Abstract
The present study examines the effects of different study tasks on the acquisition of knowledge about acids and bases in a computer-based learning environment. Three different task formats were selected to create three treatment conditions: learning with gap-fill and matching tasks, learning with multiple-choice tasks, and learning only from text and figures without any additional tasks. Participants were 196 ninth-grade students who learned with a self-developed multimedia program in a pretest–posttest control group design. Research results reveal that gap-fill and matching tasks were most effective in promoting knowledge acquisition, followed by multiple-choice tasks, and no tasks at all. The findings are in line with previous research on this topic. The effects can possibly be explained by the generation–recognition model, which predicts that gap-fill and matching tasks trigger more encompassing learning processes than multiple-choice tasks. It is concluded that instructional designers should incorporate more challenging study tasks for enhancing the effectiveness of computer-based learning environments.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aiken LR (1982) Writing multiple-choice items to measure higher-order educational objectives. Educ Psychol Meas 42:803–806
Anderson JR, Bower GH (1972) Recognition and retrieval processes in free recall. Psychol Rev 79:97–123
Anderson JR, Bower GH (1974) A propositional theory of recognition memory. Mem Cognit 2:406–412
Anderson LW, Krathwohl DR (eds) (2001) A taxonomy for learning, teaching, and assessing. A revision of Bloom’s taxonomy of educational objectives. Longman, New York
Azevedo R, Bernard RM (1995) A meta-analysis of the effects of feedback in computer-based instruction. J Educ Comput Res 13:111–127
Bangert-Drowns RL, Kulik C-LC, Kulik JA, Morgan MT (1991) The instructional effect of feedback in test-like events. Rev Educ Res 61:213–228
Bozionelos N (2002) Computer interest: a case for expressive traits. Pers Individ Differ 33:427–444
Carpenter SK, Pashler H (2007) Testing beyond words: using tests to enhance visuospatial map learning. Psychon Bull Rev 14:474–478
Clariana RB (2003) The effectiveness of constructed-response and multiple-choice study tasks in computer aided learning. J Educ Comput Res 28:395–406
Clariana RB, Koul R (2005) Multiple-try feedback and higher-order learning outcomes. Int J Instr Media 32:239–245
Clariana RB, Lee D (2001) The effects of recognition and recall study tasks with feedback in a computer-based vocabulary lesson. Educ Technol Res Dev 49:23–35
Deutsches Pisa-Konsortium (ed) (2006) PISA 2003. Dokumentation der Erhebungsinstrumente [PISA 2003. Documentation of measuring instruments]. Waxmann, Münster
Dobbins IG, Kroll NEA, Yonelinas AP, Liu Q (1998) Distinctiveness in recognition and free recall: the role of recollection in the rejection of the familiar. J Mem Lang 38:381–400
Duit R, Häußler P, Prenzel M (2001) Schulleistungen im Bereich der naturwissenschaftlichen Bildung [School performance in the area of science education]. In: Weinert FE (ed) Leistungsmessung in Schulen. Beltz, Weinheim, pp 169–185
Gillund G, Shiffrin RM (1984) A retrieval model for both recognition and recall. Psychol Rev 91:1–67
Glover JA (1989) The “testing” phenomenon: not gone but nearly forgotten. J Educ Psychol 81:392–399
Haladyna TM, Downing SM, Rodriguez MC (2002) A review of multiple-choice item-writing guidelines for classroom assessment. Appl Meas Educ 15:309–334
Hattie J, Timperley H (2007) The power of feedback. Rev Educ Res 77:81–112
Kang SHK, McDermott KB, Roediger HL III (2007) Test format and corrective feedback modulate the effect of testing on memory retention. Eur J Cognit Psychol 19:528–558
Karpicke JD, Blunt JR (2011) Retrieval practice produces more learning than elaborative studying with concept mapping. Science 331:772–775
