When humans form media and media form humans: An experimental study examining the effects different digital media have on the learning outcomes of students who have different learning styles

Abstract

A set of computer-based experiments are reported that investigate the understanding achieved by learners when studying a complex domain (statistics) in a real e-learning environment using three different media combinations—Text only, Text and Diagrams and Spoken Text and Diagrams, and the results agree with earlier work carried out on more limited domains. The work is then extended to examine how student interaction and student learning styles affect the learning outcomes. Different responses to the media combinations are observed and significant differences occur between learners classified as Sensing and Reflective learners. The experiment also identified some important differences in performance with the different media combinations by students registered as Dyslexic. The experiment was therefore repeated with a much larger sample of Dyslexic learners and the earlier effects were found to be significant. The results were surprising and may provide useful guidance for the design of material for Dyslexic students.