For the F/M Teachers and Student Interns to Assist Them Indeveloping -Explicit Measurable Goals and Procedures Necessary to Fulfill Thegoals of the Program
Total Page：16
File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb
I DOCUMENT RESUME ED 024 746 24 UD 007 753 By- Cohen, Harold L.; And Others Measuring the Contribution of the Arts in the Education of DisadvantagedChildren. Final Report. Institute for Behavioral Research, Silver Spring, Md. Spons Agency- Office of Education (DHEW), Washington, D.C. Bureau of Research. Bureau No- BR-7- 1108 Pub Date 15 Aug 68 Contract- OEC-0- 8-071108-1767 Note-192p. EDRS Price MF-S0.75 HC-S9.70 Descriptors- ArtEducation,*BehavioralObjectives,Caucasian Students,*CognitiveAbility,*Creative Activities. Creative Dramatics, Disadvantaged Youth, Music Education, NegroStudents, Operant Conditioning, *Primary Grades, Student Volunteers, *Underachievers Identifiers-FACT, Flanagan Aptitude Classification Tests, Institute for BehaviorialResearch, Maryland, PMA. Primary Mental Abilities Test, Project Friends Morgan This research project attempted to evaluate changes inthe specific educational behaviors of 73 underachieving urban Negro childrenand17 underachieving middle-class white children who participated in the 6-weekFriend's/Morgan (F/M) summer demonstration program inthe arts. Training sessions on applied operant theory and environmental design were held by the Institutefor Behavioral Research for the F/M teachers and student interns to assist them indeveloping -explicit measurable goals and procedures necessary to fulfill thegoals of the program. The children were pre-and post-tested on the PrimaryMental Abilities Test (PMA); changes in the scores of the mator experimental group werecompared with those .of a comparison groupdrawn randomly from the entire school population(not only underachievers). Other behavioral data relative to thesechanges were accumulated. The Flanagan Aptitude Classification Tests measured theeffects of participation in the program on the student interns. Photographic slidesrecorded the children's involvement. An appendix contains the script of an audiovisualpresentation which overviews the entire F/M project. (Author) 6/f fAa 110007753E. FINAL REPORT Project No. 7-1108 Contract No. 0-8-071108-1767 MEASURING THE CONTRIBUTION OFTHE ARTS IN THE EDUCATION CT DISADVANTAGED CHILDREN August 15, 1968 U. S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION; AND WELFARE Office of Education Bureau of Research U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION & WELFARE OFFICE OF EDUCATION THIS DOCUMENT HAS BEEN REPRODUCED EXACTLY AS RECEIVED FROM THE PERSON OR ORGANIZATION ORIGINATING IT.POINTS OF VIEW OR OPINIONS STATED DO NOT NECESSARILY REPRESENT OFFICIAL OFFICE OF EDUCATION POSITION OR POLICY. FINAL REPORT Project No.-74108- Contract No.0.8.071108.1767 MEASURING THE CONTRIBUTIONOF THE ARTS EN THEEDUCATION OF DISADVANTAGEDCHILDREN Harold L. Cohen Joan E. Cohen James Filipczak Institute for BehavioralResearch Inc. 2429 Linden Lane Silver Spring, Maryland August 15, 1968 'The research reported herein was performedpursuant to a contract with the office of Education,U.S. Department of Health,Education, and Welfare. Contractors undertaking suchprojects under Government sponsor- ship are encouraged to expressfreely their professional judgment in the conduct of the project. Points of view or opinions stated do not,therefore, nocesparily represent official Office ofEducation position or policy. U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH, EDUCATION, AND WELFARE Office of Education Bureau of Research TABLE OF CONTENTS PREFACE SUMMARY INTRODUCTION 1 METHODS 3 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS 29 CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS 55 APPENDIX 1 BibliograPhy CI MaterialsUsedFor Friends/Morgan Staff Training Sessions APPENDIX 2 Recording Forms APPENDIX 3 Daily Tests APPENDIX 4 Sctipt of: "Art With 7riends" Slide/Tape Presentation LIST OF FIGURES Page I Mean Mental Age Change in TotalScore: PMA K-1 Plus 2-4 31 2 Mean Mental Age Change in TotalScores: a% K-1 32 3 Mean Mental Age Change inVerbal Scores: PHA K-1 33 4 Mean Mental Age Change inPerceptual Speed Scores: PMA 34 Mean Mental Age Changein Number Facility Scores: PMA 34 6 Mean Mental Age Changein Spatial RelationsScores: PMA 35 7 Mean Mental Age Change in Total Scores: PMA 2-4 35 8 Mean Mental Age Change in Verbal Scores: PMA 2-4 36 9 Mean Mhntal Age Changein Perceptual Speed Scores: PMA 2-4 37 10 Mean Mental Age Changein Number Facility Scores: PMA 2-4 37 11 Mean Ehntal Age Changein Spatial RelationsScores: PMA 2-4 38 12 PMA K-1 Mean MA Scores: June 1967 39 13 PMA K-1 Mean MA Scores: August-September 1967 39 14 PMA K-1 Mean MA Scores: December 1967 40 15 PM& K-1 Mean MA Scores: Mardh 1968 41 16 PMA 2-4 Mean MA Scores: June 1967 42 17 PHA 2-4 Mean MA Scores: August-September 1967 42 18 PMA 2-4 Mean MA Scores: December 1967 43 19 