Instructional Control Strategies and Content Structure as Design Variables in Concept Acquisition Using Computer-Based Instruction.

Two instructional design variables directly related to concept learning were investigated. The first variable, management strategy, tested the hypothesis that advising students of their learning need in relationship to acquisition of a task at a given criterion would be more effective than either adaptive control or learner control strategies. Data analysis showed that for college students, the advisement condition resulted in better performance than the learner control and needed less instructional time and fewer instructional instances than the adaptive control. The second variable contrasted two forms of content structure used in learning coordinate concepts: simultaneous and successive. Students given concepts simultaneously performed better on the posttest and needed less instruction than those who received concepts successively. (Author/CTM)