Abstract
Interest in adapting instructional methodology to accommodate individual learner characteristics has been stimulated by the recent popularity of aptitude-by-treatment interaction research. While relevant to a descriptive theory of learning, ATI has failed to provide an adequate conceptual or empirical basis for a prescriptive set of adaptive instructional designs. The validity of adaptive designs as a focus for interaction research is questioned. Based upon cognitive task analysis and content analysis, the search for content-treatment interactions and their applications to instructional development should make adaptive designs more feasible, efficient, and consistent as well as developing important cognitive skills that may be short-circuited by learner-adaptive designs. Examples of research-based content-treatment interactions are provided.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Alesandrini, K.L. Pictorial-verbal and analytic-holistic learning strategies in science learning.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1981,73, 358–368.
Anderson, R.C. & Faust, C.W.Educational psychology: The science of instruction and learning. New York: Dodd, Mead, and Co., 1973.
Andrews, D.H., & Goodson, L.A. A comparative analysis of models of instructional design.Journal of Instructional Development, 1980,3(4), 2–16.
Ausubel, D.P. The use of advance organizers in the learning and retention of meaningful verbal material.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1960,51, 267–272.
Ausubel, D.P. A subsumption theory of meaningful verbal learning and retention.Journal of Gerneral Psychology, 1962,66, 213–221. (a)
Ausubel, D.P. Learning by discovery: Rationale and mystique.The Education Digest, 1962,27, 15–17. (b)
Ausubel, D.P.The psychology of meaningful verbal learning. New York: Gruene and Stratton, 1963.
Ausubel, D.P.Educational psychology: A cognitive view. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1968.
Ausburn, L.J. & Ausburn, F.B. Cognitive styles: Some information and implications for instructional design.Educational Communications and Technology Journal, 1978,26, 337–354
Barnes, B.R. & Clawson, E.U. Do advance organizers facilitate learning? Recommendations for further research based on an analysis of 32 studies.Review of Educational Research, 1975,45, 637–659.
Bell, M.E. A systematic instructional design strategy derived from information processing theory.Educational Technology, 1981,21(3), 32–35.
Berliner, D.C. & Cahen, L.S. Trait-treatment interaction and learning. In F.N. Kerlinger (Ed.),Review of research in education, (Vol. 1). Itasca, Ill.: Peacock, 1973.
Bloom, B.S., Englehart, M.D., Furst, E.J., Hill, W.H., & Krathwohl, D.R.Taxonomy of educational objectives: The classification of educational goals, Handbook 1, Cognitive Domain. New York: David McKay, 1956.
Bond, L. & Glaser, R. ATI but mostly A and T with not much I.Applied Psychological Measurement, 1979,3, 137–140.
Bracht, G.E. Experimental factors related to aptitude-treatement interactions.Review of Educational Research, 1970,40, 627–646.
Brezin, M.J. Cognitive monitoring: From learning theory to instructional applications.Educational Communication and Technology Journal, 1980,28, 227–272.
Brophy, J.F. Teacher behavior and its effects.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1979,71, 733–750.
Bruner, J.S.The process of education. Cambridge, Mass.: Harvard University Press, 1960.
Bruner, J.S. The act of discovery.Harvard Educational Review, 1961,31, 21–32.
Bunderson, C.V.Ability by treatment interactions in designing instruction for a hierarchical learning task. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Los Angeles, February, 1969.
Burns, R.B. Relation of aptitudes to learning at different points in time during instruction.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1980,72, 785–795.
Cahen, L.S. & Linn, R.L. Regions of significant criterion differences in aptitude treatment interaction research.American Educational Research Journal, 1971,8, 521–530.
Cattell, R.B.Abilities: Their structure, growth, and action.Boston:Houghton Mifflin, 1971.
Clark, R.E. Do students enjoy the instructional method from which they learn the least? Antagonism between enjoyment and achievement in ATI studies. Paper presented at the Annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, Boston, April 1, 1980. (ED 188 601)
Carrier, C. & McNergney, R. Interaction research: Can it help individualized instruction?Educational Technology, 1979,19(4), 40–45.
Cronbach, L.J. The two disciplines of scientific psychology.American Psychologist, 1957,12, 621–684.
Chronbach, L.J. & Gleser, G.C.Psychological tests and personal decisions. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press, 1965.
Cronbach, L.J. Beyond the two disciplines of scientific psychology.American Psychologist, 1975,30, 116–127.
Cronbach, L.J. & Snow, R.E. Individual differences in learning ability as a function of instructional variables. Final report, 1969, School of Education, Stanford University, Contract No. OEC-4-6-061269-1217, U.S. Office of Education. (ED 029001)
Cronbach, L.J. & Snow, R.E.Aptitudes and instructional methods. New York: Irvington, 1977.
Crocker, R.K., Amaria, R.P., Banfield, H., & Sheppard, D.B. Treatment and ATI effects for pupil achievement and preference under two experimental conditions of teacher control in 6th grade science classes.Journal of Research in Science Teaching, 1979,16, 105–121.
Davies, I.K. Task analysis: Some process and content concerns.AV Communication Review, 1973,21, 73–86.
Divesta, F. J. Trait-treatment interactions, cognitive processes and research on communication media.AV Communication Review, 1975,23, 185–196.
