The Effectiveness of an Individualized Learning Method of Instruction When Compared to the Lecture-Discussion Method. A Research Report of a Graduate Study.

To compare the effectiveness of individualized and lecture-discussion methods with a non-instruction (Control) method in developing turfgrass competencies in 11th and 12th grade students as measured by achievement in a battery of tests, teachers from 29 Michigan schools were randomly placed in three groups and attended workshops where they were provided with manuals, accompanying slides, audio-visual and curriculum materials, and an explanation of the study procedures. Five antecedent variable pretests were administered to the 632 students, and at the conclusion of the project, a battery of seven posttests was completed. Results revealed that the mean posttest scores were higher for students taught by the two instructional methods than the control group, and the mean posttest scores of students receiving individualized instruction were significantly higher than those receiving the lecture-discussion method after removing the variance attributed to each of the antecedent variables. However, when the posttest scores were analyzed as a composite package, there were no significant differences between the two instructional methods. The individualized method was also significantly more successful in developing student ability to locate and interpret information contained in turfgrass references. (SB)