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    Schwartz, Stroud, Hong, Scott, MC Gee

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    Schwartz,Stroud,Hong,Scott,McGee

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    Publisher of Scholarly Books and Journals Since 1964 THE LATEST RESEARCH TO YOUR DOOR OR YOUR DESKTOP //baywood.com. ey z BAYWOOD REPRINTS Journal of Educational Computing Research Edited by: Dr. Robert H. Seidman ‘Volume 51, Number 1 = 2004 ‘The Influence of Metacognitive Skills on Learners’ Memory of Information in a Hypermedia Environment Neil H. Schwartz, Christopher Andersen, Namsoo Hong Bruce Howard, and Steven McGee BAYWOOD PUBLISHING COMPANY, INC. 26 Austin Avenue, PO Box 337, Amityville, NY 11702 ‘all (631) 691-1270 + fax (631) 681-1770 « toll-free orderline (800) 638-7819 ‘e-mail: baywood@baywood.com * web site: http:/ /baywood.com {J EDUCATIONAL COMPUTING RESEARCH, Vol. 31(1) 77-68, 2008 THE INFLUENCE OF METACOGNITIVE SKILLS ON LEARNERS’ MEMORY OF INFORMATION IN ‘A HYPERMEDIA ENVIRONMENT* NEILH. SCHWARTZ California State University, Chico CHRISTOPHER ANDERSEN Ohio State University NAMSOO HONG University of Michigan BRUCE HOWARD STEVEN McGEE Wheeling Jesuit University ABSTRACT ‘Twenty-eight students (aged 9 to 17) freely explored a science Web site structured ether in an outline (linear) format or “puzzle” (non-linea) format for 2.5 hours. Subjects thea engaged in tasks involving locational memory and informational rocall. The results indicate that presence of metacognitive skills was @ necessary but not suficient condition for learning in hypermedia ‘environments; the navigational structure of the Web ste also was important. Metacognitive skill (as messured by the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Jr. MAI) (Sperling, Howard, Miller, & Murphy, 2002) and the How I Study Questionnaire (HISP) (Fortunato, Hecht, Tite, & Alvarez, 1991) was not'a significant predictor of measures of retention within an cutlin structure (where the conventional structure did not stimulate meta cognitive knowledge), while metacognition was a significant predictor of| ‘This research was conducted while the fret author was a Summer Research Fellow at NAS# (Classroom of the Furs 0 © 2004, Ravwood Publshine Co. nc. 78 J SCHWARTZET AL. informational ecall within the puzzle structure (which required active meta- ‘cognitive knowledge to make meaning within the unfamiliar structure). The results poin tothe need for instructional designers to consider the structure of Web sits, with particular emphasis onthe use of recognizable conventions in ‘order 1 reduce the metacognitive demands upon working memory involved in deciphering the structare. INTRODUCTION ‘The Internet is expected to be the sine qua non source for knowledge acquisition and development for both adults and youth, surpassing books, traditional teaching practices, and television over the next 15 years (ef. Owston, 1997). In fact, McArthur and Lewis (1996), in report prepared by the Rand Corporation's Institute for Education and Training, concluded that the Internet, and the hyper- media systems available on it, will dramatically transform the processes and products of learning and teaching worldwide. Hypermedia environments are the ‘computer-based informational systems comprised of pictures, graphics, video! audio clips, and text configured in a Web of links and nodes, navigable by clicking “backward-forward” butions, graphic symbols, and key words. As environments in which to lear, hypermedia systems have potential for offering leamers access to information in the context of modalities that can be highly interesting. and readily understood (cf. Kerr, 1996). ‘Yet, one of the problems in using hypermedia environments for teaching and learning is that leamers frequently report having difficulty both in remembering the locations where information can be found, and keeping track of the steps within a learning sequence that will lead them to their own, or their teachers’, instructional goals (e-, Jonassen, 1989; Wenger & Payne, 1996). In other words, leamers become disoriented relative to the locations in the Web environment where they have been, and in the cognitive activities they use to keep track of their learning. The former deals with disorientation in navigating within a hypermedia ‘environment; the latter addresses disorientation in the maintenance of an effective level of metacognitive monitoring and control. We were concerned in the present investigation with the metacognitive problem. Metacognition Defined ‘The term metacognition refers to a learner's knowledge about his or her processes of cognition, and the ability