Internet as an informal learning environment: assessing knowledge acquisition of science and engineering students using constructivist and objectivist formats

182 Pages·1999·7.6 MB·English

by  Hargis, Jace

THEINTERNETASANINFORMALLEARNINGENVIRONMENT:
ASSESSINGKNOWLEDGEACQUISITIONOFSCIENCEANDENGINEERING
STUDENTSUSINGCONSTRUCTIVISTANDOBJECTIVISTFORMATS
By
JACEHARGIS
-i
ADISSERTATIONPRESENTEDTOTHEGRADUATESCHOOL
OFTHEUMVERSITYOFFLORIDAINPARTIALFULFILLMENT
OFTHEREQUIREMENTSFORTHEDEGREEOF
DOCTOROFPHILOSOPHY
UNIVERSITYOFFLORIDA
1999
DEDICATEDINMEMORYTO
Dr.JohnJ.Koran,Jr.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
Iwouldliketoexpressmysinceregratitudetomyoriginaldoctoralcommittee
chairperson,JohnJ.Koran,Jr.,whoseinspiration,guidanceandfriendshipIwillnever
forget. AlthoughDr.K.passedpriortothecompletionofmyprogram,heprovidedan
inquiry,process-orientedperspectivethatallowedmetocontinueandsuccessfiillyachieve
mydoctoraldegree. Itrulyhopehewouldapproveofmyaccomplishmentandfuture
direction. Iwouldalsoliketothanktheremainderofmycommitteemembers,MaryLou
Koran(co-chair),M.DavidMiller,EugeneA.ToddandBruceMacFadden,aswellas
mynewchairperson,MaryGraceKantowski. Alloftheseindividualsassistedinmy
academicgrowthandofferedanextrahandduringadifficulttransitiontime.
SpecialthanksareduetoAnneDonnelly,KerryCarlinandJohnDewofthe
EngineeringResearchCenter,Gainesville,Florida. Theseincrediblepeopleprovidedthe
researchcontent,theparticipantvolunteersandaspectacularwebpageformyresearch. I
wouldalsoliketothankthehundredsofscienceandengineeringvolunteerstudentsatthe
UniversityofFloridaforparticipatinginmyCyberspacestudy.
Iwouldliketoexpressmyforeverloveandappreciationtomywonderfulwife,
JeanineHargis,whohasalwaysbeenatremendouslyunderstanding,lovingandsupporting
super-womaninmylife. Withoutherpatienceandabilitytokeepthisquestin
perspective,Iwouldnothavecompletedthisprogram.
iii
.
TABLEOFCONTENTS
sage
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS. iii
LISTOFTABLES vii
LISTOFFIGURES ix
ABSTRACT
CHAPTERS ....
INTRODUCTION 1
TheInternet,theWorldWideWebandCyberspace 1
TheInterfaceBetweentheInternetandInformalSettings 3
Purpose 7
StatementoftheProblem 7
DefinitionofSelectedTerms . 10
SignificanceoftheStudy 13
TheNeedforInternetResearchandEvaluation 15
LITERATUREREVIEW 18
InformationProcessing 18
AKtntoewnltieodngeAcqu.isition. . • 2204
LearninRgetSternattieognies. .... .. .• 2286
SelfRegulatedLearning. 28
LearningApproaches 37
FreeChoice-C.onstr.uctivi.sm . 37
Structured-Objectivism 46
LearningSettings 48
InformalLWeaWrnWingSettings 48
Internet, PagesandCyberspace. 53
Gender,Age,andRacialIdentity 57
Aptitude-TreatmentInteractions(ATI) 60
Summary \^' 62
Hypotheses . •^ , 63
iv
m
3 METHODOLOGY . - .
PSaertttiicnigpants . ...• .....• .. oj
IndepenGdeenndteVra,riAagbeleasn.dRacialIdentit.y ... 6677
AttitudeToward.sCom.puter.s .. 68
Self-RegulatedLeaming/Self-Efficacy • 69
Aptitude : ^ \ 69
, Ex*perimPernet-aAlsDseessisgmnent. . .. - • ^ •. ' 70
Instrumentation . . 71
InstructionalMaterials ... ^1
ContructivistInstructionModule . 71
ObjectivistInstructionModule 72
Post-Assessment . . . . . • 72
PDraotcaeAdnuarleyssis . ...•. .. . ^7"4^
4 RESULTS . - J •
DHHeyysppcoorttihhpeetPssiaiivrsset21S1taot..fisHtyicpsoth.esis2:Age .......•• ..' i«• 77785890
Part2ofHypothesis2:Gender 81
Part3ofHypothesis2:RacialIdentity . . 83
Hypothesis3 .... 84
HHyyppootthheessiiss45 . ., ..^:S<'- • . 8856
Summary . , . . 88
5 DISCUSSIONANDCONCLUSIONS. . 90
Hypothesis1: Thereis.NoSign.ificant.Differe.nce .; '
betweenConstructivistandObjectivistPresentation
InstructionalFormatsinanOn-Line
LearningEnvironment 92
Hypothesis2: ThereisNoSignificantDifference
> inGender,AgeorRacialIdentitywithPost-As.sess.ment.
ScoresAfterCompletingDifferentOn-Line
