A methodological alternative to media comparison studies: Linking information utilization strategies and instructional approach in hypermedia learning

Abstract : Literature reviews on hypermedia learning have yet failed to show consistent positive effects of learner-controlled nonlinear information access. We argue that a possible reason for this lack of evidence in favor of hypermedia learning results from the fact that not sufficient attention is paid to the strategies of information utilization learners deploy. The few studies that do analyze these strategies fail to link them to an instructional approach, which hampers a deeper interpretation of strategy patterns. Our study showed that different groups of learners can be distinguished according to their strategies used in an example-based hypermedia environment and that these groups differ with regard to learning outcomes, but not individual learner characteristics. (http://www.cogsci.rpi.edu/CSJarchive/Proceedings/2006/docs/p2117.pdf)