EXPERIMENTAL STUDY IN INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURES. FINAL REPORT.

THE MAJOR PURPOSE OF THE STUDY WAS TO DETERMINE THE RELATIVE EFFECTIVENESS OF LARGE AND SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION AT THE COLLEGE LEVEL. CLOSELY RELATED PURPOSES WERE TO IMPROVE LARGE GROUP TEACHING PROCEDURES SO THAT THE CLAIMED ADVANTAGES OF SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION COULD BE REALIZED IN LARGE GROUP TEACHING TO THE GREATEST EXTENT POSSIBLE, TO STUDY AND IMPROVE FACILITIES, INCLUDING TELEVISION, AND TO DEVELOP AND ENCOURAGE THE USE OF A MORE ADEQUATE INSTRUCTIONAL AIDS CENTER FOR THE IMPROVEMENT OF COLLEGE TEACHING. THE COURSES INVESTIGATED WERE TAUGHT UNDER "EXPERIMENTAL" CONDITIONS AND UNDER "CONTROL" CONDITIONS. THE EXPERIMENTAL CONDITIONS GENERALLY INVOLVED SOME VARIANT OF "LARGE GROUP" INSTRUCTION, WITH SECTIONS ARRANGED IN VARIOUS WAYS TO PERMIT A SINGLE INSTRUCTOR TO EXTEND HIS INFLUENCE AS A TEACHER TO A GREATER NUMBER OF STUDENTS THAN IN THE TEACHING OF SMALL CLASSES. THE CONTROL CONDITION CONSISTED OF COURSE SECTIONS WHICH WERE "CONVENTIONAL" OR "TYPICAL" IN SIZE FOR THE UNIVERSITY. A SECTION WAS CONSIDERED "LARGE" BY DEFINITION IF THE INSTRUCTOR WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR AT LEAST TWICE THE NUMBER OF STUDENTS ORDINARILY TAUGHT BY HIM IN A CONVENTIONAL SECTION. EVALUATION OF INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND FACILITIES SHOWED THAT COLLEGE TEACHERS INVOLVED IN THE STUDY GAVE EVERY EVIDENCE OF BEING KEENLY INTERESTED IN IMPROVING THEIR COURSE ORGANIZATION AND THEIR INSTRUCTIONAL PROCEDURE. EVALUATION OF STUDENT ACHIEVEMENT SHOWED THAT WITH FEW EXCEPTIONS, LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTION WAS AS EFFECTIVE AS WAS SMALL GROUP INSTRUCTION. STUDENT ATTITUDES ABOUT LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTION REVEALED THAT STUDENTS IN THE TV AND IN THE LARGE NONTELEVISED SECTIONS TENDED, IN GENERAL, TO RATE THE COURSE CONTENT SOMEWHAT LESS FAVORABLY THAN DID STUDENTS IN THE CONTROL SECTIONS OF THESE SAME COURSES. FACULTY REACTION TO LARGE GROUP INSTRUCTION SHOWED THAT PRACTICALLY ALL INSTRUCTORS WHO HAD TRIED TV TEACHING LIKED IT BETTER THAN THEY THOUGHT THEY WOULD.