Assessing Learning across Pedagogical Modalities and Learning Retrieval Conditions for College Learners in Introductory Psychology

The present study attempted to explore if learning is as effective in the web-based platform as it is in the traditional or web-enhanced modalities. Unlike prior studies that measured learning using course grades and subjective student reporting, this study used an empirical method to develop a valid and reliable measure of learning. Data from 346 college students participating in an introductory psychology course were compared across the three instructional modalities. Consistent with prior research, the results revealed no significant differences on a measure of learning effectiveness between the three learning modalities. Additional analysis of the results was conducted based on the ‘specificity of encoding’ model and indicated that students who retrieved the information in a context congruent with where encoding took place scored significantly lower than those who retrieved the information in an incongruent context. Whereas prior models of learning placed the encoding of information squarely in the classroom context, these results suggested that encoding takes place primarily in the cyber online context. This reconceptualization of the context of encoding suggests that congruous context for encoding and retrieval is when both processes reside in the cyber online context.