Article,
Individual Differences in Multimedia Learning: An Application in a Computer Science Domain
Int. J. on Recent Trends in Engineering and Technology,, 8 (1): 4 (January 2013)
Abstract
This study looked at the effects that individual
differences in prior knowledge have on student understanding
in learning with multimedia in a computer science subject.
Students were identified as either low or high prior knowledge
from a series of questions asked in a survey conducted at the
Faculty of Computer and Mathematical Sciences at University
Technology MARA, Malaysia. The subject domain chosen for
this study is a topic taught to undergraduates in the field of
Computer Sciences, in the subject of Operating Systems, i.e.,
Memory Management Concepts. This study utilizes a
multimedia application which is shown to a total of 257
students. Early results from the recall and transfer tests
indicate that students’ individual differences play a vital role
in learning outcome. As expected, the low prior knowledge
group scored significantly well in the recall tests as compared
to the transfer test, and the high prior knowledge group
performed comparatively better in the transfer test. This
suggests that educational designers who see to foster learning
and understanding should adopt the incorporation of learners’
prior knowledge as a design principle.
