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Students perceive online courses differently than traditional courses. Negative perceptions can lead to unfavourable learning outcomes including decreased motivation and persistence. Throughout this review, a broad range of factors that affect performance and satisfaction within the online learning environment for adult learners will be examined including learning outcomes, instructional design and learner characteristics, followed by suggestions for further research, and concluding with implications for online learning pertinent to administrators, instructors, course designers and students. Online learning may not be appropriate for every student. Identifying particular characteristics that contribute to online success versus failure may aid in predicting possible learning outcomes and save students from enrolling in online courses if this type of learning environment is not appropriate for them. Furthermore, knowing these learner attributes may assist faculty in designing quality online courses to meet students’ needs. Adequate instructional methods, support, course structure and design can facilitate student performance and satisfaction.Keywords: online learning; learner characteristics; instructional design; online learning outcomes(Published: 27 August 2015)Responsible Editor: Meg O’Reilly, Southern Cross University, AustraliaCitation: Research in Learning Technology 2015, 23: 26507 - http://dx.doi.org/10.3402/rlt.v23.26507

This study investigated the relationship between visuo-spatial representation, mental rotation (MR) and functional anatomy examination results. A total of 184 students completed the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT), Mental Rotation Test (MRT) and Gordon Test of Visual Imagery Control. The time spent on personal assignment was also considered. Men were found to score better than women on both GEFT and MRT, but the gender effect was limited to the interaction with MRT ability in the anatomy learning process. Significant correlations were found between visuo-spatial, MR abilities, and anatomy examination results. Data resulting from the best students' analyzes underscore the effect of high MR ability which may be considered reliable predictor of success in learning anatomy. The use of specific tests during learning sessions may facilitate the acquisition of anatomical knowledge.

While previous research has indicated that learners with field-dependence (FD) and field-independence (FI) cognitive styles benefit differentially from different instructional modes, previous corrective feedback studies have ignored the issue of matching error correction strategies to learners’ cognitive style. To shed some light on this issue, the current study examined the hypothesis that learners with FI and FD cognitive styles benefit differently from recasts. Seventy-six intermediate level EFL learners in four intact classes constituted the experimental and control groups, which differed from each other in terms of the presence or absence of recasts for their errors during classroom interactions. The participants were also classified as FD or FI based on their scores on the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT). Thus, four groups were formed: recasts–FD, recasts–FI, control–FD, and control–FI. The results of a writing task and a picture description task administered as pretest, posttest and delayed posttest indicated that the recasts–FI group significantly outperformed the other three groups in both posttests and delayed posttests, while no statistical difference was observed among the other three groups. In other words, as the results showed, only FI learners benefited from recasts.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the effects of Field Dependent (FD)/Field Independent (FI) cognitive styles and motivational styles on high school students' conceptual understandings about direct current circuit concepts. The participants of this study consisted of 295 high school students (male = 127, female = 168) who were enrolled in eleventh and twelfth grade in four high school located in Düzce. At the beginning of the study, the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) was administered to identify students' FD/FI cognitive styles. After the administration of GEFT, a questionnaire was administered to determine students' motivational styles. Direct Current Resistive Electric Circuit Test (DIRECT) was administered in order to probe students' levels of conceptual understandings. One-way ANOVA and Post-Hoc Tukey test was used to statistically compare the mean scores of students with different cognitive and motivational styles. The results indicated that there was statistically significant difference among the mean scores of FD students and others (FINT and FI students). In addition, it was found that there was statistically significant difference among mean scores of social motivated students and others (curious, conscientious and achiever student). These results imply that due to traditional approaches in learning environment, some of students are still more advantageous than others in electricity subject in Turkey. We couldn't have managed to enhance the understandings of all students with different abilities, especially of social motivated students.

In parallel with the technological developments dominating usage of digital tools in science and education, caused the transform of knowledge in new ways. The reflection of these integration is seen in design discipline as its active role in this circle whether in practice or in the era of education, Benefit from the capabilities of new technologies in the education process for increasing design students’ spatial knowledge, benefit from them digital tools also effect their carrier life in positive direction. By noticing the traditional education methods which are still using in many design school, the endeavor indicates that determine the appropriate learning method by considering individuals different cognitive style. The cognitive styles mean classify individuals according the way of perceive information and process it.

