Project CALCOP - Final Report, December, 1970

• NCJ Number: 69880
• Author(s): R W Brightman
• Date Published: 1970
• Length: 175 pages
• Grant Number(s): 69-NI-066
• Sponsoring Agency: US Dept of Justice; US Dept of Justice NIJ Pub
• Corporate Author: Los Angeles Police Dept; Coast Community College District
• Sale Source: National Institute of Justice/
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This 1970 final report describes the activities of Project CALCOP, a joint project of the coast community college district in California, the Los Angeles Police Department, and the Los Angeles Police Academy.

Abstract

Project CALCOP had two purposes. First, the project sought to develop a computer-assisted learning system to train police in the area of search and seizure and rules of evidence. Second, the project evaluated the effectiveness of the computer-assisted learning system. In doing so, the project examined the hypothesis that the learning system designed by CALCOP, consisting of independent study and computer-assisted instruction (CAI) exercises, would be more effective than conventional classroom instruction. Training program objectives were formulated and an examination was developed to measure how the objectives were met. Also, a syllabus to be used for independent study was developed, as well as case problems simulated through the use of the computer terminal. Finally, training using CAI and the syllabus was conducted at Golden West College, while conventional classroom instruction simultaneously occurred at the Los Angeles Police Academy. An examination was administered to cadets at both colleges, and performance between the two groups was compared to determine if the CAI techniques were more or less effective than conventional classroom techniques. The examination results showed that the Golden West cadets performed significantly better on each of the three parts of the test as well as on the test as a whole. The difference in performance levels was found to be statistically significant in each case at the .01 level of confidence. The report concludes that learning systems such as that developed by CALCOP which remove the police cadet from the rigid discipline of the academy classroom show significant promise as more effective teaching techniques than conventional methods. Tables and footnotes are included. Appendixes contain the syllabus, case problems, sample terminal output, and the examination. (Author abstract modified)