ERIC Number: ED265171
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 1985-Mar
Pages: 23
Abstractor: N/A
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Learner Strategies and Aptitude Treatment Interactions on Psychomotor Tasks in Technical Schools.
van der Sanden, Johan M. M.; Schouten, Tony A.
Research was performed in lower grade technical schools in the Netherlands to study complex psychomotor tasks requiring integration of several task-dependent skills. In two studies, students were observed performing metal work. They were assigned to instructional conditions of high, intermediate or low structure. Students in the high-structure condition had to perform the task according to a teacher-provided plan, which specified a list of actions students were required to follow. Students in the low-structure condition were given nothing but a design of the product, and they had to decide upon all necessary operations. On the average, high-ability students made better products in less time and used a relatively smaller part of that time for orienting activities than low-ability students. High-ability students performed worst under high-structure conditions, whereas low-ability students performed best under these conditions. A third study involved the performance of a wiring task. No instructions were given. Two strategies could be distinguished--a goal-directed strategy and a trial and error strategy. A tentative hypothesis involving a positive relation between spatial-technical ability and goal-directed strategy was derived. (LMC)
Descriptors: Aptitude Treatment Interaction, Cognitive Processes, Cognitive Style, Factor Analysis, Field Dependence Independence, Foreign Countries, Learning Modalities, Learning Strategies, Locus of Control, Manipulative Materials, Mechanical Skills, Perceptual Motor Learning, Psychomotor Skills, Regression (Statistics), Secondary Education, Spatial Ability, Student Characteristics, Trade and Industrial Education
Publication Type: Speeches/Meeting Papers; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Netherlands
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A