to control and monitor those processes as a function of the feedback the leamer receives via outcomes of learning (Cf. Metcalfe & Shimamura, 1994; Nelson, 1996; Schraw & Moshman 1995), ‘Thus, two essential components are believed to make up metacognition: knowl- ‘edge and control. Metacognitive knowledge refers to what a learner understands and believes about a subject matter or a task, and the judgments s/he makes in METACOGNITIVE INFLUENCE 79 allocating cognitive resources as a result of that knowledge (cf. Brown, 1987) Metacognitive contro! refers to the tactics and strategies a learner devises to ‘achieve specific leaming goals, and the degree to which the leamer organizes, monitors, and modifies those operations to ensure that learning is effective (Cf. Jacobs & Paris, 1987). As Schraw (1997) explained, attention resources, existing cognitive strategies, and awareness of breakdowns in comprehension are all enhanced by metacognitive knowledge and control. Learners who use both will improve their academic performance. For example, Swanson (1990) demon- strated that fifth and sixth graders increased their problem-solving skills as a function of their use of metacognitive knowledge. Schraw (1994) found that college students were better able to monitor their reading comprehension if they also showed better metacognitive skills. Finally, Schwartz, Oppy, & Gust (1999) found that metacognitive skis significantly predicted the comprehension of learners in @ hypermedia site, while Eckhardt, Probst, & Schnotz. (2003) suggested tha the learning aids attached to multimedia leaming environments are mediated in ther efficacy by the leamers’ metacognitive skills. Thus, metacognition is important to an understanding of learning in hyper- media environments because leamers must regulate their cognitive tactics and strategies in order to construct meaning from their navigating behaviors within hypermedia sites. That i, since hypermedia environments are open informational fields, learners must be more active, exploratory, and self-regulated during the comprehension-building process (Tergan, 1997). Constructivism and Self-Regulated Learning ‘The issue of self-regulation in hypermedia learning centers directly on the assumption that learners interact with computers in constructivistic ways. That i, it has been assumed by constructivist theorists that, since hypermedia environ- ments are nonlinear multi-pathway sites, leamers will search them in ways that are regulated by and reflect their own strategies and structure of knowledge. Thus, according to constructivist ideas (eg., Dufly & Jonassen, 1992; Schwartz & McGee, 2001), the networked structure of a hypermedia environment is a more effective environment in which to learn, because learners are inclined to interact withthe environment on the basi of information they already know and ‘understand—unbounded by the constraints of the sequenced line of propositions that characterize linear text. In effect, the leamer constructs knowledge, because the leamer guides the knowledge-acquisition process. However, a major problem for constructivist theory is that leamers do not always behave in particularly self-regulated ways (Tergan, 1997). Instead, the cognitive strategies leamers usc to learn tend to be generally incomplete and illformed, often rendering leamers inexpert or inefficient users of effective cognitive tactics (Winne, 1996). This situation implies that learners may become disoriented when leaning in hypermedia sites, either because they do not have 80) SCHWARTZ ET AL, the metacognitive skills for constructing meaning, or because the navigational platforms on which the hypermedia environments are built do not stimulate them to use their metacognitive skills. Inthe present investigation, we were interested in determining which of these alternatives was the most plausible for explaining the self-regulation problem, Indeed, the problem of self-regulation in hypermedia leaming is @ serious theoretical concem (De Corte, 1994). Learners tend to seek out ideas by estab- lished links, instead of linking ideas on their own (Tergan, 1997). When given the choice of accessing elements of information by navigating freely or following predefined paths, learners tend to follow the paths that are predefined (Schroeder & Grabowski, 1993). They even tend to study hypermedia environments by following frames of information quite similarly to the way they typically process standard linear text (Verreck & Lkoundi, 1990). These tendencies reduce the potential for learners to learn, because they undercut the value of hypermedia systems as flexible, multiple-pathway, interlinked environments. That