A study of spatial ability and window presentation styles in a computer-based program designed for dental hygiene students

Despite a lack of empirical and theoretical research to justify their usage, windows, commonly employed computer interfaces, are widely used for various functions in computer programs (Jonassen, 1989). The purpose of this study was to examine the effects of spatial ability level and window presentation style of tiled and overlapped computer displays on the achievement of dental hygiene students.;All thirty-three first-term Dental Hygiene students enrolled full-time at the University of Pittsburgh School of Dental Medicine were the sample who participated in this investigation. Two HyperCard Stacks were produced targeting the topic of Ergonomics in Dentistry. The stacks were designed with identical content and differed by displaying the information in one of the two window presentation styles.;Phase one of this project consisted of administering the Differential Aptitude Test: Space Relations Subtest to assess each subject's spatial ability. Individuals' scores were examined using a frequency distribution. Participants who ranked greater than the median were classified as having high spatial ability. Scores less than the median were categorized as the low spatial ability group. Subjects were randomly assigned by spatial ability level to one of two treatment groups: tiled or overlapping displays. During phase two, each subject executed the corresponding computer-based tutorial program and completed an identical module test. A 2 x 2 analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used to analyze the achievement scores.;The two factor ANOVA produced no statistically significant main effects for spatial ability and window presentation style at the.05 level. A disordinal interaction in terms of achievement between the two factors was identified with significance at the.01 level.