Literature Review

Due: September 6, 2005

"Multimedia Applications"

Who conducted this study?

This research was conducted by S. Kim MacGregor and Yiping Lou (2005).  At the time of the publication of this article MacGregor was an associate professor while Lou was an assistant professor.  Both served in the Department of Educational Leadership, Research, and Counseling at Louisiana State University.

Why was this study conducted?

Students research, analyze, and synthesize information in various ways.  Since WebQuest is used mainly for “inquiry-based” learning, it requires the use of technology on a higher level.  This research was conducted in order to (1) better understand how to enhance the effectiveness of teaching and learning through WebQuest and also to (2) understand how the many features of informational Web sites are used by students.  Three major objectives of the study were “…to examine the effect of providing students with a concept mapping template on their free recall of information and their production of an informational multimedia slide show, how students perceived the usefulness of the Web sites accessed, and the relationships among task procedures, resources, and student performance.”

How was this study conducted?

First, the authors provided a clear set of procedures which fourth-grade children used to conduct research while working with WebQuest.  This was a purely “exploratory pilot project” and was done to gauge the effect of the procedures.  The goal was instructional in nature: students were to focus on their community, including government, recreation, weather, and education.  Then they were to identify important, positive, and interesting community features. 

Participants: 

Two fifth-grade classes, each containing 26 students, was used in this “mixed method” of research.  The classes were both taught by the same teacher.  The students’ most recent scores on the Iowa Test of Basic Skills was used to make sure equal ranking of “language arts ability” and “prior knowledge” about their community.  In addition, the researchers also administered a pretest which assessed the students’ knowledge of their community.

Important Findings/Results

The findings of this study provide a link between (a) student acquisition of knowledge and from the sites they visited and (b) multimedia elements that illustrate textual information.  The authors observed, during the WebQuest activities, that students became
”…pleased and excited upon finding interesting media elements such as the recorded sounds and video clips of the endangered species they were researching”.

Other findings included (1) task scaffolding and the t-test and (2) relationship between task procedures, resources, and student performance.

Task Scaffolding and the t-test:  The researchers provided some students with a “concept mapping scaffold”, while others did not.  This was done in order to determine whether or not students were influenced by the concept mapping scaffold.  T-tests were done in order to provide a comparison of the levels of prior knowledge and performance before the concept map was used.  Results showed that “…no significant difference between the groups”. 

Relationship between Task Procedures, Resources, and Student Performance: Providing students with a study guide was very helpful.  This study guide provided students with information regarding relevant information and also provided a concept map which offered “…cues for organizing and synthesizing their information.”  This allowed students to be more focused on their assignment, and also encouraged them to use higher-order thinking and learning skills.  In addition, the template used for the concept map guided students in “…synthesizing and organizing the information they gathered for their target purpose and audience”.

Significance of Study

While it is important for teachers to be aware of the design features within a site, they must also understand how they (educators) can help to facilitate student use in achievement of learning goals and objectives.   In this study, students were provided support through some of the design features including: (1) appropriate discourse readability, (2) high content relevance, (3) easy navigation, (4) user-friendly screen design, and (5) informative multimedia. 

What this study means to me and my current position as learner & instructor

This study is significant because teachers continue to search for ways in which students can be given the opportunity to use higher-order thinking skills (Bloom’s Taxonomy).  The authors note, “Using WebQuests for inquiry-based learning represents a higher-order use of technology”.  Students are required to manipulate information by analyzing and synthesizing.  In addition, students learn effective research skills which are on a higher level than simply acquiring knowledge. 

Commentary on the case study research

This study represents a partial solution to our quest for “enhancing pedagogical  effectiveness” of WebQuests.  I agree with the author that further research is required.  For example, since this research study was conducted using a science WebQuest with two classes of fifth grade students, maybe it could be extended to other subject areas and grades.  The authors note, “…the results may be limited to the characteristics of the study, especially the characteristics of the students”.  Some subjects may require more or less scaffolding depending on the required student task and grade level of the students.  Also, students prior experience with the internet may also affect outcome.  A future study may examine both the motivational appeal and cognitive support of multimedia elements in Internet resource-based inquiry learning.  It is also possible that different types of media may be needed for different types of content discourse and learning tasks.

Reference

MacGregor, S. K. and Lou, Y. (2005).  Web-Based learning: How task scaffolding and web site design support knowledge acquisition.  Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 37(2), 161-175.  Retrieved October 6, 2005 from Academic Search Premier database.