The Influence of Domain Knowledge and Task Requirement on the Selection of Learning Strategies in the Internet

The Influence of Domain Knowledge and Task Requirement on the Selection of Learning Strategies in the Internet

This paper has two aims. First it identified the role of domain knowledge in learning with the help of the search engine. Second, it studied the relationship between the role of domain knowledge and the perception of task requirements. In experiment 1, familiarities of search topic were controlled. The results suggested that disorientation in web surfing was caused by a shortage of target domain knowledge. Domain knowledge may assist a searcher to avoid being disoriented and may assist the searcher to find suitable web pages for his(her) interests. In experiment 2, both students’ levels of knowledge in target domain and task requirements were controled. The results indicated interactions between aptitude (levels of knowledge) and treatment (task requirements) in learning with search engine. Importance of domain knowledge and the need for deeper understanding of the aptitude-treatment interactions in web-based learning were discussed.