is, learners, in effect, deprive themselves of the opportunity to construct their own mean- ing by employing their own strategies in a learning environment that beckons constructivist behavior We chose to study metacognitive skill in this investigation precisely because ‘we believe that processes of self-regulation are essential for learning in hyper- media sites. If constructivist theorists are correct in asserting that learners are active constructors of their own knowledge during hypermedia navigation, then hypermedia environments may have to be built in such a way as to foster this construction. If hypermedia environments are designed on platforms that arrange pages using outlines no different from standard text, then leamers may tend to follow these arrangements rather passively. If, on the other hand, there are no markers of linearity among pages in a Web, learners may be more likely to respond more actively, and hence constructively, engaging their metacognitive processes, We are making the assumption that constructivist behavior requires that learners actively think during learning, and that metacognitive processes are some of the more important activities leamers engage in during this thinking process. ‘Thus, in the present investigation we had learners search a hypermedia environ _ment by following links presented either as an outline or as a nonlinear Web. The ‘outline was the type of structure that is typically found in standard text. The nonlinear Web was a graphic of puzzle. We expected to be able to demonstrate that the hypermedia environment designed as a Web would encourage learners to use their metacognitive skills. When the environment was set up as a familiar ‘outline, we expected learmers to show little tno metacognitive involvement, ive Load ‘The Problem of Cogi Still, nother of the main concerms in learning from hypermedia environments is the problem of cognitive load. Cognitive load refers to the learners’ need to METACOGNITIVE INFLUENCE / 81 determine which routes are potentially useful and decide which of those routes to take. They must execute their choices and remember where they have been, ‘They must also allocate attention to various other information-management tasks, such as summarizing, analyzing, and comparing topic elements and the relationships between those clements, in order to be able to comprehend the information they are attempting to leam (Conklin, 1987; Foss, 1989). These tasks consume a great deal of resources in memory because there is a limited amount of cognitive operating space to perform them. This operating space is known as working memory, and is the area in cognition where processing and attention concomitantly occur (Baddeley, 1986). Thus, learners must juggle cog- nitive tasks within that space—an operation that, in the case of hypermedia, frequently compromises performance quite seriously (cf. Kim & Hirtle, 1995; Pass, Renkl, & Sweller, 2003). ‘Two other factors also contribute to cognitive load. First, hypermedia environ- ‘ments lack the discourse cues of standard print. Second, the literary contract between author and reader is extremely weak (Gygi, 1990). Thus, as Dias and Sousa (1997) point out, the lack of a set of narrative cues in hypertext systems, when compared to traditional paper-based text (e.g, organization in chapters and sections, typographical conventions, etc. makes comprehension very difficult because Ieamers must impose these structures themselves. Dias and Sousa also point out that the interaction flexibility allowed by the multi-modal informa- tion system of a Web induces learners to use their metacognitive skills—skills that “lead to an active involvement of the learner over the system information, stressing the difference between computer-driven and user-driven learning” (p. 174). Indeed, there is good evidence for this position. Kalyuga, Aryres, Chandler, and Sweller (2003) contend that, since new information presented to learners is processed in a severely limited working-memory space, instructional techniques must be designed in such a way as to facilitate both the construction of internal knowledge frameworks and the automaticity of associated metacognitive sirategy use, in order to reduce working memory load and enhance processing efficiency. Moreover, leamers who are more knowledgeable in an information domain use more exploratory processes to Tear, and are more flexible in their approach to acquiring new knowledge (Kalyuga, Chandler, & Sweller, 2000), but only under conditions where concepts can be learned in isolation rather than simultancously where attention must be frequently split. In the present investigation, we reasoned that