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ERIC Number: EJ735632
Record Type: Journal
Publication Date: 2004-Oct
Pages: 21
Abstractor: Author
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-0361-476X
EISSN: N/A
Structural Enhancement of Learning
Trumpower, David L.; Goldsmith, Timothy E.
Contemporary Educational Psychology, v29 n4 p426-446 Oct 2004
Structural learning aids, such as interactive overviews (IOs), have previously been shown to facilitate text comprehension and recall. In this study, we examined the effects of structural aids on learners' structural knowledge and their performance on a procedural transfer task. In Experiment 1, 90 college students were presented definitions of computer programming concepts in an IO that was structured alphabetically, randomly, or in accordance with experts' structural knowledge. Learning was assessed by examining students' acquired knowledge structures and performance on a procedural transfer task that required integration and elaboration of the learned material in ways that went beyond the strictly definitional information provided during training. Students taught with the expert-structured IO acquired better knowledge structures and performed better on the transfer task than those using the other IOs. Experiment 2, utilizing 101 college students, showed that the visible structure, rather than the navigational constraints, of the expert IO was largely responsible for this advantage.
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Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Research
Education Level: Higher Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A