Prior Knowledge Learning Research Articles

Effectiveness of on-screen pinyin in learning Chinese: An expertise reversal for multimedia redundancy effect

The reported study is aimed at developing effective techniques for reducing learner cognitive overload while using pinyin (a phonetic system) to learn the Chinese language. According to the multimedia redundancy effect, commonly used concurrent visual presentations of characters and pinyin, as well as their auditory pronunciations might impose an unnecessary extraneous load on learners and thus eliminate any potential benefits of using pinyin. In this study, learning effects of three computer-based presentation techniques (full on-screen pinyin transcription, partial on-screen pinyin transcription, and no on-screen pinyin) were compared for learners with higher and lower levels of prior language proficiency and pinyin knowledge. Results demonstrated the superiority of the partial pinyin condition over the two other conditions for more experienced learners. No differences between the three experimental groups were found for learners with lower levels of prior knowledge. The effectiveness of different pinyin presentation techniques depended on levels of learner prior knowledge (an expertise reversal effect).

Time and learning efficiency in Internet-based learning: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Authors have claimed that Internet-based instruction promotes greater learning efficiency than non-computer methods. determine, through a systematic synthesis of evidence in health professions education, how Internet-based instruction compares with non-computer instruction in time spent learning, and what features of Internet-based instruction are associated with improved learning efficiency. we searched databases including MEDLINE, CINAHL, EMBASE, and ERIC from 1990 through November 2008. STUDY SELECTION AND DATA ABSTRACTION we included all studies quantifying learning time for Internet-based instruction for health professionals, compared with other instruction. Reviewers worked independently, in duplicate, to abstract information on interventions, outcomes, and study design. we identified 20 eligible studies. Random effects meta-analysis of 8 studies comparing Internet-based with non-Internet instruction (positive numbers indicating Internet longer) revealed pooled effect size (ES) for time -0.10 (p = 0.63). Among comparisons of two Internet-based interventions, providing feedback adds time (ES 0.67, p =0.003, two studies), and greater interactivity generally takes longer (ES 0.25, p = 0.089, five studies). One study demonstrated that adapting to learner prior knowledge saves time without significantly affecting knowledge scores. Other studies revealed that audio narration, video clips, interactive models, and animations increase learning time but also facilitate higher knowledge and/or satisfaction. Across all studies, time correlated positively with knowledge outcomes (r = 0.53, p = 0.021). on average, Internet-based instruction and non-computer instruction require similar time. Instructional strategies to enhance feedback and interactivity typically prolong learning time, but in many cases also enhance learning outcomes. Isolated examples suggest potential for improving efficiency in Internet-based instruction.

Expertise reversal effect and its instructional implications: introduction to the special issue

The formulation of robust and empirically-funded instructional principles is one of the major goals of instructional science. Research on aptitude-treatment interactions (ATIs) have, however, shown that instructional principles usually do not apply to any type of learner. As learners’ prior knowledge is the most important learning pre-requisite, it is clear that instructional principles should take prior knowledge into account: What could be beneficial for beginning learners might get detrimental for advanced learners. In recent years, the concept of the expertise reversal effect—developed within the framework of cognitive load theory—has inspired a renewed interest on the interactions between levels of learner prior knowledge and effectiveness of different instructional techniques and procedures. The expertise reversal is a reversal in the relative effectiveness of instructional methods as levels of learner knowledge in a domain change. The effect has been investigated since mid-1990s (see Kalyuga 2005, 2007; Kalyuga et al. 2003, for available overviews). It has been replicated in many studies with a large range of instructional materials and participants either as a full reversal (a disordinal interaction with significant differences for both novices and experts) or, more often, as a partial reversal (with non-significant differences for novices or experts, but with a significant interaction). The major instructional design implication of these studies is the need to adjust instructional methods and procedures as learners acquire more experience in a specific domain. The expertise reversal effect fits well some empirical findings obtained in ATIs studies initiated in mid-1960s (Cronbach and Snow 1977). However, although learners’ prior knowledge was recognized as an essential aptitude within the ATI approach (e.g., see Tobias 1976, 1989 for overviews), aptitudes and instructional treatments were investigated without taking into account underlying cognitive processes, and psychometric measurement tools used in ATI studies were not suitable for realistic instructional systems that could tailor instructional methods to individual learners.

