THE EFFECTS OF LEARNING GOALS ON LEARNING PERFORMANCE OF FIELD-DEPENDENT AND FIELD-INDEPENDENT LATE ADOLESCENTS IN A HYPERTEXT ENVIRONMENT

To provide better instruction for the "Digital Native," it is important to understand the information processing behavior of adolescents using Internet programs and the potential impact of that behavior on learning. This study asks whether the use of general or specific learning goals in a hypertext environment affects learning performance. It also examines whether general versus specific learning goals have a different effect on adolescents with different cognitive styles (field dependent/field). One hundred eighty college freshmen were classified as field dependent or field independent and randomly assigned to one of two treatments: "specific preset learning goal" and "general preset learning goal." Participants provided with either specific or general learning goals navigated identical hypertext instructional programs and then completed an achievement test. Results indicate that field-dependent adolescents perform significantly better when they have specific rather than general learning goals. This study suggests that providing appropriate direction or guidance may mitigate the drawbacks of a field-dependent learning style of adolescents in a hypertext environment. Other related issues are also discussed.