PMA 2-4 Mean MA Scores: March 1968 43 20 Results of TwoAdministrations of "Persanal Information" Quiz for"Surprise Time" 48 21 Scores for "Surprise Time"Tests and Games Throughout Project (WhereAvailable) 49 PREFACE This paper is submitted as the Final Report of the research evalua-. tion by the Institute for Behavioral Research staff under the Office of Education Contract No. 0-8-071108-1767. entitled lAeasuring the Contri- bution cd the Arts in the Education of Disadvantaged Children." (CAE) This report contains a synthesis of the three previous Progress Reports evaluating the Friends/Morgan summerprogram, completed data on the Primary Mental Abilities Test for theyear, recommendations resulting from that analysis, and the full script of the audio-visual presentation prepared in completion of project requirements.Also included in the appendix is a description of the daily curriculum-relatedtests, and samples of the data collection forms whichwere used in the program operation. The reader's attention must be directedto the authors' concern for conclusions that umy be drawn from certain data presentedin this report. The data presented for all administrations of thePMA test include scores for only a sample of the entire population Chat comprisedthe students of the summer program. Second, this sample is not perfectly representative of the larger populationas eadh member of the sample completed fcur successive PMA test administrations.Third, although the comparison group that was developed from the total tested population of the Morgan school MS randomly constructed, it doesrepresent the entire population of students from the Morgan school andnot just "underadhievers."There- fore, the comparisons ofscores of these two groups is not intended to compare matdhed samples: the rejection ofa CAE proposed research design by the Friends/Morgan Project staff precludedsuch analysis. The dom.- parisons are then between "underadhievers" and "average"students of the Morgan school.Finally, a general word of caution must be expressed regarding the inadvisability of generalizingto larger or different groups the results of the testing reported here. SUMMARY The general objective of the contractundertaken here was to provide assistance to a separately funded summerdemonstration program (the Friends/ Morgan Project), which intended toincrease the academic Skill of 120 under- achieving inner-city children through an artscurriculum. This assistance was directedspecifically toward (1) assessment ofeducational behavior change for students involved in the arts programthrough a battery of standardized testing instruments;(2) cons .ruction of brief achievement tests for use periodically throughthe summer demonstration project;(3) training of both teaching staff andstudent-interns prior to theinitiation of the summer arts project; and(4) assessment of educational dhange for student-interns involved in the summer arts project.The operations of the contract were also dividedchronologically into three phases. Phase 1 (April June, 1967) included the preparationof a research design and the training of Friends/Horgan teaching personnel.Phase 2 (June-August, 1967)included working with the Friends/Morgan personnel on thedevelopment of both the arts program and the testing instruments to assessits effects. Phase 3 (June 1967March 1968) included all pre- andpost-project testing sessions using the Primary Mental_Abilities Test(PMA) as the standardized testing instrument. proposed and initial assess- . All training sessions were conducted as ment was made of particular student-internacademic skills.During the teacher training sessions, some teachers wereresistant to the operant psychological techniques proposed for use inboth the summer arts program and the CAE project. Certain topics of philosophicaland profesSional con- tention between the F/M and CAE staffs were neverresolved. During Phase 2. the CAE project staff maintained an office atthe demonstration project. site. Consistent records were kept of a variety ofbehavioral indices of student involvement in the summer arts program.Tests were usually admin- istered daily to ascertain the degree towhich the students could demonstrate their learning in the arts program.Attempts were made to maintaincon.- .sistent liaison between all arts teachers andthe staff of the CAE project to permit essential feedback for both groups. The results of the behavforal record keeping indicate that the children enrolledin the summer project maintained a mean attendance of over 90% for theproject tern.Also, certain of the arts activities were associated with numerousdisruptions and non- participation by students. A series of four PHA testadministrations was, conducted through Phase 3 of the CAE project. Following rejection of a CAE staff proposed research design by the staffof the TIM project, test sessions were scheduled, and it was assumedthat all evaluation of PMA test results would be undertaken