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Interaction of learner characteristics with learning from three models of the periodic table
Author(s) -
Lehman Jeffrey R.,
Koran John J.,
Koran Mary Lou
Publication year - 1984
Publication title -
journal of research in science teaching
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 3.067
H-Index - 131
eISSN - 1098-2736
pISSN - 0022-4308
DOI - 10.1002/tea.3660210904
Subject(s) - periodic table , vocabulary , table (database) , comprehension , mathematics education , psychology , arithmetic , schema (genetic algorithms) , mathematics , statistics , computer science , linguistics , information retrieval , chemistry , data mining , philosophy , organic chemistry , programming language
This study was designed to explore the effects on learning of: (1) structural modifications to the periodic table, (2) the location of a periodic table within instructional materials, and (3) the presence of a two‐page schema showing relationships between the topics explained in the written materials and the periodic table. One hundred and sixty high school students were randomly assigned to one of eight treatments. A 28‐item posttest (KR –; 21 = 0.72), consisting of multiple choice and constructed answer items, was designed to measure subjects' ability to use their periodic tables to obtain factual information and to solve qualitative chemistry problems. Regression analyses using the multiple choice portion of the posttest as a dependent variable and table type as an independent variable revealed that for subjects with minimal experience with the periodic table, those who received the table with added visual data performed significantly better than subjects who received either of the other two tables (df 3,93; F = 2.72; p < 0.05). For subjects familiar with the periodic table, significant vocabulary X table (df 3,49; F = 3.22; p < 0.05) and vocabulary X location (df 1,49; F = 4.46; p < 0.05) interactions were detected. Subjects high in verbal comprehension tended to take advantage of the modified tables, while those low in verbal comprehension processed the traditional table with less information most effectively. These latter students also benefited more from having the periodic table alongside their written materials.