Kintsch W (1974) The representation of meaning in memory. Erlbaum, Hillsdale
Kozma R, Russell J (2005) Multimedia learning of chemistry. In: Mayer RE (ed) The Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, pp 409–428
Lewis JR (2002) Psychometric evaluation of the PSSUQ using data from five years of usability studies. Int J Hum Comput Interact 14:463–488
Limniou M, Roberts D, Papadopoulos N (2008) Full immersive virtual environment CAVE in chemistry education. Comput Educ 51:584–593
Marsh HW, Craven RG (2006) Reciprocal effects of self-concept and performance from a multidimensional perspective: beyond seductive pleasure and unidimensional perspective. Perspect Psychol Sci 1:133–162
Marsh HW, Byrne BM, Shavelson RJ (1988) The multifaceted academic self-concept: its hierarchical structure and its relation to academic achievement. J Educ Psychol 80:366–380
Nick S (2006) CHEMnet—analysis of the use of special features and multimedia elements of an online chemistry course. J Chem Educ 83:1099–1102
Nick S, Andresen J, Lübker B, Thumm L (2003) CHEMnet—structure, design, and evaluation of an online chemistry course. J Sci Educ Technol 12:333–341
Okebukala PA (1993) The gender factor in computer anxiety and interest among some Australian high school students. Educ Res 35:181–189
Park J (2005) Learning in a new computerized testing system. J Educ Psychol 97:436–443
Park J, Choi B-C (2008) Higher retention after a new take-home computerised test. Br J Educ Technol 39:538–547
Roediger HL III, Butler AC (2011) The critical role of retrieval practice in long-term retention. Trends Cognit Sci 15:20–27
Roediger HL III, Karpicke JD (2006) Test-enhanced learning: taking memory tests improves long-term retention. Psychol Sci 17:249–255
Rotello CM, Heit E (1999) Two-process models of recognition memory: evidence for recall-to-reject? J Mem Lang 40:432–453
Senkbeil M, Drechsel B (2004) Vertrautheit mit dem Computer [Familiarity with the computer]. In: Deutsches Pisa-Konsortium (ed) PISA 2003. Der Bildungsstand der Jugendlichen in Deutschland—Ergebnisse des zweiten internationalen Vergleichs. Waxmann, Münster, pp 177–190
Senkbeil M, Wittwer J (2007) Die Computervertrautheit von Jugendlichen und Wirkungen der Computernutzung auf den fachlichen Kompetenzerwerb [Adolescents’ computer literacy and effects of computer use on competence acquisition]. In: Deutsches Pisa-Konsortium (ed) PISA 2006. Die Ergebnisse der dritten internationalen Vergleichsstudie, Waxmann, pp 277–307
Shadish WR, Cook TD, Campbell DT (2002) Experimental and quasi-experimental designs for generalized causal inference. Houghton Mifflin, Boston
Urhahne D, Jeschke J, Krombaß A, Harms U (2004) Die Validierung von Fragebogenerhebungen zum Interesse an Tieren und Pflanzen durch computergestützte Messdaten [The validation of questionnaire data on interest in animals and plants with log files]. Zeitschrift für Pädagogische Psychologie 18:213–219
Urhahne D, Nick S, Schanze S (2009) The effect of three-dimensional simulations on the understanding of chemical structures and their properties. Res Sci Educ 39:495–513
Williams J (1963) Comparison of several response modes in a review program. J Educ Psychol 54:253–260
Williams J (1965) Effectiveness of constructed-response and multiple-choice programming modes as a function of test mode. J Educ Psychol 56:111–117
Yun S, Miller PC, Baek Y, Jung J, Ko M (2008) Improving recall and transfer skills through vocabulary building in web-based second language learning: an examination by item and feedback type. Educ Technol Soc 11:158–172
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Urhahne, D., Nick, S., Poepping, A.C. et al. The Effects of Study Tasks in a Computer-Based Chemistry Learning Environment. J Sci Educ Technol 22, 993–1003 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-013-9445-9
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10956-013-9445-9