Selective use of animation and feedback in computer-based instruction

Abstract

The effects of two computer-based instructional strategies—visual display and feedback type—were investigated in the acquisition of electronic troubleshooting skills. Animation was used to simulate the functional behaviors of electronic circuits and to demonstrate the troubleshooting procedures. The first hypothesis tested was that animated visual displays would be more effective than static visual displays if animation was selectively used to support the specific learning requirements of a given task. Results supported this hypothesis by showing that college students in the animated visual display condition needed significantly fewer trials than those in the static visual display condition. The second hypothesis was that the effectiveness of intentionally mediated feedback (knowledge of results or explanatory information) would be minimal if natural feedback—the system's automatic functional reaction to external inputs—was available and the subject had the basic knowledge needed to understand the system functions. The results supported this hypothesis. Overall, this study implies that instructional strategies, including visual displays and feedback, should be applied selectively based on the specific learning requirements of a given task.