Effects of the gender of audio tape narrators upon the cognitive performance of selected seventh and eighth grade students

Abstract

Purpose. The purpose of this study was to ascertain if the gender of an individual providing the audio narration for a slide series significantly affected the cognitive performance of students who heard the narration and saw the slides. Students' cognitive performance was measured by the extent to which they could discriminate among five woodworking saws based upon the characteristics of the saws presented in the narrated slide series. Sample. The sample consisted of 688 industrial arts students in the seventh or eighth grade who viewed a narrated slide series designed to teach five characteristics of each of five different woodworking handsaws. Treatment. The groups of learners were exposed to one of three learning treatments. The treatments consisted of a single slide series and one of three audio narrations (female narrator, male narrator or a combination of male and female narration). The series was in linear format and was accompanied by a workbook which was coordinated to the slide series. The students made overt responses to questions in the workbook and the slide series throughout the treatment. The treatment was designed and developed utilizing principles advocated by Gagne concerning the conditions necessary for specific types of learning to occur. Null Hypothesis. The following hypothesis was stated in the null form for purposes of statistical analysis and was tested at the .05 level of significance. H(,o): When the mean score on a multiple choice test of cognitive performance is the criterion, there is no significant difference attributable to: (a) gender of students; (b) gender(s) of narrator(s), or (c) interaction between gender of students and gender of narrator(s). Results. Analysis of variance indicated that the mean score representing the cognitive performance of male students was significantly higher than the mean score representing the cognitive performance of female students; therefore, null hypothesis (a) was rejected. No significant difference was found with respect to the gender of the narrators; therefore, null hypothesis (b) was not rejected. No significant interaction effect between the gender of the narrator and the gender of the students was revealed; therefore, null hypothesis (c) was not rejected.