Michael T. Battista

Social-Cognitive Interactions, Motivation, and Cognitive Growth in Logo Programming and CAI Problem-Solving Environments

Extending earlier work (Clements & Nastasi, 1985,1988), this study investigated whether children working in two educational computing environments—Logo and computer-assisted instruction (CAI) problem-solving—exhibited differing amounts of behaviors indicative of cooperative interaction, conflict and resolution, effectance motivation, and self-evaluation. Ss were 12 fourth and 28 sixth graders randomly assigned to Logo or CAI. Toward the end of 42 treatment sessions, Ss working in pairs were videotaped. Children in Logo evinced more cognitively oriented conflict, attempts at and successful resolution of conflicts, rule making, and pleasure at discovery. Resolution of cognitive conflict more than the occurrence of conflict predicted problem-solving performance and accounted for treatment effects on problem solving. Findings suggest that Logo may foster cognitive growth though opportunities for resolving cognitive conflict and may enhance effectance motivation. The investigation of social interactions within different educational environments is significant because social development is a fundamental educational goal and because such interaction is an essential component of cognitive growth. Investigations of computer environments have demonstrated increased interaction among students, but they generally have failed to delineate the specific types of social behavior that occur. Research has shown that qualitatively different computer environments have differential effects on childrens cognition; however, there has been little research concerning the social and social-cognitive interactions within these environments that may account for such effects. The purposes of this study were to examine specific types of social and socialcognitive interactions that occur as children work within qualitatively different computer environments and to examine how certain of these behaviors relate to later problemsolving ability.

Effects of Computer and Noncomputer Environments on Students' Conceptualizations of Geometric Motions

This study investigated the effects of computer and noncomputer environments on learning of geometric motions. Two treatment groups, one of which used specially designed Logo computer environments, and one of which used manipulatives and paper and pencil, received eight lessons on geometric motions. Interviews revealed that both treatment groups, especially the Logo group, performed at a higher level of geometric thinking than did a control group. Both treatment groups outperformed the control group on immediate and delayed posttests; though the two treatment groups did not significantly differ on the immediate posttest, the Logo group outperformed the nonLogo group on the delayed posttest. Thus, there was support for the effectiveness of the curriculum and for the notion that the Logo-based version enhanced the construction of higher-level conceptualizations of motion geometry.

The effects of Logo and CAI problem-solving environments on problem-solving abilities and mathematics achievement

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effects of Logo programming and CAI problem-solving software on problem solving that is dependent on specialized conceptual and procedural knowledge, problem solving that is dependent on specific executive-level cognitive skills, and mathematics achievement. No significant differences were found on mathematics achievement or knowledge-dependent problem solving. However, significant differences were found on the test of executive-level problem solving, with the Logo group improving more than the CAI and control groups.

Computer Environments for Learning Geometry.

Given their graphic capabilities, computers may facilitate the construction of geometric concepts. Comparative media research, however, reveals few differences between media; alterations in curricula or teaching strategies might also explain the positive results of many studies that compare computer to noncomputer media. Yet, there remain certain computer functions that non-computer media may not easily duplicate. This article reviews research to describe such functions of construction-oriented environments and to evaluate their unique contributions to students learning of geometry. Implications for the design of geometric computer environments for geometry education are drawn.

The Effect of Microcomputer Assisted Instruction Upon the Computer Literacy of High Ability Students

The advancing use of computers in society and the low cost of microelectronics has propelled the demand for microcomputers and computer literacy in the schools. The National Science Foundation (NSF) has calculated that elementary and secondary schools in the United States have more than 200,000 microcomputers at the present time. The NSF has also predicted that there will be more than one million microcomputers in classrooms by 1985. Increases in computer technology and in the utilization of computers in business and industry have begun to make educational leaders aware of the urgent need for computer literacy among our students (Gleason, 1981). The National Council of Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM, 1978) has included computer literacy as one of the ten basic skills which should be required in all mathematics programs. One of the most popular offerings for gifted students that