Finally, I have everything ready and am all set for tomorrow. Here is an abstract of my dissertation
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This study examined the effects of instructional elements (information, objectives, practice with feedback and review) on achievement, attitude and time in a computer-based, multimedia program. Undergraduate college students used the multimedia lesson to learn about artists and their painting styles. All participants received the same information and examples from the multimedia lesson; the programs varied based on the presence or absence of practice and objectives/review.
The elements of instruction investigated in the study were combined into four different versions of the computer program which consisted of (1) a full version that included information, objectives, practice with feedback, and review, (2) a version that included information and practice with feedback, (3) a version with information, objectives and review, and (4) a lean version containing information only.
Results indicated that practice had a significant effect on achievement while objectives and review did not. Participants who used the program with practice performed significantly better than those who did not receive practice. Student responses to the attitude survey showed that they were sensitive to the presence or absence of the instructional elements investigated in this study. Participants who used the lean program (information only) had the lowest overall attitudes. When the individual items on the attitude survey were analyzed, participants who received practice had significantly higher agreement with the item - “The program gave me enough opportunity to practice what I was learning.” Results of paired comparison questions on the attitude survey revealed that participants perceived information, practice and review to be more helpful than objectives. Turning to time, participants who received the full program spent the most amount of time working though the multimedia lesson and those who received the lean program spent the least amount of time.
This study has implications for the design and development of computer-based, multimedia instruction. Practice was the one consistently effective instructional element for enhancing student achievement and attitude in the study. The findings imply that practice with feedback should be included in computer-based, multimedia instruction especially when students are tested using items aligned with the objectives and practice items.
