The Effect of Being Hypermedia Designers on Elementary School Students' Motivation and Learning of Design Knowledge.

Current educational theory and practice clearly show that project-based instruction has the potential to enhance learning. Preliminary findings on one type of project-based learning in which students take on the role of hypermedia designers support this claim. This study examined the effect of being hypermedia designers on fourth-graders' motivation and learning of design knowledge. Both quantitative (motivation scale, design questionnaire, task ranking, HyperStudio tests, and analysis of student-created programs) and qualitative data (observations, response log entries, and interview) were collected. The findings showed that engaging students in hypermedia authoring could enhance their motivation, and allowing students to be hypermedia designers could support the development of design knowledge and higher order thinking skills. The skills most affected in this study included planning, presentation, reflection, collaboration, task distribution, and time management. Three tables presents data on: motivation, including measures of challenge, curiosity, mastery, judgment, and criteria; design skills, including categories of audience, presenting, planning, interest, mental effort, and collaboration; and the importance of the design tasks ranked by the students. Contains 21 references. (Author/DLS)