Learning knowledge organization skills in a HyperCard context.

摘要

The purpose of this dissertation was to investigate one learning environment that facilitates the acquisition of high-level thinking skills. Specifically, the goal of this dissertation was to explore middle school students' learning of knowledge organization skills in a HyperCard context. The research involved three agendas: (1) designing a cognitive model of knowledge organization skills in HyperCard; (2) developing model-based instruction; and (3) exploring model-based assessments of skill acquisition. The hypothesis was that if skill components for the HyperCard stack design process are precisely analyzed, and if explicit instruction is based on the model with repeated practice and feedback, then students can learn knowledge organization skills. A secondary hypothesis was that computer experience in general and HyperCard in particular may increase the amount of learning. Forty-two 7th and 8th grade students from an inner-city middle school in Rochester, New York participated in this study. The experimental group was given model-based explicit instruction plus general classroom instruction. The control group received general classroom instruction only. Skill acquisition was assessed by a written test, a process assessment, and a product assessment at two different time periods before and after model-based instruction. Test results from all three measures revealed that there were significant differences in pre-/post-test gains on performance scores between groups. The test results also demonstrated that having one additional year of computer experience was not a significant factor in improving the learning of knowledge organization skills.