The effects of worked examples in computer-based instruction: focus on the presentation format of worked examples and prior knowledge of learners

The aim of this study is to investigate the effects of presentation formats of worked examples and the interaction effects between the presentation formats of worked examples and the prior knowledge of learners. An investigation with 97 middle school students working in four conditions (CPWE, CWE, PWE, and the control group) was conducted. The results indicate that CPWE was the most effective condition in retention and transfer. In addition, a partial expertise reversal effect was revealed in the element transfer test. High prior knowledge learners in both CPWE and PWE were superior to those who were in CWE and the control group, while low prior knowledge learners in CPWE were superior to those who were in other conditions.

Semantic scaffolds in hypermedia learning environments

In knowledge acquisition from hypermedia, learners have to orient themselves in a non-linear information space, navigate in this space and build a knowledge structure from the information there. Research on learning from hypermedia has focused primarily on enhancing orientation and navigation, with only minor attention on possibilities for supporting semantic processing. In a first experiment, 98 students from senior high school and university undergraduates learned about a complex subject matter either without or with semantic scaffolds, which were presented either in an obligatory (non-removable) or in an optional mode. High prior knowledge learners profited from adequately used semantic scaffolds, whereas low prior knowledge learners did not. In a second experiment, 53 senior high school students and university undergraduates received the learning material with semantic scaffolds presented either in an obligatory mode (but removable on demand) or in an optional mode. Learners with low prior knowledge performed better with optional presentation. Learners with high prior knowledge performed better with obligatory presentation, which allowed removing scaffolds on demand. Learners generally preferred the optional presentation of learning scaffolds.

Prior knowledge in learning from a non-linear electronic document: Disorientation and coherence of the reading sequences

A study was carried out to investigate the effects of prior knowledge on learning with a non-linear electronic document including an interactive conceptual map. Cognitive Load Theory was used as theoretical framework to investigate effects on cognitive load and disorientation in learning from non-linear documents. Forty-four future high school biology teachers were required to learn the multiplication cycle of a virus from either a hierarchical structure (organisational links) or a network structure (relational links). For the low prior knowledge learners, the results showed that the hierarchical structure supported better free recall performance and reduced feelings of disorientation. In contrast, the high prior knowledge learners performed better and followed more coherent reading sequences in the network structure. However, no interaction effect between prior knowledge and the type of structure was observed on mental effort and disorientation ratings. The results and the construct of disorientation are discussed in light of the processing demands in non-linear documents.

The Role of Reading Order and Monitoring Skills During Hypertext Comprehension

In this paper we discuss two experiments on the role that comprehension monitoring skills play in selecting the reading order of hypertextual information and comprehending this information. In the first experiment, learners who could be characterized as learners with low prior knowledge comprehended the hypertext better when they selected a coherent reading order. Further, number of links per page had no effect on cognitive load or comprehension. Finally, link support enhanced comprehension. In the second experiment, we showed that low prior knowledge learners are able to select a high coherent reading order strategy provided that these learners have high monitoring skills with regard to their comprehension process. We conclude that an important characteristic of hypertext comprehension is the skill to monitor the level of coherence and regulating the reading order is in this respect essential.

Content and timing of feedback in a web-based learning environment: effects on learning as a function of prior knowledge

This study investigated the effectiveness of different types of feedback content (elaborate versus global) and feedback timing (immediate versus delayed) for learning genetics in a web-based learning environment as a function of learners' prior knowledge. It was hypothesized that learning outcomes of students with low prior knowledge would be fostered by immediate elaborate feedback, whereas those of students with more prior knowledge would be enhanced by delayed global feedback. Students' perceptions of the feedback they received were explored. Results showed a significant positive effect of global feedback on learning outcomes for higher prior knowledge learners, although those who received elaborate feedback gave a higher appreciation rating. The findings are discussed in terms of implications for the design and delivery of feedback in web-based learning environments.

The effects of part-task and whole-task instructional approaches on acquisition and transfer of a complex cognitive skill

This study was designed to investigate the effects of two instructional approaches (whole-task versus part-task) and two levels of learner prior knowledge (lower versus higher) on learner acquisition and transfer of a complex cognitive skill. Participants were 51 undergraduate pre-service teachers. In the part-task condition, a complex skill (preparing a grade book using Excel) was decomposed into a series of smaller tasks, each of which was demonstrated and practiced separately. In the whole-task condition, which was based on the 4C/ID-model (van Merrienboer 1997), learners were exposed to the entire complex skill from the beginning of the instruction and were required to practice performing a series of whole tasks throughout the unit. Results indicated that the whole-task group performed significantly better than the part-task group on a skill acquisition test and a transfer test. Possible reasons for these findings and suggestions for future research are discussed.

