Computer -based instruction, advisement, and learner control in adults

This study examined the effects of experience level and varying levels of advisement for adult learners possessing certain suggested characteristics on a learner-controlled computer-based instruction (CBI) activity. The purpose of the study was to determine if experience level and advisement level in this particular set of learners affect posttest scoring.;Participants were 48 field sales personnel in the technical field of Papermaking Technologies. Participants were divided based on their years' experience into two experience levels and then randomly assigned to one of three levels of treatment. Participants were given (in the following order) pre-hire testing to determine personality traits, a Nach Naff instrument, a pretest on the lesson content, the CBI learning activity, a posttest on the lesson content, and a questionnaire to assess participant perceptions on the learning activity.;The analysis revealed no significance for the effect of experience and no interaction between the main effects of experience and treatment level. There was significant difference for the effect of treatment by test. A post hoc procedure, Tukey HSD, was run and all pairwise comparisons indicated significance. A general summary of responses to the multiple choice posttest questionnaire is included in the Results chapter.;Conclusions and recommendations include providing a mid-level of content rather than basic information which may be more challenging to a wider range of experience levels. A broader choice of content with varying levels of advisement is suggested.