Achievement differences in structured versus unstructured instructional geometry programs

Document Type

Article

Publication Date

2004

Abstract

This study investigated the effect of students' ability and type of instructional program, structured and unstructured, on easy and difficult posttest items. Seventh-grade students worked through 14 instructional activities in The Geometer Sketchpad, a dynamic geometry program, and accessed a Geometry tutorial developed to parallel the state geometry standards. Low-ability students scored higher in the less structured program, whereas high- and medium-ability learners performed better in the structured program. High- and medium-ability students outscored low-ability learners by a greater margin on the difficult items than on the easy items. Although their overall performance was poor in both programs, that low-ability learners performed relatively better in the less structured, less traditional, mathematics activities is an encouraging finding for mathematics educators and designers of open-ended learning environments.

Comments

Copyright 2004 Springer Verlag

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Publication Title

Educational Technology Research and Development

Published Citation

Hannafin, Robert D. "Achievement differences in structured versus unstructured instructional geometry programs." Educational Technology Research and Development 52.1 (2004): 19-32. DOI: 10.1007/BF02504770

DOI

10.1007/BF02504770

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