We investigated whether and how prior knowledge activation improves learning outcomes for high school (less experienced learners) and university students (experienced learners) in a hypertext environment. Map coherence was defined as the extent to which relationships between the concepts in the map were made explicit. Therefore, we classified the…

Investigated the effects of presentation format (animation, still graphics, text) and the students' prior knowledge on learning a computer-based physics lesson in grades eight and nine. Results of an analysis of covariance indicated that specific presentation formats are not equally effective for the different prior knowledge groups. (Author/LRW)