You want to test whether teaching children to read using "phonics" is better than using a "whole word" method. 30 5-year-old students from Robinson Elementary School are taught using phonics whereas 30 5-year-old students from Palmer Elementary School are taught using the whole word method. At the end of the year, the children are tested on their reading skills. You find that the children taught using phonics perform better on the reading test than children taught using the whole word method.
1. What is the independent variable?​​ ​
2. What is the dependent variable?​​ ​
3. What is the confounding variable?