The aim of this study is to reveal whether there is relation between achievement motivations of teacher candidates according to their cognitive styles and motivation styles or not. This study was designed as a quantitative study due to collecting quantitative data and running statistical analyses. Both comparative and correlational survey methods were used because of the fact that it was aimed to determine cognitive styles, motivation styles and achievement motivation of the teacher candidates and to investigate the relationship between these variables. Findings revealed that achievement motivations of the teacher candidates did not differ significantly in terms of gender and cognitive styles. However, it was found that achievement motivations of the teacher candidates differed significantly in terms of their grade levels and motivation styles.

In this paper we aim to describe the process by which our personalised web-based collaborative teaching/learning methodology (CECIP – Collaboration – Evaluation – Critical thinking – Individual assessment – learner Profile) evolved originating from Vygotsky’s theory and based on the (C) collaborative construction of student’s knowledge, (E) developing evaluation and assessment skills, (C) developing critical thinking skills, (I) integrating individual evaluation and (P) generating learner profile. Our CECIP methodology integrates individual learning style dimensions and their preferences into e-learning environment by filling out MBTI, Gardner, GEFT and Felder– Silverman questionnaires during our four-semester-research. The paper covers the theoretical foundations of Learning Styles giving analogies to preferred learning strategies. A three-part-research process is described through which the described CECIP model emerged: (1) analysing Learning Styles and Learning Management Systems that claim to support their work; (2) raising the background knowledge of students in cognitive psychology in order to improve design and evaluation methodologies of multimedia learning materials; (3) personalising tasks and assessment based on Bloom’s Taxonomy.

This paper addresses some methodological issues concerning traditional linear approaches and shows the need for a paradigm shift in education research towards the Complexity and Nonlinear Dynamical Systems (NDS) framework. It presents a quantitative piece of research aiming to test the nonlinear dynamical hypothesis in education. It applies catastrophe theory and demonstrates that students’ achievements in science education could be described by a cusp model, where two cognitive variables are implemented as controls - the logical thinking as the asymmetry and the field dependence/independence as the bifurcation respectively. The results support the nonlinear hypothesis by providing the empirical evidence for bifurcation and hysteresis effects in students’ performance. Interpretation of the model is provided and implications and fundamental epistemological issues are discussed.

The purpose of this study was to explore the effectiveness of using learner-generated and instructor-provided multimedia annotations on foreign language reading comprehension and attitudes. The four research questions are: (1) what are the effects of using different multimedia annotations on reading comprehension for learners of different cognitive learning styles (field-dependent and field-independent)? (2) What are the effects of using different multimedia annotations on reading comprehension for learners with different learning abilities (higher-level and lower-level)? And (3) what are learners' attitudes toward using a multimedia annotation system? The results of this study are listed as follows: First, for reading comprehension, the learner-generated annotation group performed better than the instructor-provided group, no matter which cognitive learning style they were. Second, higher-level learners with learner-generated annotation performed better than those with instructor-provided annotation. However, the difference between lower-level learners with learner-generated annotation and those with instructor-provided annotation was not significant. Finally, learners had positive attitudes toward multimedia annotation use and thought text annotation was the most useful of the different types.

Based on the study of seventy-four middle school children of mostly Filipino and part Hawaiian heritages, this article explores the relationships of children's think- ing styles, play preferences, and school performance. Using the Group Embedded Figures Test, the Articulation of the Body Scale, and written responses to three questions, the authors found significant relationships between children's field- independent or field-dependent thinking styles and play preferences; play prefer- ences and academic performance; thinking styles and academic performance; and thinking styles and cultural setting. They also discovered that children's preferences for sports related, both positively and negatively, to their scores on state-mandated tests for language and math; that children who preferred unstructured play activi- ties tended to achieve academic success; and that cultural values were correlated to thinking style. The authors argue that their study has applied value for educators because it relates children's play preferences to other aspects of their life experi- ences, which can help school policy makers decide the extracurricular activities and the types of play they should encourage. [PUBLICATION ABSTRACT]