Aptitude Treatment Interaction Research :: Education Classrooms Essays

Aptitude Treatment Interaction Research Since the beginning of formal education, teachers/educators have sought the best method of instruction to maximize the learning potential of their students. It was recognized early that students differ in intelligence, ability to learn, background, environment, learning style, and many other factors that affected their progress through the educational system. Over time the classroom became the place for a teacher’s intuition, experiences, and impressions of the child to be the guidebook (Cronbach & Snow, 1969). As a result, aptitude treatment interaction (ATI) research developed as a way to find the best methods of instruction for the student population. Historical Perspective and Definitions ATI hypotheses were in ancient Chinese and Hebrew writings, in early Greek and Roman teaching, and early European philosophies. ATI, however, emerged as a modern research program when defined by Cronbach (1957) for instructional psychology. Since then, ATI research has been used extensively in the field of education and more recently in industrial and clinical psychology (Snow, 1991). As with any study, definitions are integral to the understanding of the topic. According to Snow (1991), "aptitude should refer to any measurable person characteristic hypothesized to be needed as preparation for response to treatment to successful goal achievement in the treatment(s) studied" (p.205). This writer prefers the definition given by Cronbach and Snow where "aptitude is defined as any characteristic of the individual that increases (or impairs) his probability of success in a given treatment" (Cronbach & Snow, 1969, p. 5). Cronbach and Snow also say that aptitude is, essentially, whatever makes a person ready to learn rapidly (or to adapt effectively to his environment). The American Heritage Dictionary of the English Language simply states that aptitude is the ability or inclination of an individual to develop skills or acquire knowledge (1969). Intelligence, motivation, and anxiety seem to be the most common aptitudes studied. Snow states that treatment is any manipulative situation variable (Snow 1991). In the education field, treatment refers to the teaching methods and techniques measured by the outcome of a post-test (Peck, 1983). Teacher characteristics and differences in teaching styles are treatments affecting the learning of students. Interaction is defined statistically as the degree to which results for two or more treatments, or one treatment over two or more trials, differ for persons who also differ on one or more aptitude measures (Snow, 1991). This writer believes that interaction in the context of ATI refers to bi-directional action observed between the aptitude variables of the subject and the teaching techniques and methods of the instructor.