the puzzle navigational platform ‘we used would encourage more use of metacognitive skills because it is pre- cisely the kind of multimodal information system that Dias and Sousa describe, However, one of the questions that still remained was whether leamers’ use of metacognitive skills would consume the limited space in working memory, usurping the space for processing topic information. If this turned out to be the cease, we expected that leamers in the puzzle condition may use more of their ‘metacognitive skill during processing, but those skills may not, in tum, yield 82 / SCHWARTZET AL higher levels of topic content comprehension. That is, working memory space ‘would be consumed with information management tasks rather than the relational type of processing necessary for long-term retention, Effects of Experience Finally, there is evidence that learners often fail to use hypermedia systems effectively because they lack the experience necessary to use the systems facil- ities (Tergan, 1997). Rouet (1992) reported that learners profit from practice on the Web, and that their performance significantly improves at the end, compared to the beginning, of a computer-based leaming session. Tergan (1997) reported that similar result had been observed by Weges, Bitter-Rijpkema, and Ellerman (1993). *Weges etal, argue that “it takes a relatively long period of time to become completely acquainted with a new study environment, especially an environment that stimulates very different learning facilities compared to printed materials. ‘A student will only explore these unfamiliar functionalities after a certain period of time” (Tergan, 1997, p. 14). Thus, we were concemed not only with leamers’ metacognitive skills, but with the experience and expertise leamers bring with them to their Internet searches. We reasoned that leamers who have more experience with the Internet per se may, in turn, have to exert fewer cognitive resources in navigating ot deriving knowledge from it. Leamers may also have developed better meta- cognitive skills in the context of Internet use, allowing them to use their experience to develop metacognitive regulation and control to manage their Internet trans- actions, If this turned out tobe the case, experience and metacognitive skill would be highly correlated, with both combining to predict retention. If, on the other hhand, the two are independent skills, either, but not both, would predict what is learned and retained, METHOD Participants ‘Twenty-eight students participated in this study. There were 17 males and 11 females, ranging in age from nine to 17 years, with a mean age of 12.81 (SD = 1.56). The students were a heterogeneous group of elementary and secon- dary students randomly selected from a larger group enrolled in a summer day ‘camp—the Challenger Space Camp at the Challenger Leaming Center in West Virginia. The students participated in the investigation with the idea that they were helping NASA understand the way children lear. All. students were predominantly English-speaking and demonstrated no apparent conditions that ‘would hinder their full participation in the studv. METACOGNITIVE INFLUENCE | 63 Instruments and Materials Instruments ‘Two instruments, the Junior Metacognitive Awareness Inventory (Jr. MAID, (Sperling, Howard, Miller, & Murphy, 2002) and the “How I Study Question- naire” (HISQ) (Fortunato, Hecht, Tittle, & Alvarez, 1991), were used in this investigation to measure metacognition The Jt, MAT is an 18-item self-report questionnaire about the way students eam, intended for use in grades seven through nine. Respondents are required to estimate on a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never; 5 = always) the frequency with ‘hich they engage in cognitive behaviors when leaming and studying, Students rate themselves on items such as “know wien I understand something.” “I think ‘of several ways to solve a problem and then choose the best one,” or “I use different learning strategies depending on the ask.” ‘The instrument’s reliability and validity have been determined—the former by reviewing for internal consistency and the latter by estimating, using methods of cross-validation and factor analysis. Sperling et al. (2002) reported internal consistency estimates of .85 (coefficient alpha), and a single factor structure ‘measuring an overall metacognitive ability. Scores from the Jt. MAI show sig~ nificantly higher values for ascending grade placement in school, F(, 195) =4.27; ‘p= .006, but no significant differences among scores according to gender, 1=.275, 1p = 60. Sperling et al. (2002) also reported results relating to convergent and discriminant validity