Volume 49 No.4 - 2003-12-31

The Learning Effects of Instructional Methods and Learning Preferences in a Computer-Assisted Science Learning Environment

教學方法與學習偏好對電腦輔助自然科學學習成效之影響

Author:
Fu-Yun Yu / 于富雲
Keyword:
Computer-assisted learning、Instructional methods、Learning preferences / 電腦輔助學習、教學方法、學習偏好
  • Summary
  • Chinese Summary
  • Reference
  • Scholarly references
The main purpose of this study was to examine the relative effects of cooperative, competitive, and individualist learning on student academic achievements and attitudes. Since matching instructional methods with individual preferences has been intuitively recommended but rarely substantiated empirically, the second purpose of this study was to explore the interactive effects of instructional methods and learners’ preferences on student learning. A 3X2 factorial design was adopted for this study. Nine fifth-grade classes (N=335) participated in the study for three consecutive weeks. Data were collected via “Learning Preference Scale for Students,” two posttests, and a questionnaire regarding “Attitudes toward Science in School Assessment,” and then analyzed by means of two-way ANOVA. It was found that there were interactive effects between instructional methods and learners’ preferences with regard to student academic achievements and student attitudes toward science. In view of these findings, it was suggested that instructors should take students’ learning preferences into consideration when implementing different instructional methods in science classrooms.