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The main objective of this thesis is to describe the effect on cognition of the structure of CAL simulation programs used, in science teaching. Four programs simulating a pond ecosystem were written so as to present a simulation model and to assist in cognition in different ways. Various clinically detailed methods of describing learning were developed and tried including concept maps which were found to be sammative rather than formative descriptions of learning, and to be ambiguous) and hierarchical structures (which were found to be difficult to produce). Fran these concept maps and hierarchical structures I developed my Interaction Model of Learning which can be used to describe the chronological events concerned with cognition. Using the Interaction Model, the nature of cognition and the effect that CAL program structure has on this process is described. Various scenarios are presented as a means of showing the possible effects of program structure on learning. Four forms of concept learning activity and their relationship to learning valid and alternative conceptions are described. The findings from the study are particularly related to the work of Driver (1983), Marton (1976) and Entwistle (1981).

Many UK MBA programmes adopt a collaborative approach to the Harvard style of experiential case based learning. Within such programmes there is widespread use of computers but it is not clear how this improves student learning. Research on computer support of collaborative learning in other disciplines is of limited applicability because of the dual role of student as learner and as expert. In management education such research has mainly focused on technology. Within this context this exploratory research seeks to establish how the actual use of computers in the collaborative study of cases within MBA programmes affects the efficiency and effectiveness of the learning process. Three core courses from well-respected MBA programmes are studied in detail. Student attitudes are investigated using an established instrument and an open-ended questionnaire. In each course student behaviour is observed by studying one aspect of the course in which computers are being used. Data is collected through videos, participant observation and the capture of online conferences. The three MBA programmes have comparable core curricula and computer rich environments. Delivery modes are full-time, part-time and distance so they cover a wide spectrum of the MBA student population in the UK. Six propositions arise from the investigations of which four are established by this research. These show that UK MBA students are enthusiastic about computers and believe in their ability to use them competently. Most students do use computers extensively at all stages of collaborative case based learning. However there is a marked dissonance between their attitude and actual use. If this dissonance is addressed students can improve both the efficiency and effectiveness of their learning through using computers.

Learning (CAL) by the computing industry, there remained a shortage of suitable titles in some subject areas, including engineering. Investigation revealed that the most significant barrier to the exploitation of multimedia technology concerned justification and payback for the substantial amount of development effort required to produce software of this kind. It was found that the size of the potential audience for a programme was all too easily limited by the exorbitant computer system requirements and limited flexibility which tended to be built into the software by default. It was aimed to investigate whether the elements of a multimedia programme which contributed greatly to its computer system requirements, cost and inflexibility were so closely linked to its educational effectiveness. The research was experimental in nature. It involved the creation of several pieces of multimedia software, this being an experiment in itself since it allowed measurement of the amount of effort required to incorporate the various media into an educational programme. Two particularly significant pieces of software are described in detail in the thesis; an advisory system meant to promote design for testability among electronic engineers, and a CAL system offering an introduction to process planning. Both of these featured, in places, a highly interactive style, involving the dynamic generation of images and animations in response to users’ input. This represented a radical departure from the conventional approach to multimedia, which was normally based upon the sequential playback of prerecorded material. The process planning software was used with groups of students; their comments were invited and their performance was measured in a test which used a novel method to identify any students who had prior knowledge of the subject. (Correct answers from such people could not reasonably be claimed to indicate that learning had taken place, but the results of the remaining students provided a more accurate sample.) Knowing how well students had performed on each question, when taught in a variety of different styles, it was possible to compare the educational effectiveness of each approach. Since the amount of time spent adding each feature and medium to the software was known, it was then possible to identify which media had been the most efficient. It was found that interactivity is the most vital single ingredient in CAL software. Experimental results clearly showed that learning was most likely to occur when the subjects were required to play an active role. Attractive, informative media such as photographs and diagrams did generally help to facilitate learning, but the effect of these was comparatively minor. The author theorises that effective computer-based education does not necessarily involve extensive use of high quality digital video and the like; rather that the means to effective computer-based learning predate the multimedia era.

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