HInysptortuhcetisoinsal3:FoTrhmeraetsis.NoSignificantDifference 95
inVerbalAptitudeswithPost-AssessmentScores
AfterCompletingDifferentOn-LineInstructionalFormats . 101
Hypothesis4:ThereisNoSignificantDifference
" inAttitudeswithPost-AssessmentScores
AfterCompletingDifferentOn-LineInstructionalFormats . 102
V
Hypothesis5;ThereisNoSignificantDifferencein
Self-RegulatedLearnersandSelf-Efficacywith
Post-Assessmen.tScor.esAft.erCom.pletin.gDiff.erent
On-LineInstructionalFormats
Summary
SuggestionsforFurtherResearch
APPENDICES
A INFORMEDCONSENTFORM/ON-LINEDIRECTIONS
B COMPUTERATTITUDESURVEY.
C COMPUTERATTITU.DEP.ILOT.STU.DY
.
D PRE-ASSESSMENT
E CONSTRUCTIVISTMODULE
F OBJECTIVISTMODULE . .
G POST-ASSESSMENT
REFERENCES
BIOGRAPfflCALSKETCH
.
vi
LISTOFTABLES
Table page
3-1 GenderDistributionofParticipants . . . . • 65
3-2 AgeDistributionofParticipants 65
3-3 RacialldentityDistributionofParticipants 66
3-4 StudyDesign . .... 66
3-5 ParticipantContinuousAgeDistribution .... 68
3-6 RacialIdentityvs.GenderDistribution 68
4-1 Pre/Post-AssessmentItemDiflBcultyandReliabilityData . . 76
4-2 ParticipantCompletionFormDistribution . . 77
4-3 DistributionofParticipantMajorStudys - • 77
4-4 DescriptiveStatisticsforInstructionalModuleGroups 78
4-5 ANCOVASourcetableforPost-Assessmentvs.Group 79
4-6 DistributionofParticipantAgeandDescriptiveStatistics . 80
4.7 ANCOVASourcetableforPost-Assessmentvs.Age 81
4-8 DistributionofParticipantGenderandDescriptiveStatistics 82
4-9 ANCOVASourcetableforPost-Assessmentvs.Gender 82
4-10 DistributionofParticipantRacialIdentityandDescriptiveStatistics 83
4-11 VerbalAptitudeDescriptiveStatistics . ' . 84
4-12 VerbalAptitudeTestReliabilityData . . . 84
4-13 ANCOVASourcetableforPost-Assessmentvs.VerbalAptitude,
AttitudeandSelf-RegulatedLeamers/Self-EflBcacy. . 85
4-14 ComputerAttitudeDescriptiveStatistics . _ 86
4-15 ComputerAttitudeSurveyTestReliabilityData . 86
4-16 MotivatedStrategiesandLearningQuestionnaireDescriptiveStatistics 87
4-17 MotivatedStrategiesandLearningQuestionnaireReliabilityData . 87
5-1 AgeANCOVASourceTable , •
5-2 AgeGeneralLinearModelsProcedurewithLeastSquareMeans. . 96
5-3 LinearCalculationofYearsvs.Format. . . • 97
r-
viii
LISTOFFIGURES
Figure page
2-1 IPModelofLearningandMemory 18
2-2 CyclicModelofSelf-RegulatedLearning . . 34
3-1 ConstructivistInstructionalModuleExampleWebpageDisplay 71
3-2 ObjectivistInstructionalModuleExam.pleWe.bpag.eDisp.lay. . 72
5^1 LinearPredictionofFormatvs.Age 98
ix
AbstractofDissertationPresentedtotheGraduateSchool
oftheUniversityofFloridainPartialFulfillmentofthe
RequirementsfortheDegreeofDoctorofPhilosophy
THEINTERNETASANINFORMALLEARNINGENVIRONMENT:
ASSESSINGKNOWLEDGEACQUISITIONOFSCIENCEANDENGINEERING
STUDENTSUSINGCONSTRUCTIVISTANDOBJECTIVISTFORMATS
By
JaceHargis
May,1999
Chairperson: MaryGraceKantowski
MajorDepartment: InstructionandCurriculum
ThisstudyexaminedtheeffectsoftwodifferentinstructionalformatsonInternet
WebPagesinaninformallearningenvironment. Thepurposesofthisstudyareto(a)
identifyoptimalinstructionalformatsforon-linelearning;(b)identifytherelationship
betweenpost-assessmentscoresandthestudent'sgender,ageorracialidentity;(c)
examinetheeffectsofverbalaptitudesonlearningindifferentformats;(d)identify
relationshipsbetweencomputerattitudesandachievement,and(e)identifythepotential
powerforself-regulatedlearningandself-efficacyonInternetWebPages.
Twolearningstrategymodulesweredeveloped:aconstructivistandanobjectivist
instructionmodule. Thestudyprogramconsistedofanon-lineconsentform;acomputer
attitudesurvey;aMotivatedStrategiesforLearningQuestionnaire;averbalaptitudetest;
apre-assessment,instructionaldirectionsfollowedbytheinstructionalmoduleandapost-
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