Teaching Experimental Method Using the Feature-Present/Feature-Absent Effect

Abstract

To determine whether a classroom experiment improved the learning of experimental method, at the start of the semester 2 introductory psychology classes took a 10-question multiple-choice pretest on experimental method. Two days later, before the instructor covered the relevant material in the course, 1 class took part in a classroom experiment on the feature-present/feature-absent effect followed by a debriefing. The other class heard only a comparable lecture. Then each class took a posttest identical to the pretest. On the posttest, but not on the pretest, the classroom experiment class significantly outperformed the lecture-only class. The results suggest that, for teaching experimental method, the feature-present/feature-absent experiment is an effective supplement to lecturing.