ERIC Number: EJ765969
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2007-Jul
Pages: 11
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0033-3085
EISSN: N/A
Effects of Interspersing Rates on Students Performance on and Preferences for Mathematics Assignments: Testing the Discrete Task Completion Hypothesis
Cates, Gary L.; Erkfritz, Karyn N.
Psychology in the Schools, v44 n6 p615-625 Jul 2007
The current study investigated the discreet task completion hypothesis presented by C. H. Skinner (2002) by investigating how the rate of interspersing affects performance on and preferences for academic assignments. Specifically, 70 sixth-, seventh-, and eighth-grade students were presented with four assignment pairs of multiplication problems. Each pair consisted of a control assignment (i.e., no interspersing) and an experimental assignment (i.e., interspersing) that interspersed at one of four rates (i.e., no interspersing, every other problem, every third problem, or every fifth problem). After working on each assignment pair, assignment acceptability was measured. Results indicated that although students completed the same number of target problems with the same level of accuracy within assignment pairs, total problem completion rates were affected by the rate of interspersing. In addition, students' acceptability of the assignments was strongly related to the discrepancy in total problems completed across assignment types within assignment pairs. Discussion focuses on predicting students' preferences for academic assignments, implications for practitioners, and directions for future research. (Contains 3 tables.)
Descriptors: Multiplication, Assignments, Performance Based Assessment, Student Attitudes, Problem Solving, Problem Sets, Middle School Students, Mathematics Anxiety, Mathematics Education, Skill Analysis, Hypothesis Testing, Shift Studies
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Grade 6; Grade 7; Grade 8; Middle Schools
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A