Student Prior Knowledge
Prior knowledge has been considered the most important factor that influences learning
(Ausubel, 1968; Bloom, 1994). Jonassen and Grabowski (1993) defined prior knowledge and
achievement as the knowledge, skills or abilities that the learners brings to the learning
environment before the instruction. Dwyer (1994) further classified students’ prior knowledge
into high and low level. Hannafin (1997) suggested that compared to individuals who have
lower prior knowledge, individual who have higher prior knowledge can quickly determine
their own learning needs, generate their own learning strategies and assimilate new
information to their existing knowledge structure. Rieber (2000) also stated related prior
knowledge provides the learners unique relevant elaboration that is unavailable to learners
with limited prior knowledge. It is suggested that knowledge will be encoded more
meaningfully and retrieved more easily by learners with high prior knowledge.
Mayer and Anderson (1992) found that learning significantly improved for students who
possess low prior knowledge when verbal and visual information are presented
simultaneously. They suggested that experienced students might be able to build referential
connections between verbal and visual information and their existing knowledge on their
own. The computer-based instruction utilized in this study presented verbal (the text) and
visual (the graphic illustration or animation) information simultaneously. One of the purposes
of this study is to investigate if varied animation strategies will improve the performance of
the students identified as possessing low levels of prior knowledge.