between the Jr. MAI and inventories for reading eompre- hension, problem solving, strategy use, achievement scores, and teacher ratings. results of these data support the Jr. MAI as a reliable measure of Finally, the Jr. MAI has been correlated to its adult-version counterpart (the Metacognitive Awareness Inventory—MAD. The MAI is a ‘2-item self-report inventory shown to be a reliable measure of metacognitive knowledge and self-regulation and highly related to various leaming tasks (Schraw & Dennison, 1994), The second measure of metacognition, the HISQ (Fortunato, Hecht, Tittle, & Alvarez, 1991), is a 21-item self-report questionnaire requiring students to rate themselves using a 5-point Likert scale (1 = never, 5 = slways) on statements describing the activities they engage in when they attempt to solve problems during learning, Thus, students appraise themselves on questions such a, “/ read the problem more than once,” “I stop and rethink a step have already done.” and “look back at the problem to see ifmy answer makes sense.” Students are asked to ‘make these appraisals in the context of the kinds of things they do when working problems in a math or a science class. ‘Afier a careful statistical review of both the Jr. MAI and the HISQ, Howard (1998) recommended that both inventories be used in combination as a single ‘measure of metacosnition since the two instruments are highly correlated (r= 81. 84) SCHWARTZET AL. p= .000) and the aggregated value of both yields the most robust estimate of general metacognitive skill. Therefore, the combined value of both instruments ‘was used fo measure metacognitive skill in this investigation, The Hypermedia Environment ‘The hypermedia environment used in this investigation was an actual site in use on the World Wide Web. The site, The Temperate Rainforest, was created by NASA’s Classroom OF The Future (COTF) as part of their “Exploring the Environment” program. The program designs and produces problem-based ‘modules that address real environmental dilemmas worldwide. These modules allow users to track a live hurricane, predict the global impact of a voleanie mn, investigate the shrinking habitat of the mountain gorillas in Rwanda, and, in the case of the present investigation, examine the issues and images of the temperate rainforests of North America's Pacific Northwest, COTF ‘has developed 14 modules in total and placed them on the Web (hutp:/wwww.cotf.edu/ete/modules/modules.html). The Rainforest module con- sists of 95 Web pages comprising text, maps, photographs, satellite images, and other graphic displays intended to inform users about the issues surround- ing the problem of competing rainforest use (¢.g.. protecting vs, harvesting old-growth timber). ‘The Rainforest module is designed to give participants a dynamic, self-guided learning environment where they can browse the site using their own preference of navigational links. The links are available as key words in the title portion of cach page and interspersed in text. Users search the site at their own pace, leaning as much about the rainforest issues as possible. For the purpose of this investigation, the navigational platforms on which the site was built were manipu- lated in two ways. When the platform was a puzzle, the main page was a pictorial graphic showing six interlocking puzzle pieces, navigable by selecting puzzle pieces as links to different topics in the module (e.g., natural resource manage- ment, history, geography, ecology, remote imaging activities, suggestions for research, and situation). When the platform was an outline, the module was navigable by selecting topics from a standard arrangement of hierarchically arranged keywords. Although the module can be searched via either Intemet Explorer or Netscape ‘Navigator, in this investigation Netscape Navigator was used. The module was also loaded individually onto each of the computers to control access time to pages, since accessing from a server across a network can consume considerable amounts of time, Measures of Retention ‘Two measures of retention were used in the investigation. One was a measure of locational memory: the other a measure of total information recall ‘The lacation, METACOGNITIVE INFLUENCE / 85 ‘measure was taken by having leamers find 10 Web pages in the rainforest site, given general verbal cues about salient information contained on the page. For ‘example, learners were asked to seek out, g0 to, and stop ata page where there was important information about a) a person who named a mountain, b) a researcher's conclusion on the loss of lumber jobs, and c) a phenomenon called “blowdowns” and its importance. Information and page