Instructional Radio: The Nicaraguan Connection.

The Radio Mathematics Project is being undertaken in Masaya, Nicaragua, to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of radio as the medium of instruction for primary school mathematics in the developing nations. The curriculum is based upon a series of segments, each of which contains several conceptual or topical strands. Thus, for example, one segment of the first-grade curriculum contains four strands, Number Concepts, Addition, Subtraction, and Application. Behavioral objectives are established for each strand. Student responses are both oral and written. Class observation and pupil response data will be used to revise the lessons currently being tested. Each segment will be considered individually and in relation to the entire curriculum. Preliminary work is underway in the analysis of lesson scripts. The dimensions of the broadcasts to be analyzed are: (a) attitude of the sender, (b) expected behavior of the receiver, (c) language and codes through which the message is expressed, (d) the subject of the message, (e) the contact established between the sender and the receiver, and (f) the form of the message. (DC)