Understanding Effects of Presentation on Concept Learning in Technology Supported Learning

The world of technology has had a significant impact on learning and instructional domain. Today, a large number of devices and software are specifically designed to afford faster and effective learning and instruction. They have not only erased the physical boundaries to resources in education but have also helped create new interactions and engagements for learners and instructors. With this changed scenario, the content or instructional material also needs our attention to become usable and compatible with the changed learning styles and preferences of the learners today. Not only does the content need to seamlessly integrate with the delivery methodology and technology but also utilize the capabilities offered by it to enhance the learning experience. For higher order learning content such as concepts and principles that involve deeper cognitive processes, there is a need to understand how instructional material can be made more effective in technology supported environment. The goal of this experimental study was to investigate if conceptual learning in electronically delivered self-paced format can be made more usable and effective with right amount of content and presentation. It presented stimulus (concept attributes) in five different variations of information presentations and made a comparative assessment of performances using post-stimulus questions as a measure of a learner\u27s ability to generalize a concept. The eye-tracking methodology used in this study provided an opportunity to understand learner\u27s perceptual processing during learning a concept. The results of this study indicated that too much information does not help in concept learning. At the same time, providing some learner control on display of information and providing information in smaller units help the cognitive processes involved in learning a concept. Though not statistically significant, the trend showed reduction in work overload and better performance with learner-controlled progressive display. Qualitative analysis also supports the learner satisfaction and preference for progressive presentation with learner control