A Description of the Impact of Multimedia Anchored Instruction on Classroom Interactions

This preliminary study explores and describes the effects of a multimedia based anchored instruction intervention on student/teacher interactions in an eighth grade social studies classroom. Nineteen students enrolled in a general education 8th grade social studies class participated in the year long study, including ten general education students and nine students with mild disabilities. Overall, instruction became more interactive as observational and interview data indicated a twofold increase in the number of daily student/teacher interactions after the intervention was implemented. Concurrently, the quality of the interactions, as indicated by the number of interpretive questions asked by teachers, was found to be substantially higher than those occurring during the baseline phase of this study. Results show that, during the intervention period, less class time was spent in addressing management problems and task/direction issues.