This qualitative case study examines the initial implementation of a problem-based version of an undergraduate course in materials science for the purpose of identifying areas of improvement to the curriculum prior to a planned second implementation. The course was designed around problems that students work in small teams to solve under the…

Hypertext researchers and designers contend that the hypertext information structures may reflect the semantic structures of human memory. Further, they believe that mapping the semantic structure of an expert onto hypertext information structure and explicitly illustrating that structure in the hypertext will result in improved comprehension…

This study compared instructional methods using interactive video in order to test the prototype model of concept acquisition and to assess the kinds of prototypes that learners develop. The subjects were 30 graduate students at two universities, who were randomly assigned to one of three treatment groups and completed an interactive video program…

This study explores the effectiveness of an instructional strategy which displays appropriate knowledge structures versus a learning strategy that engages learners in defining knowledge structures by comparing the effects of providing graphical organizers in the form of completed frames with requiring students to complete frames as a study…

This study compared the effects of instructor-provided vs. learner-generated analyses of semantic relationships between major concepts on structural knowledge acquisition in an introductory psychology course. One group explained the relationships on instructor-provided graphic organizers; the other group classified relationships between concepts…

This study compared the efficiency (time) and accuracy of two representations of instructional algorithms--list versus flow chart--for the task of using indexes to search for document numbers in the U.S. Documents Monthly Catalog. Participants were 55 undergraduates and 5 adults at the Virginia Military Institute. Two sets (flow charts and lists)…

The purpose of this study was to adapt the Hidden Figures Test (a measure of field dependence/independence) to microcomputer display and to assess its alternate form reliability when compared to a paper and pencil test. Participants included 58 undergraduate and graduate students (91.4% female) at a southeastern university who were fairly normal…