Tuesday, 28 November 2017

Wood's role of tutors in problem solving study (1976)


Context/background

Tutoring - a tutor knows the answers but because the child doesn't, they help the child figure it out

Problem solving = mastery of problems necessary for success with longer problems, e.g. reading = deciphering of words = deciphering of sentences = deciphering of particular words



Scaffolding = the child carries out a task, or achieves a goal beyond his unassisted efforts, the adult controls the task so the learner can concentrate on the elements of their competence range


Aim

To examine instructional relationships between adult tutors and children with skill acquisition and problem solving


Method

Controlled observation, artificial environment, while p's completed a predetermined building task with intervention and guidance from a tutor

P's were observed in individual sessions, 20 minutes-1 hour

Interactions between them were observed and recorded


Procedure

Sample

volunteer sample, 30 kids (with parents) within a 5 mile radius of Cambridge, Massachusettes (near Harvard Uni)
Recruited through ads directed at parents
Middle class or below, equally divided into 3,4, and 5 years old, half boys and girls in each group

Design

Kids tutored in individual sessions, 20 minutes to 1 hour
Tutor taught them to build a 3D structure with a level of skills beyond their own
The tutor instructed them verbally but let the kids be independent in doing the task themselves
Task was designed to be fun and interesting

Procedure

kids sat with 21 blocks spread in a jumble and played with those for 5 minutes

The tutor took 2 small blocks and demonstrated connecting them or told the children to connect them more, if they could do it alone, the aim was for the child to do as much as possible themselves

Pyramid of built blocks had 6 levels

3 different responses= 
1. child ignored her and carried on playing
2. manipulated the connecting blocks
3. took new blocks and tried to make something similar to tutor's block structure

Assisted category = tutor indicated correct materials

Unassisted = child selected materials

Interventions from tutor = 
1. direct assistance (tutor built the blocks for them)
2. verbal prompt when there was an error (e.g. does this look like this?)
3. straightforward promt e.g. "can you make more like this?"

Inter-scorer reliability- 2 scorers working independently got 94% agreement from 594 events watched on a video tape

Results

age      median no. of acts          % of acts unassisted     showing      verbal
  3             39                                   10                           40%        18%
  4             41                                   50                           63%        40%
  5             32                                   75                           80%        57%

Older kids didn't need previous trial and error as much, the 3 year olds took apart as much as they built, the 4 year olds took the same likeliness to reassemble constructs = able to recognise correct outcomes

Verbal instruction was more useful the older the children were

3 year olds paid little attention to verbal instruction

none of the 3 year olds put 4 blocks together correctly, but all 4 and 5 year olds did



Process of scaffolding

-Recruitment = get kid interested in task 

-Reduction in degrees of freedom - simplifying task, reduce number of step needed

-Direction maintenance = Keep kid on task, despite distractions 

-Marking critical features = Point out relevant features of task, identify difference between what they do and the correct outcome

-Frustration control = strategies to lower stress 

-Demonstration = model the correct outcome


Conclusions

increasing age = greater likelihood of the task success

Younger children could recognise just as well when a task had been correctly achieved 

Type of support needed by kids differed across age group

older children are more likely to accept and act on tutor's advice


Evauluation

Research with young children = less valid

Clinical interview = lower reliability 

Unlikely there was any distress

small sample


Improving learning and revision

mnemonic = a technique to aid the memory and relies on familiar information so we can easily recall things (cognitive shortcuts)

Levels of processing
1- structural (encoding of physical appearance)
2- phonetic (encoding of sound)
3- semantic (encoding level of meaning)

Semantic processing = writing practice essays, explaining topics out loud or making mind maps, flash cards etc.

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