Computer Assisted Instruction inthe Elementary School

Jane Donnelly Gawronski*Minneapolis Public Schools/University of Minnesota

Teacher Center

John HendricksonTuttle Elementary SchoolMinneapolis Public Schools

and

Joan FehlenPratt/Motley

Minneapolis Public SchoolsMinneapolis, Minnesota 55455

The computer can be used in a variety of ways in the elementaryschool class. The computer may be used for drill and practice; asa tutor; for simulation and game playing; and for problem solving.For drill and practice the computer is used to supplement the regular

teacher-taught lesson. This particular use is not an instructional one.No instruction or teaching takes place but rather the child is providedwith the opportunity to practice or drill on a particular skill. A problemis presented to the student and the student is expected to respond.If the student responds correctly the lesson proceeds to the nextitem. If the student responds incorrectly then the item is repeated.The entire range of computational skills in addition, subtraction,multiplication, and division may be presented this way.The computer may also be used as a tutor in the elementary class.

The computer is programmed to take the place of the teacher andis responsible for teaching.Another use of the computer is the elementary school class is for

simulation and game playing. The computer is used to approximateclosely real world situations or games. This option can be used formany disciplines from mathematics and science to language skills.For example, the computer may be used to simulate the game oftwenty questions in which the computer is "thinking" of a number.The student then has the opportunity to ask as many questions asneeded to determine what the number is. The student can try todevelop a strategy which determines the least number of questionsneeded to guess the "number."Language games such as hangman may also be simulated. The

computer can be programmed to "think" of a three letter word. The

*Present Address: San Diego County Department of Education, San Diego, CA 92111.

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108 School Science and Mathematics

student then has ten guesses to guess the three letters of the word.It is interesting to watch young children play Hangman. Very youngchildren such as five or six year olds tend to guess letters such aQ, Z, or R because these letters are difficult for them and the childrenseem to think that the computer must be "thinking" of these difficultletters. Older children tend to guess the vowels first. Their first handexperiences have taught them in an intuitive way that the probabilityof a vowel occurring is higher than the probability of manyconsonants.Another use of the computer particularly with intermediate grade

children is as a tool for problem solving. Programs can be writtento test possible solutions or methods of solutions to problems. Programsto generate the multiples of a number can be written by childrenof this age. The problem of finding the divisors of a number canalso be solved by writing a program and using the computer.

In order to access a computer in a time-sharing system, childrenmust first be taught how to use a teletype terminal. Terminal operationis not difficult but none the less it is a skill that must be taughtto young children. Besides terminal operation, the children must betaught the system operation and a programming language.We have been successful in teaching these competencies to elemen-

tary school children by using a multi-media approach of printedmaterials, filmstrips, and videotapes. The multi-media materials devel-oped and used teach how to use a teletype terminal and teach somestatements in the BASIC language. Two cartoon characters werecreated to illustrate the materials in each of the three formats. Cartooncharacters and cartoon-type illustrations were selected because per-ception time seems to be quite short for children of this age.1 Inaddition, the cartooning effect helps to produce a high interest leveland appealing product for elementary school children. The cartooncharacters created are shown in Figure 1.Although some teacher guidance is required, the materials in each

of the three different approaches (booklets, filmstrips, videotapes)are structured to be as self-instructional as possible. Questions arepresented periodically throughout the booklets and the answers areprovided so the individual student can check on his mastery.These materials were produced within the federally funded Experi-

mental Schools Project, Southeast Alternatives, in Minneapolis, Min-nesota. This program provides educational alternatives in the southeastarea of Minneapolis. The options available to the students of thisarea include a Free School, an Open School, a Continuous Progress

1. Ryan, T. A. and Schwartz, C. B., Speed of Perception as a Function of Mode of Representation. Amer.J. Psychol. 1965, 69, 60-69.

Computer Assisted Instruction 109

Figure 1

School, and a Contemporary School. Children, with the guidanceof their parents and educators from the schools, choose the particularschool option they attend. The Computer Assisted Learning materialsdiscussed in this article were designed to be used in each of thealternative schools. The multi-media approach was an attempt tomaximize the effectiveness of the materials in these different admin-istrative settings.

It was hypothesized that the reinforcement provided by repetitionof the concepts in the varying media would appeal to children. Whenthese materials were introduced in the schools the reactions werevery positive. The children found the cartoon characters who demon-strate and illustrate the information included in the series to be mostappealing. They enjoyed the different methods of reviewing theconcepts.The idea of preparing curricular materials in varying media appears

to be a sound one to continue. Students can review or relearn aconcept with a different instructional procedure. Much of the te-diousness associated with reviewing can thus be avoided. The multi-media approach also helps to provide for individual differences inmedia preferences.

LASER IDENTIFIES WATER POLLUTION

A way to "fingerprint" spilled pollutants with a laser beam and tracethem to the sources had been developed by chemists at the University ofRhode Island. The laser technique has already proven effective in fingerprintingsome 25 contaminants, chemists have found. They hope to perfect the techniqueand provide the first method capable of identifying most of the hundredsof waterborne substances classified as hazardous by the EnvironmentalProtection Agency and the U.S. Coast Guard.As part of the same study, a team has monitored Narragansett Bay and

the Sakonnet River and found a variety of toxic chemicals including chlorinatedhydrocarbons, petroleum hydrocarbons and tar flakes.