A report on the development of an instructional unit entitled 'The Labrador floater fishery in the twentieth century'

Jenkins, Lawrence John (1980) A report on the development of an instructional unit entitled 'The Labrador floater fishery in the twentieth century'. Masters thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland.

[English] PDF (Migrated (PDF/A Conversion) from original format: (application/pdf)) - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. Download (21MB) [English] PDF - Accepted Version Available under License - The author retains copyright ownership and moral rights in this thesis. Neither the thesis nor substantial extracts from it may be printed or otherwise reproduced without the author's permission. (Original Version)

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to develop a unit of instruction on the Labrador floater fishery. The unit is intended to supplement the existing elementary social studies program in Newfoundland schools. In particular, the materials have been developed as a supplementary to the existing Grade Five history text book, Newfoundland and Labrador: A Brief History, by Leslie Harris (1968). -- The unit consists of a student booklet whose contents include copies of original documents; a photocopied magazine article; and a guidebook for teachers. -- Various stages were involved in the development of the study. An extensive survey was conducted prior to its development. The survey showed that suitable materials do not exist in an instructional format to meet the needs of students and teachers in their study of the Labrador floater fishery. The developer then set about producing instructional materials from primary and secondary sources that would be suitable for use with a Grade Five history class. -- When the materials were developed, specialists evaluated them for content, structure, and quality; teachers and students assess the materials for their teachability and learnability. The recommendations from this formative evaluation led to final revisions and field testing. -- Field testing of the unit was conducted at A.P. Low Elementary School in Labrador City in October and November of 1979. Three teachers and seventy-five students were exposed to the unit for a period of approximately two weeks. -- In determining the effectiveness of the instructional unit as a teaching tool, the developer used two types of measuring instruments: a pretest-posttest method for evaluating the achievement level of the students, and student and teacher attitude questionnaires to determine how students and teachers felt about the materials. The results of the pretest-posttest analysis proved to be very favourable; the responses to the questionnaires were also very favourable. -- In summary, the materials in the instructional unit have been used and evaluated. The assessment by the participating students and teachers have convinced the developer that the unit can be used very effectively to supplement and update the existing social studies program in Newfoundland elementary schools.

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