The Effects of Computer Animated Elaboration Strategies and Practice on Factual and Application Learning in an Elementary Science Lesson

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Abstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of animation and practice on factual and application learning in computer-based instruction (CBI). Also studied was the extent to which animation and practice promoted near and far transfer of these learning outcomes. Subjects consisted of 192 elementary school students. The CBI content was an elementary physics lesson in Newtonian mechanics. Two levels of Practice (Relevant Practice, Irrelevant Practice) were crossed with three levels of Graphic Type (Graphic, Animated Graphic, No Graphic) and two levels of Text Type (Text, No Text). No significant differences were found for the between-subjects factors of Practice, Graphic Type, and Text Type. Among the within-subject factors (Learning Outcome, Transfer) a main effect was found for transfer: subjects performed significantly better on far transfer questions than near transfer questions. A significant interaction was detected between Learning Outcome and Transfer: far learning was facilitated for factual learning, whereas no difference in transfer was detected for application learning.