An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Charts and Graphs as a Means of Studying Social Studies Content (Teaching Methods)
Cross, Larry
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https://hdl.handle.net/2142/68923
Description
Title
An Investigation of the Effectiveness of Charts and Graphs as a Means of Studying Social Studies Content (Teaching Methods)
Author(s)
Cross, Larry
Issue Date
1984
Department of Study
Education
Discipline
Education
Degree Granting Institution
University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Degree Level
Dissertation
Keyword(s)
Education, Curriculum and Instruction
Abstract
This study was concerned with determining if certain methods of teaching selected social studies content were better than others. An increase in knowledge about this problem could have implications for improving instructional practices.
Four different methods were devised to teach social studies content on topics such as teenage unemployment and minority migration patterns. The four student groups were designated Group 1, 2, 3 and 4, respectively. Subjects were randomly selected from 8 social studies classes (N = 97) at the Urbana Junior High School in Urbana, Illinois. The same randomization procedure was used to assign the treatment to the experimental and control groups. The 4 groups did not differ significantly on the pre-test measures. The research hypothesis proposed that there would be differences in the performance of the groups as measured by the post-test. All subjects were 7th-grade students.
According to the findings, there were significant statistical differences in achievement on the post-test measures, both within and between treatment groups. The results of the study indicate that using charts, graphs, and textual material combined was a better method by which to teach selected topics in social studies than other records used in the study.
An interdisciplinary approach to teaching charting and graphing skills is a shared responsibility of educators, and, especially, of curriculum planners. Since there seems to be no systematic way of teaching these skills, the classroom teacher could pre-test to find out what skills and concepts have been learned during the previous years in elementary school and, perhaps more importantly, what skills and concepts they have not learned. This diagnostic/prescriptive approach (similar to reading methodology) could be useful in course planning. Further studies should be made to determine in what grade(s) these skills may be incidentally introduced, in which ones taught precisely, and in which ones drilled effectively--because sequence is often rather arbitrary, especially at the higher grade levels.
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