Science Achievement with Computer-Assisted Instruction

Martini (1986) analyzed the effects of both matching and mismatching auditory, visual, and tactile instructional methods on the science achievement and attitudes of seventh graders who had been classified according to their perceptual preferences. The experimental sample of 30 junior high school students was administered the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) (Dunn, Dunn, & Price, 1984) and the Wepman Auditory Discrimination Test. The Human Body-An Overview provided the science content. A semantic differential scale (Pizzo, 1981) assessed attitudes.

Auditory students achieved significantly higher scores (.001) with the cassette tapes than visual or tactile students did. Visual students achieved significantly higher scores (.001) with the printed materials than either the auditory or tactile students. Tactual students achieved significantly higher scores (.001) with CAI than the auditory or visual students, but all youngsters achieved significantly higher (p &lt .001) with CAI than with either of the other two methods.

Two important outcomes resulted in addition to the significantly higher achievement and attitude scores. Tactual students, who conventionally are the underachievers, evidenced higher test scores with CAI than either of the other two, normally higher achieving groups. Furthermore, comparisons of students’ scores on the LSI and the WADT indicated that the students’ preferences (as revealed on the former) were identical with their strengths (on the latter).