Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
demonstrated that collaborative outcomes were related to the use of regulatory
behaviors.
Although collaborative learning should promote positive outcomes, these do not
always occur (Dillenbourg, 1999; O'Donnell & O'Kelly, 1994). Using hyperme-
dia for collaborative learning can support knowledge co-construction. However, the
structure of the hypermedia should affect how the students engage in collaborative
knowledge construction (e.g., Suthers & Hundhausen, 2003). As noted earlier, the
use of conceptual representations in hypermedia affects what students learn individ-
ually (Hmelo-Silver, 2004; Liu et al., 2005a). In this study, we try to understand the
locus of this effect. One possibility is that organizing hypermedia around function
helps problematize the ideas presented and requires learners to process the material
more actively (Reiser, 2004). In addition, the function orientation may induce stu-
dents to set goals that are more consistent with a deep approach to learning. In our
study, we examine this in the context of dyads learning about the respiratory system
using either a function-oriented or a structure-oriented hypermedia.
Method
Participants
Twenty participants from the educational psychology subject pool at a large public
university participated. Participants received course credit for participating in the
study. In each session, participants were grouped into dyads and randomly assigned
to condition.
Materials
In this study we used two different versions of hypermedia (Liu, Hmelo-Silver,
Marathe, 2005b) to teach about the human respiratory system: the function-
oriented version (F-hypermedia) and the structure-oriented version (S-hypermedia)
of hypermedia about the human respiratory system. Both versions present simi-
lar content; the major difference is in the underlying conceptual representations.
In the function-centered hypermedia (F-hypermedia), our goal was to make the
functional and behavioral aspects of the human respiratory system salient. The
F-hypermedia guides student learning through an organizational structure that mod-
els how experts think about this biological domain (Collins, Brown, & Newman,
1989; Hmelo-Silver, 2006). Specifically, the F-hypermedia starts with two big
functional-behavioral questions: “Why do we need oxygen?” and “How does oxy-
gen get into the body?” (see Fig. 17.1). The answers to these questions require a
holistic understanding of the human respiratory system and set the stage for future
learning. The F-hypermedia is designed to help guide students in answering these
two questions. For example, to guide answering the first question, we provided