locations were randomly selected, and leamers were allotted 90 seconds to find each page. Total score was the number of correct locational identifications. As for information recall, participants were simply instructed to record on lined sheets of paper everything they could remember from the module they searched. Demographic Data ‘A demographic data sheet was used to acquire background information from cach participant. The sheet collected information on age, gender, weekly hours of computer use, and experience with the Internet. Participants’ ages and the hours of weekly computer use were measured as continuous variables, while Internet ‘experience was measured on a 4-point Likert scale, with 4 = many, 3 sionally, 2= once or twice, and 1 = never. The demographic characteristics were used to’ make random, but balanced, assignment of participants to treatment ‘groups. Thatis, a table of specifications was constructed ofthe four characteristics. ‘Then, equivalent numbers of participants representing each cell of the table were randomly assigned to either one ofthe two treatment groups. The treatment groups failed to differ significant from one another on any of the four demographic characteristics, (F(1, 26) = 289, MSE = 104.14, p= 60 for age, FU, 26) = 07, [MSE = 58.94, p= 3 for hours of computer use, and F(1, 26) =.900, MSE= 1.83, ‘p= 35 for experience with the Internet]. Equal numbers of males and females \were represented in each treatment group. Procedure Participants worked in intact groups in a large state-of-the-art classroom equipped with 30 Macintosh computers. Leamers were randomly assigned an identification number and given a brief overview of the investigation, along with a packet of materials. The identification number was used to code protocols and identify the computers to which participants were assigned. The packet contained a set of instructions, the demographic data sheet, a description of the activities in which participants were scheduled to be engaged, and the retention and ‘metacognitive measures. ‘The procedural sequence began with participants being instructed to complete the demographic data sheet and the metacognitive questionnaires, and then to read along as the instructions were read aloud. The instructions were printed fon a colorful, official-looking document welcoming participants to NASA’s Classroom for the 21st Century and informing them that NASA was interested in 86 / SCHWARTZET AL, Jeaming how lamers del with problems regarding the planet. Thus, participants were informed that they would learn about @ problem on Earth—competing interests and uses of the temperate rainforests. Their task was to understand the problem as best they could so that they could become expert enough to advise NASA on how to deal with it ‘When all participants had rea the instructions and completed the demographic ata sheet, the Intemet search task was commenced. Participants were allotted 2.5 hours to complete it, after which they were asked to record everything they leamed ffom the site. Next, participants were excused for 35 minutes for a supervised lunch, during which they were directed not to discuss the rainforest site. Finally, the procedural sequence ended with participants being led through the locational task, followed by a period of debriefing. The entire procedural sequence was run twice, once foreach treatment group, and consumed approximately four hours in the morning of each day. RESULTS: Protocols were scored for the measures derived from the Jr, MAI, HISQ, location measure, and test of information recall. Specifically, the metacognitive questionnaires were summed and totaled for each instrument, then combined into a total metacognition score, The location test was scored for the number of comrect pages found (targets), while the recall protocols were scored for the ‘number of idea units recalled, Treatments Effects ‘The results of the one-way ANOVA on the number of targets found and the ‘number of idea units recalled revealed significance only for the number of idea units. Thus, leamers navigating through the rainforest site via the puzzle (M= 4.57; SD =2.71) failed to differ in the number of targets they found relative to leamers who navigated via the outline (M= 5.79; SD = 2.44), F(I, 26) = 1.79, p= -19. However, learners in the outline condition (M= 14.42; SD = 7.52) remembered 40% more idea units from the rainforest site than leamers who searched the site via the puzzle (M= 8.57; SD = 3.92), F(1, 26) = 6.67, p= 02). Relationships and Predictions ‘Since we expected metacognition to be significantly correlated to both targets and idea units, and expected experience and metacognition to be