The Effect of Hypermedia Knowledge and Learning Style on Student-Centered Concept Maps about Hypermedia

Abstract

This study focuses on 21 graduate students enrolled in a graduate hypermedia in education class who constructed concept maps on the term hypermedia. The purpose of the study was to determine whether students created concept maps differently based on their Kolb learning styles and levels of hypermedia knowledge. The dependent measures included the number of concepts, number of nodes, number of links, number of bidirectional links, number of multiple concept nodes, number of nodes with multiple links, levels of depth, preserved concepts, omitted concepts, and added concepts on each student’s map. Findings indicated that Assimilators and Divergers were the most productive on their concept maps. In addition, students with higher levels of hypermedia knowledge had deeper levels of processing on their concept maps. Overall, the students focused on the applied aspects of hypermedia. This was attributed to the fact that, for many of the students, this class was their first exposure to hypermedia.