Dr. Melanie Narkawicz
Dr. DiAnn B. Casteel
Tusculum College
Let’s make a
®
Foldable !
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Provide results of research to support the use
of graphic organizers in teaching college
students
Provide participants with hands-on
experience in constructing different types of
graphic organizers
Let’s make a
®
Foldable !
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Hands-on manipulatives that helps students
construct meaning from assigned readings or
lectures (Hoffman, 2003)
Foldables® - Quick and inexpensive graphic
organizers that require just colored paper
and scissors
Developed for medical school students, but
used in kindergarten and beyond
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Professors desire teaching strategies that
engage students in active learning
Accelerated courses present unique challenge
to cover a semester’s amount of info in only a
few class meetings
This study examined effectiveness of
Foldable® graphic organizers in improving
students’ retention of course content in an
accelerated course
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Research has found that students’ retention of
information begins declining after about 15
minutes of lecture (Lake, 2001)
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Constructing Foldables® shortens longer lectures
to 10-15 minute segments
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Foldables® provide students with a study tool
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Question: Will those taught basic research
methods in an accelerated course using lecture
interspersed with Foldables® perform better on
quizzes than those taught with lecture only?
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Population (N=67): Adult students, age 22+ (91% White;
71% female; median age=33; in Organizational
Management BS program taking required basic research
methods accelerated course of three 4-hour sessions)
Retrospective study of students taught by one instructor
(Dr. Narkawicz) for one year (after seeing greater
understanding of key concepts in the courses when
students had constructed Foldables®)
Control Group (n=33): First half of the year taught with
PowerPoint based lecture (notes provided)
Treatment Group (n=34): Second half of the year taught
with PowerPoint based lecture (notes provided) PLUS
Foldables®
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Night 1: Foldables® made for three topics
(experimental v. non-experimental designs; ethics in
research; and elements in research reports)
Night 2: Foldables® made for two topics (sampling
designs and validity v. reliability)
Topics had been selected because students seemed
to have the most difficulty understanding these
particular concepts
PowerPoint lecture presented these topics, then
students created a Foldable ® as described on the
PowerPoint slide
Let’s make a
®
Foldable !
Let’s make a
®
Foldable !
®
Foldable
How
Graphic Organizers
Can Help Engage
Learners
Analysis
Results
Discussion
Limitations
Conclusions
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Examined percentage right versus wrong on
three quiz questions that directly related to the
topics on which Foldables® had been made
(discuss 4 elements in research reports; explain
difference between validity and reliability; explain
ethical obligations of researchers toward
subjects, including informed consent)
Quizzes had been graded several months before
study and at the time of grading, if any
information was incorrect (even partially), the
question was counted as wrong
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Treatment group did 51% better, a significant
difference (χ2=9.539; p=.002; df =1; Φ= .22)
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Treatment Group (n=98) got 65% correct
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Control Group (n=95) got 43% correct
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Evidence using Foldables® in accelerated class was an
effective tool for enhancing students’ retention
Foldables® allowed a break so that the 1.5 hour
lecture actually became a series of mini-lectures of
about 15-20 minutes each
Foldables® address visual and kinesthetic learning
styles in addition to auditory learning style of lectures
A simple pause of a few minutes to construct a
Foldable® allowed students to refocus their attention
for several minutes before moving back to the lecture
(students visibly perked up…asking more questions,
paying more attention, not yawning, becoming more
focused on the lecture following construction of a
Foldable®);
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Intact groups and not randomly assigned, so
there may have been unidentified differences
between the groups that were related to the
use of the Foldables®
Older adult students studying in a business
discipline, many of whom worked during the
day and attended classes at night (may not
well represent traditional aged students)
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Question: Will those taught basic research methods in an
accelerated course using lecture interspersed with Foldables®
perform better on quizzes than those taught with lecture only?
Yes!
Previous research indicated the effectiveness of graphic organizers
in multiple ages and disciplines (DeMeo, 2007; Hall & Strangman,
2002; Katayama & Robinson, 2000; Schau & Mattern 1997)
Previous research indicated graphic organizers were helpful for
students from primary school to medical school (Casteel &
Narkawicz, 2009; DeMeo, 2007; Hall & Strangman, 2002,
MacKinnon & Keppell, 2005; Katayama & Robinson, 2000; Schau &
Mattern 1997)
Other faculty members at Tusculum reported successfully using
Foldables® among traditional-aged students and adult students
and in diverse disciplines ranging from education, psychology, and
statistics, to English. Faculty members indicated both graduate
and undergraduate students have successfully used Foldables®
Any questions about the
research study?
(Future research might focus on the role of color of
paper in effectiveness since students indicate they
can visualize different colored Foldables®)
We hope you will find
®
Foldables useful!