 Unit: Percentage (%)
Appealingly, children really gained help from showing pictures (see Table 8). They got all 67% on the pretest of the objectives 2.1.4 & 2.2.4, 3.1.4 & 3.2.3, 4.1.3 & 4.2.4, and 5.1.3 & 5.2.3 which have attached pictures. In other words, they got more correct answers on these items than others without pictures. Also, they got 100% on three of them and the other one 83% on the posttest. Therefore, iconic pictures with tests really helped children answer the
Table 8 Summary of Pretest and Posttest Scores for Each Objective
1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0 5.0
67% 83%
Conclusion
Based on the organized text which included Jacky Lu's story, pictures, entry behavior test, pretest, embedded test, answers to embedded test, and posttest, children really learned the life styles of primitive and modern societies through this study. In addition, six tryouts reflected satisfactory opinions after they took the lesson. Overall, according to the principles of Dick, Carey, and Carey’s approach, this research project applied the essential components of instructional systems design to accomplish a practical teaching contexts for comparing the life styles of modern and primitive
societies. After examining the effect of the systematic approach in this empirical study, the concluding remarks were accordingly denoted as follows:
1. Iconic pictures were useful to promote students’ learning interests.
2. Story-telling technique could serve as a binding thread to sequence the teaching contexts.
3. Students scored 92% correct in the entry behavior test which recognized that the six tryouts owned beginning ability to learn the designed materials.
4. The total mean scores of the pretest were 54% correct and raised to be 85% in the embedded test. This revealed that immediate practice helped students for learning teaching contents.
5. The pretest scores of 54% correct were eventually raised to 89% correct in the posttest. The obvious improvement in correct rate showed that systematic approach was effective in teaching and curriculum development.
convincible that the application of their systematic process did work as an effective tool to develop schoolchildren’s teaching materials for satisfactory learning outcomes.
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