Effects of Situated Learning on Students' Knowledge Acquisition: An Individual Differences Perspective

Abstract

This study focuses on the effects of situated learning on students' knowledge acquisition by investigating the influence of individual differences in such learning. Seventy-nine graduates were recruited from an educational department and were assigned to situated learning and traditional learning based on a randomized block design. Results revealed differences between traditional and situated learning as well as between field dependent (FD) and field independent (FI) learners in situated learning. A correlation analysis showed that situated learning was significantly correlated with learners' performance and individual differences defined as FD and FI in this study. The findings of the study have significant implications in learning and research in that they: (a) revealed the differences between traditional and situated learning; (b) identified the interaction between individual differences and instructional condition that influenced learners' learning outcome; and (c) showed crucial relationships among the variables in situated learning.