The effects of different levels of interaction on the achievement and attitudes of college students in a Web -based learning environment
Abstract
This study investigated the effects of learning materials with different interaction levels on achievement and motivational perceptions of college students in a web-based learning environment with a posttest only experimental design. There were three groups in this study: control group, reactive interaction group, and proactive interaction group. The control group received a treatment with hyperlinks to link all the learning content together; the reactive interaction group received a treatment that was implemented with elaborated immediate feedback strategy; the proactive interaction group received a treatment that was implemented with generative activity strategy. Three instruments were used to evaluate the effects of different treatments: achievement test, instructional material motivation survey and interview. The subjects in the study were students in various education majors. Ninety-five students were randomly assigned to different groups to receive corresponding treatments, which were implemented through WebCT, a Web Course Tool. Students took the achievement test and motivation survey right after they finished the learning materials. Seventeen of them from different groups were interviewed to give further information about the learning programs after the experiment. The quantitative data were analyzed with GLM ANOVA and Kruskall Wallis non-parametric procedures. The results indicated that students in both the reactive and proactive interaction groups outperformed those in the control group in the achievement test. The students in the reactive interaction group demonstrated significantly higher motivation than those in the control group. Further analysis of the subcategories of learning tasks showed that feedback and example generation strategies promoted learning at the application and analysis levels of Bloom's taxonomy. The qualitative data also supported the above results. The results suggest that reactive interaction strategy could be employed to enhance the learning and motivate students and the proactive interaction strategy could be used to enhance learning in a web-based learning environment. The limitations of the study and the recommendations for future study were also discussed.
Degree
Ph.D.
Advisors
Frederick, Purdue University.
Subject Area
Curricula|Teaching|Educational software
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