Multimedia comprehension skill predicts differential outcomes of web-based and lecture courses.
College students (134 women and 55 men) participated in introductory psychology courses that were offered largely online (on the World Wide Web) or in a lecture format. Student comprehension skills were inferred from their scores on a multimedia comprehension battery. The learning of content knowledge was affected interactively by comprehension skill level and course format. Differences between format increased with comprehension skill such that the Web-based course advantage became greater as comprehension skill increased. This same pattern was not seen when self-reports of comprehension ability were used as the predictor. Furthermore, comprehension skill did not predict course satisfaction. Generally, students of all skill levels preferred the lecture courses.
Maki
William S
WS
Department of Psychology, Texas Tech University, Lubbock 79409-2051, USA. bill.maki@ttu.edu
Maki
Ruth H
RH
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D002755:Choice Behavior; D003194:Computer-Assisted Instruction; D003210:Concept Formation; D004522:Educational Status; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D020407:Internet; D008297:Male; D011939:Mental Recall; D019212:Multimedia; D010549:Personal Satisfaction; D011584:Psychology / Q000193:education*; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology