The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-direction, prior knowledge and two types of delivery strategies on learner satisfaction and performance in web-based instruction. In the first delivery strategy, self-directed tutorial t...
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of self-direction, prior knowledge and two types of delivery strategies on learner satisfaction and performance in web-based instruction. In the first delivery strategy, self-directed tutorial type material composed of well-organized HTML documents was used to delivery the lesson and students were more likely able to direct their own learning. In the second delivery strategy, lecture type material composed of a presentation file with lecturer`s explanation in his or her voice and online white-boarding were used to deliver the lesson and students were less likely able to direct their own learning. Both strategies were implemented on the web. The subjects in this study were forty eight college students. Subjects first completed a self-directed learning readiness scale and a pretest which measured their prior knowledge on learning theories. Subjects were randomly assigned to one of two delivery strategy groups and provided with the lesson about learning theories. Two groups differed only in the way to deliver the content of the lesson. Immediately after completing the lesson, subjects took a learning satisfaction scale and a posttest. Multiple regression analysis revealed that two types of delivery strategies had little significant effect on learner satisfaction and performance. The interaction effects of prior knowledge, self-direction and the delivery strategies, however, were significant. When students had relatively a high level of prior knowledge, the self-directed tutorial type lesson of the first delivery strategy was superior in terms of learner satisfaction and performance. In contrast, when they have relatively a low level of prior knowledge, the lecture type lesson of the second delivery strategy was tend to be superior in terms of learner satisfaction and performance. Students with a high level of self-direction were more satisfied when the self-directed tutorial type lesson was given rather than the lecture type lesson was given. However, the interaction effect of self-direction and delivery strategies on performance was not found.