The Effect of a Guided Discovery Approach on The Descriptive Paragraph Writing Skills of Third Grade Pupils
Stefl, Linda Disney
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Permalink
https://hdl.handle.net/2142/66062
Description
Title
The Effect of a Guided Discovery Approach on The Descriptive Paragraph Writing Skills of Third Grade Pupils
Author(s)
Stefl, Linda Disney
Issue Date
1981
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Educat.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Elementary
Language
eng
Abstract
Purpose of the Study. The purpose of the research was to determine the effects of a guided discovery approach on the descriptive paragraph writing skills of third grade children.
Procedures. The 196 subjects were randomly assigned to the Experimental, Contrast One and Contrast Two Groups.
The study was conducted over a four-week period during which the Experimental and Contrast(,1) Groups met with the investigator for a half-hour, twice a week. The Experimental procedure included having the group choose the most descriptive paragraph from two written about an unusual animal, discussing why the one chosen was more descriptive and then re-writing the other paragraph using the most descriptive paragraph as a model while viewing a slide of the described animal. The Contrast(,1) Group procedures included having the group view a slide of an unusual animal (same as one used for the Experimental Group) and then having the group write a description of the animal. Before each writing session, each subject's description from the previous session was returned and the investigator's written remarks were read. The procedure for the Contrast(,2) Group was the regular classroom approach to writing under the direction of the classroom teacher.
Comparisons were made between the pre- and posttest gain scores of subjects in the groups. For the general writing, descriptive writing and attitudes toward writing assessments, the statistical procedure used was a two-way analysis of variance. A Scheffe test was performed on all significant group variable data. The paragraph discrimination data were reported as proportions of those in each group who could select the better paragraph. In addition, tests of proportion were used to determine if any differences existed in the group proportions before and after the treatments.
Findings. (1) The general writing mean gain score of the Contrast(,1) Group was found to be significantly different from those of the other two groups; however, the Experimental Group mean gain score was not significantly different from that of the Contrast(,2) Group. (2) The Experimental Group mean gain score for descriptive paragraph writing was significantly different from those of the other two groups, but the Contrast(,1) and Contrast(,2) Group mean gain scores were not significantly different from one another. (3) Of the four two-way analyses of variance performed on the attitudes toward writing data, only two resulted in significant differences. For the Teacher Directed Writing Activity, it was found that the mean gain score of the female subjects was significantly different from the mean gain score of the male subjects. In addition, a significant difference was found between the groups for the Limited Choice Writing Activity. However, a Scheffe test did not reveal a significant difference between any of the groups. (4) The results for the pretest porportions revealed that there were differences between the proportions of the three groups. The porportion of disciminators in the Experimental Group was significantly less than the proportion of discriminators in both the other groups. When the posttest proportions were tested, the situation was completely reversed. The Experimental Group proportion was significantly greater than the proportions of both the other two groups.
Recommendations. (1) The limited success of the guided discovery approach to teaching warrants that it be given attention in pre-service and in-service teacher training. (2) Elements that might have contributed to the success of this approach that classroom teachers might become more aware of include the use of models for teaching, involvement of pupils in the discovery of concepts, and the use of highly stimulating subjects for writing.
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