highly related as well, a bivariate correlational analysis was performed on the full set of variables, collapsed across treatment group. Thus, the following variables made up the full correlation matrix: the number of targets found, the number of idea units recalled, hours of weekly computer use, experience in Internet use, and overall metacognitive skill. METACOGNITIVE INFLUENCE 87 ‘The data revealed that seven of the 10 possible relationships were significantly correlated. Specifically, the numberof targets found were significantly related to the numberof idea units learners recalled (r= 73, p <.01), as well as to learers” rmetacognitive skills (r=.43, p <,0S), and experience using the Internet (r= 39, 1p <.05). Likewise, the number of idea units recalled were significantly related to learners hours of weekly computer use (7 = 45, p <_05) and metacognitive sills (r= 50, p <.01), but not their Internet experience. With the exception of a significant correlation between leamers’ weekly computer use and their Intemet experience (r = ~53, p <.01), and their Intemet experience and metacognitive skill (= —55, p <.01), no other variable pairs were related. That is, Internet experience shoved no relationship with the number of idea units reealled; and ‘weekly hours of computer use showed no relationship to metacognitive skill. (The bivariate correlation matrix is shown in Table I.) Next, when both treatment groups were combined, we wondered ifthe number ‘of idea units leamers remembered could be predicted from the number of hours per day they generally used a computer, the number of targets they found when navigating trough the rainforest site, and the general level oftheir metacognitve skill Using an ordinary least-squares multiple regression with a stepwvise method of variable entry, the analysis yielded significance for the equation, F(1, 26) = 29.10, MSE = 19.34, p = 000. However, the only significant predictor was the numberof targets students found when navigating in the hypermedia environment, TU, 26)= 5.45, p=.000. The variables ofhours of weekly computer use (7'= 1.49; Table 1. Bivariate Correlation Matrix (N = 28) Hours of Amount of Number of | Number ot ‘compuier Internet targets Ideaunits- Metacognitve Variable use experience found recalled knowledge Hours of 1 527 ara 453" an ‘computer use ‘Amount of 1 nee" 371 560" Intemet exoetionce Number of 1 ra" ze targets found Number of doa 1 406+ unis recalled Motacogritve 1 knowiedge “Correlations significant atthe 005 level tale). Correlation is significant atthe 0.07 level (2a) 88 / SCHWARTZ ET AL _p=.15)and metacognitive skill ("= 1.57; p=.30) failed to contribute significantly to the prediction equation. Thus, when students are combined across treatment groups, the data reveal that they remember more ofthe content they read when they are more successful finding targets in the site. Their suecess (when they are undifferentiated by the platform with which they navigated) is predicted nether by the amount of time they report spending on a compute, ofthe level of their rmetacogative skill. Next, while the predictive ability of the numberof targets on the numberof idea units recalled was not surprising, we wondered both why learners with more Intemet experience found fewer targets inthe hypermedia environment, and why higher Internet experience was associated with lower Ievels of metacogative skill. ‘Thus, using a least-squares method, we regressed learners’ levels of metacognitive skill and Interet experience in a stepwise féshion on the number of targets leamers found when navigating the hypermedia environment. We reasoned that since Internet experience makes less demands on metacognitve skill, learners ‘who have more Intemet experience would not be less inclined to use their rmetacognitve skill o find targets, allowing metacognitiveskil to emerge as the stronger predictor. If, on the other hand, Intemet experience and metacognitive skill contribute equally to the search for targets, both should contribute to the prediction equation. The results ofthe analysis yielded a significant prediction ‘model, F(1, 26)= 5.77, MSE = 5.04, p= .02, with metacognition emerging as the only significant predictor, (1, 26) = 2.40, p = .02, accounting for 18% of the variance, and Internet experience filing to contribute to the model, (1, 26) = =107, p= 30. With the number of targets found predicting the number of idea nits recalled, and metacognitive skill predicting the numberof target, we expected that meta- cognition would be a strong predictor of retention in the puzzle group, but not the outline group, since we hypothesized that the puzzle navigation platform would require more