ERIC Number: EJ835027
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2009-May
Pages: 12
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0022-0663
EISSN: N/A
Coherence Formation when Learning from Text and Pictures: What Kind of Support for Whom?
Bartholome, Tobias; Bromme, Rainer
Journal of Educational Psychology, v101 n2 p282-293 May 2009
This study examined how 2 kinds of help when learning from text and pictures (mapping support and instructional guidance through prompts) influence the coherence formation process of integrating information into a mental model. It also explored spatial abilities and working memory span as potential moderators. In a computer-based setting, 84 university students learned botanical concepts under 1 of 4 different support conditions: mapping (numerical labels vs. highlighting) and prompting (given vs. not given). Posttests assessed cognitive load, confidence in learning, and knowledge. Results showed a complex interplay between the 2 kinds of help and an effect of metacognitive monitoring. Moreover, spatial abilities moderated the effects of help. Our results indicate the need to complement resource-oriented instructional design models with a conceptualization of the cognitive and metacognitive processes involved in successful learning. The notion of hybrid conceptual knowledge is proposed as a theoretical approach to understanding coherence formation. (Contains 5 tables and 2 figures.)
Descriptors: Instructional Design, Rhetoric, Metacognition, Short Term Memory, Cognitive Processes, Difficulty Level, Pretests Posttests, Spatial Ability, College Students, Higher Education, Computer Assisted Instruction, Models, Multimedia Instruction, Foreign Countries, Educational Environment, Botany
American Psychological Association. Journals Department, 750 First Street NE, Washington, DC 20002-4242. Tel: 800-374-2721; Tel: 202-336-5510; Fax: 202-336-5502; e-mail: order@apa.org; Web site: http://www.apa.org/publications
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Germany
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A