The effects of learn units on student performance in two college courses.

Abstract

We report an experiment examining the academic performance of undergraduate students in two special education college courses. The experimenter/professor taught both courses in which he presented curriculum material via written learn units (LUs) (Greer & Hogin, 1999) or in a lecture format across randomly selected weeks in a 12-week semester. There were a total of 20 students (11 in the Emotional Disturbance course, 9 in the ABA course) primarily juniors and seniors majoring in special education ranging in age from 20 to 48. The independent variable consisted of a series of written LUs presented to students in the form of guided notes that were scripted in logical sequence (based upon textbook material). LUs were defined as a series of meshed or interlocking 3-term contingencies 1 for the student and at least 2 for the professor arranged through scripted curricula. During the LU condition, the professor (1) read a phrase or question from the guided notes (with blank lines) that were distributed to students, (2) discussed the phrase or question, (3) exposed the phrase/question and its corresponding answer on the overhead, (4) provided an opportunity for all students to respond by writing/copying the answer, and (5) then immediately consequated their answers by checking their accurate completion of the blank line. During the lecture condition, the professor lectured (from the material obtained from the textbook chapter) without providing any written LUs. The dependent variable was student grade achievement on weekly short answer essay exams.

A Review of the Effectiveness of Guided Notes for Students who Struggle Learning Academic Content

“…Table 1 provides a summary of the results of the investigations. As this table reveals, students consistently retained more information from lectures when using guided notes, as they scored higher on quizzes, tests, and exams in each of the investigations that used this dependent variable (Austin et al, 2002;Bahadourian, Tam, Greer, & Rousseau, 2006;Boon, Burke, Fore, & Spencer, 2006;Hamilton, Seibert, Gardner, & Talbert-Johnson, 2000;Kreiner, 1997;Lazarus, 1993;Mastropieri et al, 2003;Musti-Rao, Kroeger, & Schumacher-Dyke, 2008;Neef et al, 2006;Patterson, 2005;Sweeney et al, 1999). In addition, several investigations revealed that students took more accurate notes when using guided notes versus traditional note taking (Austin, Lee, & Carr, 2004;Hamilton et al, 2000;Patterson, 2005;Sweeney et al, 1999), and were more satisfied with the use of guided notes (Austin et al, 2002;Boon, Fore, & Rasheed, 2007;Musti-Rao et al, 2008;Sweeney et al, 1999).…”

“…Among the students who participated in investigations conducted in K-12 settings, 79 were identified with disabilities. Most of these students had learning disabilities (66%), while 32% (2002) • Correct responses on quizzes Lecture with guided notes resulted in higher quiz scores than traditional note taking • Student responses during lecture Guided notes resulted in more student responses during lecture • Student satisfaction Students preferred guided notes over traditional note taking Austin, Lee, & Carr (2004) • Accuracy of notes Guided notes resulted in more accurate notes than traditional note taking Bahadourian, Tam, Greer, & Rousseau (2006) • Correct responses on exams Guided notes resulted in higher exam scores than traditional note taking Boon, Burke, Fore, & Spencer (2006) • Correct responses on tests Guided notes resulted in higher test scores than traditional note taking Boon, Fore, & Rasheed (2007) • Student satisfaction survey Students with disabilities preferred computer based instruction over guided notes, while students without disabilities preferred guided notes Hamilton, Seibert, Gardner, & Talbert-Johnson (2000) • Correct responses on quizzes Guided notes resulted in higher mean quiz scores than traditional note taking • Accuracy of notes Guided notes resulted in more accurate notes Kreiner (1997) • Correct responses on a test Guided notes resulted in higher test scores than traditional note taking Lazarus (1993) • Correct responses on tests Test scores were higher with guided notes than with traditional note taking Mastropieri, Scruggs, Spencer, & Fontana (2003) • Correct responses on tests and end of year exam Test and exam scores were higher with guided notes than for traditional note taking Musti-Rao, Kroeger, & Schumacher-Dyke (2008) • Correct responses on quizzes Guided notes resulted in higher mean quiz scores than traditional note taking • Student satisfaction Students preferred using guided notes to traditional note taking Neef, McCord, & Ferreri (2006) • Correct responses on quizzes Guided notes and lecture resulted in slightly higher quiz scores than lecture with completed notes provided by instructor Patterson (2005) • Correct responses on quizes Guided notes resulted in higher mean quiz scores • Accuracy of notes Accuracy of notes was higher in guided notes condition Sweeney, Ehrhardt, Gardner, Jones, Greenfield, & Fribley (1999) • Correct responses on quizzes Guided notes resulted in higher mean quiz scores than traditional note taking • Accuracy of notes Guided notes resulted in more accurate notes than traditional note taking • Student satisfaction Students preferred guided notes over traditional note taking were labeled with emotional/behavior disorders, and 3% with intellectual disabilities. Of the 13 studies reviewed, 8 (62%) used single-subject designs to examine the effects of guided notes versus traditional note taking.…”

“…Furthermore, by using guided notes, university instructors model adaptive and reflective teaching practices by showing their students that they regularly examine their own instruction in an attempt to increase student performance and active participation (Musti-Rao et al, 2008). Last, because the results of this review indicate that guided notes increase quiz scores and improve academic outcomes, there is strong research support indicating that university instructors could see positive effects in academic outcomes for postsecondary students by using this practice, particularly students who have a history of poor note taking (Austin et al, 2002;Bahadourian et al, 2006;Mastropieri et al, 2003;Patterson, 2005).…”

“…Also, future research is needed to examine the role of guided notes to promote critical-thinking skills (Bahadourian et al, 2006;Boon et al, 2006). Last, researchers should continue to compare the effectiveness of guided notes in combination with other instructional strategies such as response cards, choral responding, and peer mediated tutoring to determine whether these strategies are more effective when used together (Mastropieri et al, 2003;Musti-Rao et al, 2008).…”

A Rose by Naming: How We May Learn How to Do It

“…The learn unit is an experimentally tested type of instructional trial that has been shown to be an efficient instructional procedure (Albers & Greer, 1991;Bahadourian, Tam, Greer, & Rousseau, 2006;Emurian, 2004;Emurian, Hu, Wang, & Durham, 2000;Greer & Hogin-McDonough, 1999;Hogin, 1996;Selinske, Greer, & Lodhi, 1991). The characteristics of the learn unit were suggested in Skinner's (1968) programmed instruction frame.…”