Candidate: Wendy Jaehnig

Degree of: Doctor of Philosophy

Department:Psychology

Title: Audio Narration and Reading Ability in Programmed Instruction

Committee: Dr. Alyce Dickinson, Chair
Dr. Jack Michael
Dr. Richard Malott
Dr. Kevin Munson

Date: Friday, May 19, 2006, 2:00 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
3713 Wood Hall

Abstract: This study compared the effects of audio, textual, and audio-textual narration in a programmed instructional module on the performance of individuals with different reading abilities. 184 college students were randomly assigned to audio, textual, or audio-narration. Dependant variables were posttest score and instruction completion time. An ANCOVA was used to analyze the results, with ACT reading test scores as the covariate. No differences were found between the groups on posttest scores (p= .56) or completion time (p= .90), and there was no interaction between narration type and reading score for either dependent variable. Audio narration did not benefit learning in this study. Its benefits may be limited to instruction in which narrative and visual components cannot be understood in isolation, and when visual components do not require a great deal of searching. .

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