This study examined how learning, attitudes, and mental efforts are affected by changing the verbal information presentation format and relationship between the narrator and on-screen character in a junior high school-level science film. Twenty seventh-grade science classes (N=441) were randomly assigned to one of five treatment groups. Each class viewed a 16-minute film about a girl their own age designing and carrying out an experiment with plants. The visual channel remained the same for each group, but the narration was changed to create versions with an adult or teen narrator presenting the information in story or direction format. Altering the age and presentation format of the narrator also changed the relationship between the narrator and on-screen character. Recall and comprehension of information were measured along with self-reported amount of invested mental effort, interest, and confidence in doing plant experiments. Results indicated students learned more when the information was presented in a story format, especially when the narrator was their own age. Females indicated a higher level of interest in the film and confidence in doing plant experiments. A gender narrator "age" interaction for amount of invested mental effort was observed. Various ideas are advanced for explaining posttest results and survey data, including the effects of peer role models and dual code information processing. Implications for future instructional film research are discussed. Four tables and graphs are appended. (Contains 11 references.) (Author)
Authors
- Peer Reviewed
- F
- Publication Type
- ['Reports - Research', 'Speeches/Meeting Papers']
- Published in
- United States of America
Table of Contents
- Narrator Study 4
- Films and videotaped instructional programs serve many purposes in junior and 4
- Narrator Study 5
- Adult Narrator 5
- Probably the same 5
- Probably different 5
- Three types of depended variables were measured. Learning the information was 5
- The students trom twenty different 7th grade science classes across three junior high schools population for each school was represented in the sample. 5
- Each version of the 16-minute televised film was presented to 4 randomly assigned classes. Students were also informed that a posttest covering the information would be administered 5
- Narrator Study 6
- 1984 to measure self-reported invested mental effort and included items such as I tried hard to four mental effort questions were added together to provide a maximum 16 point score for self- 6
- This study utilized a posttest-only control group design. The independent variables 6
- 1. Adult versus teen narrator 6
- 2. Story versus directions narration presentation format 3. Different narrator-OSC relationships 6
- The dependent variables consisted of posttest performance amount of invested mental effort 6
- Significant findings for each independent variable follow 6
- Please insert Table 1 about here. 6
- Please insert Figure 1 about here. 6
- Narrator Study 7
- Please insert Figure 2 about here. 7
- Please insert Figure 3 about here. 7
- Single degree of freedom contrasts revealed no significant differences between 7
- Gender 7
- ANOVA results also indicated a significant main effect for gender and AIME with 7
- A gender main effect for the survey item This video 7
- Narrator Study 8
- The major findings in this study are summarized in Table 2. 8
- Please insert Table 2 about here. 8
- Paivios integrated dual-coding model approach should be applied to instructional films 9
- Since the narrator and OSC were both female the higher levels of interest and AIME 9
- The significant correlation between the amount of invested mental effort and information narrator age by gender for amount of invested mental effort interaction was was going on in the film and 9
- Baggett P. and Ehrenfeucht A. 1983. Encoding and retaining information in the visuals and 10
- Summary. Washington DCNational Center for Educational Statistics Ed. 10
- Linn M. and Hyde J. 1989. Gender mathematics and science. Educational Researcher 18 10
- Mayer R. E. and Anderson R. B. 1991. Animations need narrations An experimental 10
- Salomon G. 1983. Television watching and mental effort A social psychological view. 10
- Salomon G. 1984. Television is easy and print is tough The differential investment 10
- Narrator Study 11
- Adult 11
- Independent 12
- Narrator Study 12
- Narrator Age 12
- Students viewing the third person versions recalled and comprehended more content when the narrator was their own age. 12
- Students were more confident they could do more difficult experiments 12
- Narration 12
- Format 12
- Gender Differences Females reported higher AIME than males. 12
- Females were more interested than the males in the film. 12
- Figure 1. Mean Posttest Scores by Narrator Age 13
- Narrator Study 15
