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Abstract
Students can learn by observing their peers’ instruction but may not learn as effectively or efficiently as they do from direct participation in instruction (Doyle et al., 1990; Leaf et al., 2012). Research also suggests that emitting errors during direct instruction (DI) can impede acquisition, particularly if errors remain uncorrected (Kodak et al., 2016); however, it is unknown whether observing errors similarly affects observational learning (OL). This dissertation examined OL from two error correction procedures implemented during instruction directed to peers. Immediate Error Correction (IEC) involved providing immediate feedback and practice of the correct response whereas Multiple Attempts (MA) involved prompting multiple guesses prior to modelling the correct response.
The first study (Chapter 2), examined OL from scripted videos of a student receiving DI. Four first-grade students watched instruction in which the video model emitted the correct response or emitted an error and received feedback via IEC or MA. Two participants mastered at least one condition and the effectiveness of procedures varied across participants, with no universally superior condition. These results align with reports of idiosyncratic effects of error correction procedures during one-on-one instruction (e.g., Kodak et al., 2016; McGhan, & Lerman, 2013; Turan et al., 2012); however, potential extraneous influences and the contrived nature of the study limit conclusions on the generality of effects to applied contexts.
The second study (Chapter 3), examined learning from DI and observation of DI within an applied context. Three dyads of second- and third-grade students participated in small-group instruction in which an examiner used IEC and MA to teach different sets of targets to each participant. Five participants mastered both error correction conditions for their DI targets, with idiosyncratic effects of IEC and MA across participants. Regarding OL from observation of DI, IEC was associated with more correct responding for all six participants and resulted in quicker mastery for four of the five participants who mastered at least one OL condition. These results provide preliminary evidence that although the effects of error correction procedures during DI may vary across learners, certain procedures (e.g., IEC) may yield superior OL outcomes.
The first study (Chapter 2), examined OL from scripted videos of a student receiving DI. Four first-grade students watched instruction in which the video model emitted the correct response or emitted an error and received feedback via IEC or MA. Two participants mastered at least one condition and the effectiveness of procedures varied across participants, with no universally superior condition. These results align with reports of idiosyncratic effects of error correction procedures during one-on-one instruction (e.g., Kodak et al., 2016; McGhan, & Lerman, 2013; Turan et al., 2012); however, potential extraneous influences and the contrived nature of the study limit conclusions on the generality of effects to applied contexts.
The second study (Chapter 3), examined learning from DI and observation of DI within an applied context. Three dyads of second- and third-grade students participated in small-group instruction in which an examiner used IEC and MA to teach different sets of targets to each participant. Five participants mastered both error correction conditions for their DI targets, with idiosyncratic effects of IEC and MA across participants. Regarding OL from observation of DI, IEC was associated with more correct responding for all six participants and resulted in quicker mastery for four of the five participants who mastered at least one OL condition. These results provide preliminary evidence that although the effects of error correction procedures during DI may vary across learners, certain procedures (e.g., IEC) may yield superior OL outcomes.