Computer-assisted instruction using microcomputers in postsecondary basic mathematics

The purpose of this study was to determine if the computer assisted instruction in basic mathematics using microcomputers at a selected state college was as effective as the traditional classroom lecture-textbook instructional method for teaching the same material. In addition, the researcher selected for investigation other factors that might contribute to the success or failure of students using the computer assisted instruction system. These other factors included age, gender, and reading ability.; A total of 280 students who had completed basic mathematics (MATH 0113) at the selected state college between Summer, 1981 and Fall, 1985, and who had Nelson-Denny raw composite reading scores on file made up the population of the study. This included 150 students who had studied basic mathematics in a traditional instructional setting and 130 students who had completed basic mathematics using the computer assisted instruction system.; A locally developed computer assisted instructional system was used for delivery of basic mathematics instruction using Radio Shack TRS-80 microcomputers. The computer assisted instruction course material followed the official syllabus for the basic mathematics course and included the same content as the traditional lecture-textbook sections of basic mathematics.; Performance and demographic data were obtained from student data files. Using the statistical analysis software package for the TRS-80 microcomputer the descriptive statistics and analysis of variance procedures were used to tabulate and analyze the data. The correlation and regression procedure was used to test the relationship between reading scores and basic mathematics final grades. A table was presented to show the relationships of basic mathematics grades with reading scores.; No significant difference was found to exist between the mean final basic mathematics grades of the students receiving computer assisted instruction and the students receiving traditional lecture-textbook instruction. No significant difference was found to exist between the final grades of students in selected age groups. No significant difference was found to exist between the final grades of male and female students. A significant positive correlation was found to exist between the basic mathematics final grades and Nelson-Denny composite raw scores of students studying basic mathematics using the computer assisted instruction system.