Expertise Reversal Effect and Its Implications for Learner-Tailored Instruction

The interactions between levels of learner prior knowledge and effectiveness of different instructional techniques and procedures have been intensively investigated within a cognitive load framework since mid-90s. This line of research has become known as the expertise reversal effect. Apart from their cognitive load theory-based prediction and explanation, patterns of empirical findings on the effect fit well those in studies of Aptitude Treatment Interactions (ATI) that were originally initiated in mid-60s. This paper reviews recent empirical findings associated with the expertise reversal effect, their interpretation within cognitive load theory, relations to ATI studies, implications for the design of learner-tailored instructional systems, and some recent experimental attempts of implementing these findings into realistic adaptive learning environments.

Saying the wrong thing: improving learning with multimedia by including misconceptions

Abstract In this study, 364 first‐year physics students were randomly assigned to one of four online multimedia treatments on Newton's First and Second Laws of Motion: (1) the ‘Exposition’, a concise lecture‐style presentation; (2) the ‘Extended Exposition’, the Exposition with additional interesting information; (3) the ‘Refutation’, the Exposition with common misconceptions explicitly stated and refuted; or (4) the ‘Dialogue’, a student–tutor discussion of the same material as in the Refutation. Students were tested using questions from mechanics conceptual inventories before and after watching the multimedia treatments. Results show the Refutation and Dialogue produced the greatest learning gains, with effect sizes of 0.79 and 0.83, respectively, compared with the Exposition. Students with low prior knowledge benefited most, however high prior knowledge learners were not disadvantaged by the misconception‐based approach. The findings suggest that online multimedia can be greatly improved, promoting conceptual change in students with all levels of experience, by including a discussion of misconceptions.

Relative effectiveness of animated and static diagrams: An effect of learner prior knowledge

This paper investigates the relationship between instructional effectiveness of animated vs. static diagrams and levels of learner expertise in the task domain of transforming graphs of simple linear and quadratic functions. It was demonstrated on many occasions that instructional formats that are effective for low-knowledge learners could be ineffective, or even deleterious, for high-knowledge learners, and vice versa (the expertise reversal effect). The levels of learner (university students) expertise in this study were measured using an online rapid diagnostic method, a rapid verification technique, that involves presenting learners with a series of possible solution steps reflecting various stages of the solution procedure and asking them to rapidly verify the suggested steps. The results indicated a significant interaction between levels of learner expertise and instructional formats. Novice learners benefited more from static diagrams than from animated diagrams, while more knowledgeable learners benefited more from animated rather than static diagrams. A theoretical explanation of the effect is suggested within the framework of cognitive load theory.

Learner Achievement and Attitudes under Different Paces of Transitioning to Independent Problem Solving

AbstractThis study examined the effect of the pace of transitioning from worked examples to independent problem solving for students with three different levels of prior knowledge. Three paces of transitioning were examined: immediate transitioning, fast fading, and slow fading. The study was conducted with engineering college freshmen in the engineering knowledge domain of introductory electrical circuit analysis and found a significant interaction between the particpants' prior knowledge and the pace of transitioning to independent problem solving on retention posttest performance. The high prior knowledge participants achieved significantly higher retention scores under the fast and immediate transitioning than under the slow transitioning, whereas the low prior knowledge participants achieved significantly higher retention scores under the slow transitioning. The interaction result for retention indicates that by selectively employing slow fading for low prior knowledge learners and fast fading or immediate transitioning for high prior knowledge learners, significant improvements in learning may be achieved.

Optimizing cognitive load for learning from computer-based science simulations.

How can cognitive load in visual displays of computer simulations be optimized? Middle-school chemistry students (N = 257) learned with a simulation of the ideal gas law. Visual complexity was manipulated by separating the display of the simulations in 2 screens (low complexity) or presenting all information on 1 screen (high complexity). The mode of visual representation in the simulation was manipulated by presenting important information in symbolic form only (symbolic representations) or by adding iconic information to the display (iconic + symbolic representations), locating the sliders controlling the simulation separated from the simulation or integrating them, and graphing either only the most recent simulation result or showing all results taken. Separated screen displays and the use of optimized visual displays each promoted comprehension and transfer, especially for low prior-knowledge learners. An expertise reversal effect was found for learners' prior general science knowledge. Results indicate that intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load in visual displays can be manipulated and that learners' prior knowledge moderates the effectiveness of these load manipulations.

