Question

1. Explain/Define the classical experiment in terms of the following (provide references):     

1. Independent and dependent variables     

2. Pre-testing and Post-testing     

3. Experimental and Control groups

Answer 1

(A) independent variable is the variable that is changed or controlled in a scientific experiment to test the effects on the dependent variable. A dependent variable is the variable being tested and measured in a scientific experiment. (B). Pre and post testing is a assessment model designed to examine the change in overall critical thinking skills or dispositions in a group of test takers.

It's reasonable to posttest as soon as a few weeks after a focused training program in critical thinking, but most often a posttest is gathered months or years after the pretest. One common example for university settings is a pretest at the beginning of a degree program and a posttest sometime toward the end of the program. For businesses, the pretest might be done before an employee training program is begun and a posttest could be set for weeks or months after the program has been completed. (C). An experimental group is the group in an experiment that receives the variable being tested. One variable is tested at a time. The experimental group is compared to a control group, which does not receive the test variable. In this way, experimental groups are used to find answers in an experiment