Date Approved
6-23-2005
Embargo Period
4-19-2016
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.S. in Teaching
Department
Interdisciplinary and Inclusive Education
College
College of Education
Advisor
Robinson, Randall
Subject(s)
Creative writing (Elementary education); Fourth grade (Education)
Disciplines
Elementary Education and Teaching
Abstract
The purpose of this study was to determine if multi-sensory stimulation during writing exercises would increase the number of descriptive elements used by fourth grade students. Thirty-five students in two intact classrooms participated in the nonequivalent control group design study. A learning styles questionnaire was administered to both groups to ensure that all modality preferences were represented in each classroom. Two pretests in the form of writing prompts were given to each group. Two weeks later posttests identical to the pretests were administered to each group. During posttest writing exercises, the experimental group was exposed to multi-sensory stimulation. The control group received no sensory stimulation. All writing samples were scored for the number of descriptive elements present. Pretest and posttest scores for each subject were compared for "amount learned." Based on t tests calculated for each writing prompt, findings were mixed. Results from one writing prompt indicated that the experimental group had significantly higher scores for "amount learned" than the control group, whereas scores for both groups were not significantly different for the other writing prompt. Consequently, the hypothesis was rejected.
Recommended Citation
Scott, Karen L., "A study examining the effect of multi-sensory stimulation on the descriptive writing of fourth grade students" (2005). Theses and Dissertations. 1078.
https://rdw.rowan.edu/etd/1078