metacognitive skill during learning. Thus, we calculated two separate least-squares simple regression analyses, regressing level of meta- ‘cognitive skill on the numberof idea units recalled for the outline and the puzzle ‘groups, respectively. The data supported the hypothesis. In the outline group, the ‘analysis failed to reach significance, F(1, 26)= 4.35, MSE = 38.36, =.06. Thus, ‘metacognition was not significantly involved in the amount of content learners retained when navigating within the outline platform. However, in the group navigating with the puzzle, the model was significant, F(1, 26) = 7.53, MSE 11.04, p = .01, Metacogniton significantly predicted learners" retention when navigating within the puzzle platform, 1, 26)=2.75, p=.01, accounting for 3% of the variance, Finally, inorder to rule out the involvement of Internet experience ‘on the findings above, we regressed Internet experience on the number of idea Units recalled separately foreach treatment group. Both analyses failed to yield a significant prediction model, [F(1,26)=2.31, MSE 48.82, p=.15 for the puzzle, and F(1, 26) = 1.13, MSE= 18.57, p= 31 for the outline groups, respectively) 6 METACOGNITIVE INFLUENCE / 69 DISCUSSION ‘There is great hope for educational uses for the Internet, particularly the World Wide Web. Those who advocate the benefits for hypermedia (e.g., Dufly & Jonassen, 1992; Howard, McGee, Schwartz, & Purcell, 2000) cite its freedom from the limits of the conventions of printed text, the ability of users to explore nonlinearly and select which material is presented in accordance with the learner's individual information needs, and the flexibility ofthe format to present arguments in more than a single sequence. However, traditional text formats have benefits the are lost in hypermedia. The conventions of text structure are immediately recognizable, while the structure of hypermedia often is not readily apparent. When learners are engaged in cognitive processes, they have a limited amount of working memory to devote to the task. ‘When processing hypertext (a format that has few conventions associated with it), some of that working memory capacity must be allocated to making sense of the format. When processing a conventional text, learners that recognize the conventions require less working memory to make sense of the format, leaving a larger portion of working memory available for processing content information. ‘Our hypothesis was that non-linear presentations follow fewer recognizable ‘conventions than traditional text format, and therefore require comparably greater cognitive load to process. As predicted, subjects who navigated through the rainforest site via the outline condition remembered significantly more idea units than subjects who navigated via the puzzle. This supports the hypothesis that the conventional structure ofthe outline site is more easily navigated, thereby making fewer cognitive demands relative to the puzzle site. Lower cognitive demand allows more working memory to be devoted to relational processing that results in better long-term retention. Metacognition Dias and Sousa (1997), Tergan (1997), Kalyuga etal. (2003), and Kalyuga et al (2000), among others, maintain that hypermedia environments make greater cognitive demands compared to conventional text because hypermedia environ- ments require more cognitive resources for making sense of the unconventional structure. As a result, we made theoretical predictions concerning the role of etacognition as one of these cognitive resources that would be potentially important in hypermedia learning. Specifically, we hypothesized that leamers" levels of metacognitive skill would be strong predictors of measures of their retention. The results showed that, when collapsed across the two groups, the ‘number of idea units recalled could be reliably predicted by the number of targets leamers could locate during navigation, but the number of targets was predicted from general metacognitive skill ‘However, even though the presence of metacognitive skills may be a necessary condition for learning in hypermedia environments. itis not sufficient in and of 90 / SCHWARTZ ET AL itself. The environment (specifically, the navigational structure) must stimulate the leamer to use those metacognitive skills, In conventional text structures, the structure is perceived passively, with litle need for metacogmitive skills to understand the structure, The farther removed from conventional text structures, the greater the need for metacognitive skills to make meaning of the structure and content of the site. Learners with better

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