Effectiveness of Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model of Teaching for Enhancing Attainment of Concepts of English Grammar

* Dr.(Mrs) S. P. Pathak

* Dr. V. K. Pathak

In the present days while each and every part and aspect of human life is being influenced by the scientific and technological inventions and innovations, the field of education is also not free from its effects. Bruce Joyce and Marsha Weil (1972) first introduced the Models of Teaching. In the words of Bruce Joyce “Models of Teaching are really models of learning. They help students acquire information, ideas, skills, values, way of thinking and means of expressing themselves.”

OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY

1.     To determine the teaching effectiveness of Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model, Ausuble’s Advance Organizer Model and Traditional Method of Instruction in the teaching of concepts of English Grammar.

2.     To compare the teaching effectiveness of Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model and Ausebel’s Advance Organizer Model.

3.     To compare the teaching effectiveness of Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model and the Traditional Method of Instruction.

4.     To compare the teaching effectiveness of Ausubel’s Advance Organizer Model and the Traditional Method of Instruction.

5.     To compare the effectiveness of Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model, Ausubel’s Advance Organizer Model and Traditional Method of Instruction in enhancing the attainment of concepts of English Grammar among IX grade students.

HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY

1.     There is no significant difference between students who had been taught through CAM and AOM in enhancing the attainment of concepts of English Grammar.

2.     There is no significant difference between CAM and TMI in enhancing the attainment of concepts of English Grammar.

3.     There is no significant difference between AOM and TMI in enhancing the attainment of concepts of English Grammar.

4.     There is no significant difference between students who had been taught through CAM, AOM and TMI with respect to scores on attainment of concepts of English Grammar.

ASSUMPTIONS OF THE STUDY

1.     Students’ attainment is effected from classroom atmosphere also. It is assumed that:-

·        Learning is influenced by various teaching approaches.

·        Learning may be enhanced through the teaching by approaches of Model of Teaching.

2.     Educational status of parents also affects the attainment power of students.

DELIMITATIONS OF THE STUDY

          Present study proceeds under the following delimitations:-

1.     This study is confined to the following teaching models:

(a)  Concept Attainment Model

(b) Advance Organizer Model

(c)  Traditional Method of Instruction.

2.     This study includes IX grade students of St. Vincent’s’ Girl’s Higher Secondary School, Agra.

3.     Each experiment followed the duration of one month.

4.     Experiments of the present study are based on the content of English Grammar; prescribed under the syllabus of U.P. Board of Secondary Education for IX grade students.

5.     The sample of the present experimental study is limited to 150 students only.

6.     This study includes the following variables:-

(i)                CAM

(ii)             AOM

(iii)           TMI

(iv)           Concept Attainment

(v)             Intelligence

STUDY IN RETROSPECT

          The present study was designed to examine the effect of Concept Attainment Model by J.S. Bruner (1967) and Advance Organizer Model by David Ausubel (1963) on the achievement in English Grammar of standard IX. The method used for the study was pre-test post-test experimental design. The data collected were computed and analyzed using appropriate statistical techniques. The details are discussed as follows.

METHODOLOGY IN BRIEF

         

The pre-test post-test experimental design was used for the present study. The study was conducted on a final sample of 150 students (Three divisions of 50 students each) of standard IX of St. Vincent’s Girls Higher Secondary School in Agra. Two divisions were selected as the Experimental groups and the one as the Control group.

Design of the Study

Treatments
Stage	Experimental	Controlled
1.Pre Testing	Measurement of Students’ 1.     Intelligence 2.     Achievement in English Grammar	Measurement of Students’ 1.   Intelligence 2.   Achievement in English Grammar
2.Treatment	Teaching English through: 1.     Concept Attainment Model. 2.     Advance Organizer Model	Teaching English through Traditional Method of Instruction
3.Post Testing	Measurement of Students’ achievement in English	Measurement of Students’ achievement in English.

          The tools used were (1) Mental Ability Test by Dr. S. Jalota Mental Ability Test to equalize the three groups at the basis of intelligence. (2) The Achievement Test in English Grammar (used as pre-test post-test), and lesson transcripts based on Concept Attainment Model, Advance Organizer Model and Traditional Method of Instruction. The Experimental groups were taught using Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model lesson transcripts and the control group in the Traditional way. The effectiveness of Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model on achievement in English Grammar was determined by administering the Achievement test to all three groups. The data thus collected were tabulated and analyzed using statistical techniques like Mean, Standard Deviation, Critical Ratio, Analysis of Variance and Analysis of Covariance to compensate for the lack of equivalency between the groups.

STATISTICAL TECHNIQUES EMPLOYED

The investigator selected three groups equated for major controlling variables, for actual experimentation. The null hypothesis formulated for this purpose.

The level of significance should be set up by the investigator before collection of data (Garrett, 1981). The .01 level of significance is more exact than the .05 level (Garrett 1981). Therefore, the investigator set .01 as the level of significance for acceptance or rejection of null hypothesis. Size of sample selected for the experiment was 50 students in each group. ‘Large sample‘t’ Critical Value, of test for the rejection or acceptance of null hypothesis at .01 level is 2.58 (Best 1992). If the CR is 2.58 or larger than the null hypotheses can be rejected at .01 level of significance (Garrett, 1981).

All values were computed on software IBM’s SPSS Statistics 19 downloaded from- http://ibm.com/software/analytics/spss.

FINDINGS OF THE STUDY

1.     Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model and Ausubel’s Advance Organizer Model are more effective than Traditional Method in teaching concepts of English Grammar.

2.     Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model and Ausubel’s Advance Organizer Model are equally effective in Teaching Concepts of English Grammar.

3.     Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model is more effective than Traditional Method of Instruction in Teaching Concepts of English Grammar.

4.     Ausubel’s Advance Organizer Model is more effective than Traditional Method in Teaching Concepts of English Grammar.

5.     Bruner’s Concept Attainment Model and Ausubel’s Advance Organizer Model are much effective in enhancing the attainment of the concept of English grammar among IX grade students in comparison to the Traditional Method of Instruction.

 Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model are much effective in teaching concepts of English Grammar then Traditional Method of Instruction.

SUGGESTIONS FOR EDUCATIONAL IMPLICATIONS

          The findings of the study reveal that Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model are definitely better than the Traditional Method of Instruction. A few implications are put forth for improving the effectiveness of teaching.

1.  The Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model will encourage the students to engage in learning activities with maximum enthusiasm and this will help them to understand the subject matter more vividly. These strategies also help to correlate the theoretical concepts of English Grammar and its applications, which is not so effective in the Traditional Method.

2. The Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model will help the students to learn the theory and apply the newly acquired knowledge simultaneously. The conclusions of the study prove that the Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model have helped the students to score better in the Achievement Test.

3. The teachers were also encouraged to learn more and test their knowledge when Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model are used. The teachers should have a thorough knowledge in their subject to conduct such classes. The teacher should be able to clear all the doubts of the students. The classes will be lively and there will be good teacher-students interaction.

4. Since the results of the study prove the effectiveness of the Concept Attainment Model and Advance Organizer Model in teaching English Grammar, it can be applied on the teaching of grammatical elements in other languages also. The study may help in selecting suitable activities to attain specific objectives for IX grade students.

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