Pre-instructional strategies and segment length in interactive video programs

This study investigates the influence of pre-instructional strategies on the relationship between learner-controlled or program-controlled length of video segments and on related test performance on post-tests and retention tests. The study looks at the effect of presenting learning objectives in advance on the learning of factual information from interactive video programs. First-year students from two agricultural colleges in the Netherlands used a computer-controlled interactive video disk about the industrial process of cheese making and completed a posttest. A retention test was administered approximately two and a half weeks later. The program had two conditions, fixed and free. In the fixed condition, subjects worked through all seven chapters in linear order. In the free condition, students could vary the order of the chapters and view parts of the video as they wished. Results show a significant result for locus of control. Subjects in the no-pre-instruction condition performed better on test items that relate to incidental learning in the pre-instruction condition than on test items that relate to intentional learning in the pre-instruction condition. Overall, program control yielded a better posttest performance than learner control, although the effect size was rather small.