23.7.1 Individual Differences
Sigurdson's and Olson's (1992) study raises a question found in other ability research. They found that the students in the top one-third of the class responded almost as well to algorithmic-practice teaching as to meaning teaching. The best students learn in spite of what we do to them. The middle one-third of students responded well to teaching with meaning, while the lowest one-third did not respond well to either of treatment. Can this effect be replicated in other studies? Can low-ability students benefit from REALs, or are REALs only for higher abilities or intelligence levels? If REALs are limited to the higher-ability students, are the methodologies inherent in REALs the reason for successful learning, or is it the ability inherent in the successful students?