| Abstract: |
THIS STUDY WAS UNDERTAKEN TO DESIGN A NEW SCOPE AND SEQUENCE FOR A SHORTHAND AND TRANSCRIPTION COURSE WHICH WOULD FIT A ONE-SEMESTER STENOGRAPHY PROGRAM. A PACKAGE OF INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS, CALLED A SHORTHAND STRUCTURED-LEARNING PROGRAM, WAS DEVELOPED WHICH INCLUDED A TEXTBOOK, TAPES, FILM CLIPS, AND TRANSPARENCIES. THREE SCHOOLS PARTICIPATED IN THE PROGRAM--A HIGH SCHOOL, AN ADULT SCHOOL, AND A STATE COLLEGE. AT THEIR RESPECTIVE CLASS BEGINNING DATES, STUDENTS IN EACH GROUP TOOK THE BUSINESS ENGLISH TEST. AN ANALYSIS OF VARIANCE SHOWED THAT THE STUDENTS WERE FROM DIFFERENT POPULATIONS. A FINAL EXAMINATION, GIVEN UPON COMPLETION OF THE PROGRAM, REVEALED THAT THE STUDENTS ATTAINED ESSENTIALLY THE SAME LEVEL OF PROFICIENCY. THE PROGRAM TOOK A HIGH OF 95 HOURS TO A LOW OF 72 HOURS FOR COMPLETION. THE GENERALLY ACCEPTED PLAN FOR TEACHING STENOGRAPHY INVOLVES FOUR SEMESTERS OF STUDY. THUS, IT WAS CONCLUDED THAT THE SHORTHAND STRUCTURED-LEARNING PROGRAM PROVIDES A MEANS FOR SHORTENING INSTRUCTION TIME, AND PRESENTS A FLEXIBLE PROGRAM FOR AVERAGE AND TALENTED STUDENTS. (JC) |