A comparative study involving the administration of computer-managed instruction in a remedial mathematics program

This comparative study was conducted to gain insight into the effectiveness of two methods of administering a computer-managed component of instruction in a remedial mathematics program. One method of implementing the computer-managed component of instruction involved teacher decisions on what software would be presented to the students. The second administration allowed the computer's management system to diagnose and prescribe software for individual students. A third group not exposed to any computer software was also used in the study.;Five Chapter 1 mathematics classes from each of three middle schools were involved in the collection of data. Pretest and posttest scores were collected on 173 seventh and eighth grade students in order to determine gains in achievement. Informal, structured interviews were conducted with each of the six teachers and five students from each class. Interview data provided information which focused on attitudes toward the use of computers in an instructional setting.;Findings and conclusions. The analysis of pretest and posttest data support the following: (1) Students whose computer-assisted component of mathematics instruction was assigned by teachers to parallel classroom instruction showed statistically significant higher gains in mathematics achievement than those students whose computer assignments were prescribed by the computer's diagnostic and prescriptive management. (2) Students who received a computer-assisted component in mathematics instruction showed statistically significant gains in mathematics achievement over students receiving no computer interaction. (3) Students and teachers who were involved in use of a computer-assisted component of mathematics instruction reported positive attitudes toward use of computers in teaching and learning mathematics.