KIZLIK, SANDRA B.

This study evaluated the effects of feedback and learning process on students' mathematics achievement scores. The topic of instruction was factoring polynomials. Feedback had two levels, knowledge-of-correctness with explanation of error (KCE) and knowledge-of-correctness with branching to similar problems (KCB). Learning process had two levels as measured by the Torrance Test of Creative Thinking (TTCT), verbal and figural. The subjects were 74 south Florida junior college students enrolled in one of four Intermediate Algebra classes. Subjects were placed into one of four groups by stratified random sampling: (1) verbal and KCE; (2) verbal and KCB; (3) figural and KCE; and, (4) figural and KCB. Two CAI packages delivered instruction and feedback. They eliminated teacher variance and differed only in the type of feedback given to a subject's incorrect response. One contained KCE while the other contained KCB. The two independent variables were feedback and learning process. The dependent variables were immediate posttest scores and one-week delayed posttest scores. Analysis of covariance between the posttest scores and the independent variables was calculated using pretest scores as the covariate. No significant difference in mathematics achievement scores was found for either the types of feedback or the types of learning process. However, a significant interaction effect between feedback and learning process was found. Subjects who were dominant verbal learners receiving KCE and subjects who were dominant figural learners receiving KCB had mathematics achievement scores significantly higher than subjects who were dominant verbal learners receiving KCB and subjects who were dominant figural learners receiving KCE.