The Study

Research has shown that representing ideas through text and images simultaneously increases the likelihood that students will acquire an understanding of complex information. In this study, MSU Professor Cynthia Okolo and her colleague at the University of Delaware, Ralph Ferretti, examined the potential of using multimedia projects to teach a unit on Spanish colonization in an inclusive social studies classroom.

The Findings

During this three-month unit, students were required to investigate a controversial topic from more than one perspective and then develop a multimedia presentation that demonstrated what they learned. The Delaware sixth-grade participants included 11 students with mild disabilities and 22 students without disabilities. They created their presentations with multimedia authoring tools, which enabled them to combine text with scanned pictures, digitized video clips, and sounds or music. “We have found that with instruction, students readily master these tools and are highly motivated by the opportunity to augment their writing with other media,” wrote Okolo and Ferretti, adding that students with poor literacy skills were no longer disadvantaged by having to rely solely on print to communicate their ideas and accomplishments. Results showed that the students with mild disabilities, who previous to this unit knew little about Spanish colonization, could all name at least two achievements of native Latin American cultures and define colonization by the end of the project. The majority also could recall important leaders of the Spanish and indigenous peoples and understood that people can resolve disagreements through discussion and reason. At the start of the unit, nine of the 11 students described an argument as something settled by aggression. These students were able to use what they learned about the unit to construct a more effective argument, and engage in a more productive discussion about colonization that were when faced with disagreement, participating in discussions twice as long as the first talks in the unit.

What It Means To You

The results of this study suggest that instruction and practice in constructing rational arguments and the design of multimedia projects promote improvements in students’ knowledge and attitudes about social studies. Okolo and Ferretti concluded that “arguing with words instead of fists” enhanced students’ achievement and improved their attitudes when learning about controversial issues.

For More Information

Okolo, C. M.  & Ferretti, R.P. (1998). Multimedia design projects in an inclusive social studies classroom teaching Spanish colonization: “Sometimes people argue with words instead of fists.” Teaching Exceptional Children, 31 (1), 50-57.

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