The Effect of Active Student Response on College Age Students Learning Vocabulary Definitions: an experiment done in an experimental psychology class

Essay by marccoosUniversity, Master's December 2002

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Running head: THE EFFECT OF ASR ON LEARNING VOCABULARY DEFINITIONS

The Effect of Active Student Response on College Age Students Learning Vocabulary Definitions

Abstract

The purpose of this experiment was to demonstrate Active Student Response error correction procedure (ASR) in college students, and to generate a cost effective method other than Think Fast to teach vocabulary words to college students. By expanding on the purpose of Polson (1995), who found a method to teach students vocabulary words by using a computerized flash card program, and combining it with the purpose of Drevno et al. (1994), who used ASR error correction to improve students ability to learn vocabulary words, this experiment attempted to find a practical new learning method which can easily be implemented.

This experiment used a single subject multiple baseline design. The data collected suggested that not only was ASR error correction successful in improving vocabulary word retention, but it was also successful in maintaining the information over time.

Introduction

Polson (1995) conducted an experiment that tested fluency building in students and whether it could be improved with a computerized flash-card system. Fluency building was defined as the students' ability to learn vocabulary words and apply them to complex abstract situations. Polson (1995) used college students as his subjects, and the Think Fast Computerized Flash-Card Program with fifty-two terms served as the independent variable.

In Polson's experiment (1995), each flash card had on it the vocabulary word stimulus and definition. Because the computer program was able to record on a disk all the information obtained, subjects had the option of conducting the computerized program in a lab located at their school, or on a computer at home. Polson (1995) also assigned grades to the student subjects depending on their performance in the experiment.

Polson (1995) presented each stimulus one...