Predators of knowledge construction: Interpreting students' metacognition in an amusement park physics program

AbstractIt is recognized widely that learning is a dynamic and idiosyncratic process of construction and reconstruction of concepts in response to new experiences. It is influenced by the learner's prior knowledge, motivation, and sociocultural context. This study investigated how year 11 and 12 physics students' metacognition influences the development of their conceptual understandings of kinematics. An interpretive case study approach was used to investigate students working in collaborative groups in the context of an amusement park physics program. The metacognitive character of individual learners was demonstrated to have a strong influence on their conceptual development. Moreover, the metacognitive character of individuals within the small group contexts investigated was a key factor influencing the groups' collective knowledge development. A coyote–rabbit metaphor was developed to interpret the resilience and weaknesses of individual and group knowledge construction processes, and elucidates new theoretical understandings regarding metacognition and its influence on knowledge construction. © 2006 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. Sci Ed 91:298–320, 2007

Encountering the expertise reversal effect with a computer-based environment on electrical circuit analysis

This study examined the effectiveness of a computer-based environment employing three example-based instructional procedures (example–problem, problem–example, and fading) to teach series and parallel electrical circuit analysis to learners classified by two levels of prior knowledge (low and high). Although no differences between the instructional procedures were observed, low prior knowledge learners benefited most from traditional example–problem pairs while their high prior knowledge counterparts benefited most from problem–example pairs. Overall, this study provides empirical support for the expertise reversal effect, which suggests that the effectiveness of certain instruction procedures in example-based learning environments depends upon the learners' level of prior knowledge.

Toward a model of the value aspects of motivation in education: Developing appreciation for..

Currently well-developed lines of theory and research on motivation in education focus on its expectancy aspects, especially as they apply in achievement situations that call for striving to attain specific goals. This article considers concepts and principles that might be included in a model that addresses the value/interest/appreciation aspects of motivated learning, including learning in exploratory situations that do not require focused achievement striving. Featured concepts and principles include an optimal match between the learning opportunity and the learner's prior knowledge and experiences, learner identification with or perception of self-relevance of the learning domain, curricular choices that feature content and activities that lie within both the cognitive and the motivational zones of proximal development, and teacher scaffolding of learners' exposure to the domain in ways that build motivational schemas that enable learners to appreciate the domain's value and experience its satisfactions.

The Effect of Various Kinds of Lesson on Conceptual Understanding in Science

A science lesson might provide an account of the nature of a phenomenon or event and supply activities which clarify or develop than. Another lesson might offer some situation for the learner to investigate. Both could increase conceptual understanding. Teachers of 9 or 10 year‐olds were found to use versions of such lessons. Their effectiveness in supporting conceptual understanding was compared experimentally. It was found that gains in understanding tended to be greatest for the lessons which provided mental structures to support conceptual understanding. However, the level of the learner's prior knowledge seemed to be important in determining the relative value of the different approaches. Some implications for science teaching are discussed.

An experimental evaluation of different amounts of receptive and exploratory learning in a tutoring system

A general model of knowledge acquisition is presented which distinguishes receptive and exploratory learning as two separate learning modes. In addition, learning materials are differentiated into situational examples and text information. A learner's prior knowledge is represented as heuristic rules and domain specific knowledge. The different learning methods, which may be arbitrarily combined, are implemented as PROLOG meta-interpreters so that the costs and benefits of the different learning methods can be assessed. For the first hour of learning the programming language LISP, a tutoring system was developed in which the amount of exploratory and receptive learning can be manipulated. In an experimental study with three different learning conditions, learning in a basic exploration environment (with no tutor) was compared to learning with a selective tutor and learning with a constant tutor. The results showed that the selective tutor condition was most effective: In this condition the students required the least amount of time for acquiring knowledge and solving the criterion test tasks, while solving an equal number of programming tasks correctly. The results thus show that the proposed tutoring strategy was quite successful in combining the advantages of learning by exploration and learning from instructions.

Toward a Solution of the Learning Paradox

Efforts to explain learning as a constructive process run into the paradox of having to attribute to the learner prior knowledge that is at least as complex as the new learning to be explained. Although no full solution of this paradox is in sight, it is argued that progress is possible through examination of the wide range of mental resources available to human learners, only a limited range of which are taken account of in current theories. This paper considers 10 relatively neglected resources for the “bootstrapping” of cognitive growth, including chance plus selection, the affective boosting of relevant schemas, the operation of innate biases, and use of spare mental capacity. Implications for educational research are illustrated with reference to recent work on the development of complex composition strategies.