Do cognitive styles affect learning performance in different computer media?

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Abstract
The impact of three treatments Text, CD-ROM, Internet site and student Cognitive Styles on learning performance was investigated. Prior to the commencement of the course the students completed the following psychometric tests: the Group Embedded Figures Test (GEFT) [1], Kirton's Adaptive-Innovator Inventory (KAI) [2] and Cognitive Styles Analysis (CSA) [3]. The subject matter was an Introductory Course in Artificial Intelligence. Forty-seven final year Information System students participated, randomly assigned within sexes to one of the three treatments. Upon completion of six one-hour sessions they were given a sixty-minute examination to assess overall learning.It was found that only Field Dependence-Field Independence interacted with overall learning performance at a statistically significant level (p 0.001) irrespective of treatment. When the three treatments were investigated separately the results suggest that Verbalisers performed better than Imagers in the Internet treatment, while the Analytics performed better than the Wholists in the CD-ROM treatment. The results of the study are discussed in terms of individual differences (Cognitive Styles) together with implications for Web site design.