DuRapau, V.J., & Carry, L. R., Interaction of general reasoning ability and processing strategies in geometry instruction.Journal for Research in Math Education, 1981,12, 15–26.
Eastman, P.M., & Behr, M.J. Interaction between structure of intellect factors and two methods of presenting concepts of logic.Journal for Research in Math Education, 1977,8, 379–381.
Evans, J.L., Homme, L.E., & Glaser, R. RULEG system for constructing programmed verbal learning sequences.Journal of Educational Research, 1962,55, 513–518.
Fagan, R.A functional approach to analyzing treatments in ATI research. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, San Francisco, April 8–12, 1979.
Gagne, R.M.The conditions of learning. New York: Holt, Rinehart, & Winston, 1970.
Gagne, R.M., & Brown, L.T. Some factors in the programming of conceptual learning.Journal of Experimental Psychology, 1961,62, 313–321.
Gehlbach, R.D. Individual differences: Implications for instructional theory, research, and innovation.Educational Research, 1979,8(4), 8–14.
Greene, J.C. Class effects in ATI’s.American Educational Research Association Journal, 1980,17, 291–302.
Greeno, J.G. Cognitive objectives of instruction: Theory of knowledge for solving problems and answering questions. In D. Klahr (Ed.),Cognition and instruction. New York: Wiley, 1976.
Gregg, L.W. Methods and models for task analysis in instructional design. In D. Klahar (Ed.),Cognition and instruction. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Etlbaum Associates, 1976.
Guilford, J.P.The nature of human intelligence. New York: McGraw-Hill, 1967.
Gustafsson, J.E. A note on class effects in aptitude x treatment interactions.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1978,70, 142–146.
Guthrie, J.T. Expository instruction versus a discovery method.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1967,58, 45–49.
Harary, F., Norman, R.Z., & Cartwright, D.Structural models: An introduction to the theory of directed graphs. New York: Wiley, 1965.
Herman, G. Learning by discovery: A critical review of the studies.Journal of Experimental Education, 1969,38, 58–72.
Hickey, P.S. A long range test of the aptitude treatment interaction hypothesis in college level instruction. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Texas at Austin, 1980).Dissertation Abstracts International, 1980,41, 1452A.
Horn, J. Human abilities: A review of research and theory in the early 1970’s.Annual Review of Psychology, 1976,27, 437–485.
Hunt, D.E. Person-environment interaction: A challenge found in waiting before it was tried.Review of Educational Research, 1975,45, 209–230.
Hunt, D.E. & Sullivan, E.V.Between psychology and education. Hinsdale, Ill.: Dryden, 1974.
Janicki, T.C. Aptitude-treatment interaction effects of variations in direct instruction. (Doctoral dissertationg of instruction and the concept of assimilationto-schema.Instructional Science, 1977,6, 369–388.
Mayer, R.E. Twenty years of research on advance organizers: Assimilation theory is still the best predictor of results.Instructional Science, 1979,8, 133–167. (a)
Mayer, R. E. Can advance organizers influence meaningful learning?Review of Educational Research, 1979,49, 371–383.
Mayer, R.E. An evaluation of the elaboration model of instruction from the perspective of assimilation theory.Journal of Instructional Development, 1981,5, 23–26.
McCombs, B.L., & McDaniel, M.A. On the design of adaptive treatments for individualized instructional systems.Educational Psychologist, 1981,16, 11–22.
Merrill, M.D. Content and instructional analysis for cognitive transfer tasks.AV Communication Review, 1973,21, 109–125.
Merrill, M.D. Learner control: Beyond aptitude-treatment interaction.AV Communication Review, 1975,23, 217–226.
Merrill, M.D., Kowallis, T., & Wilson, B.G. Instructional design in transition. In F.H. Farley & N.J. Gordon (Eds.),National Society for the Study of Education Yearbook, in press.
Merrill, M.D., Reigeluth, C.M., & Faust, C.W. The instructional quality profile: A curriculum evaluation and design tool. In H.F. O’Neil (Ed.),Procedures for instructional systems development. New York: Academic, 1979.
Merrill, M.D., Richards, R.E., Schmidt, R.V., & Wood, N.D.The instructional strategy diagnostic profile training manual. San Diego, CA: Courseware, 1977.
Merrill, M.D., & Wood, N.D. Validation of the instructional strategy diagnostic profile (ISDP): Empirical studies, Final report. Navy Personnel Training and Development Center, Report No. NPRDC TR 77-25, 1977.
Merrill, P.F. Hierarchical and information processing task analysis: A comparison.Journal of Instructional Development, 1978,1(2), 25–40.
Messick, S. Personal styles and educational options. In S. Messick & Associates (Eds.),Individuality in learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1976.
Miller, A. Conceptual matching models and interactional research in education.Review of Educational Research, 1981,51, 33–84.
Norman, D.A., Rummelhart, D.E., & the LNR Research Group.Explorations in cognition.San Fransisco, CA:W.H. Freeman & Co., 1975.
Olson, D.R. Notes on a cognitive theory of instruction. InD. Klahr (Ed.),Cognition and instruction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1976.
Olson, D.E., & Bruner, J.S. Learning through experience and learning through media. In D.E. Olson (Ed.),Media and symbols: The forms of expression, communication, and education, 73rd Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education, Pt. 1. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 1974.
Parkhurst, P.E., & McCombs, B.L. Applying the ATI concept in an operational environment.Journal of Instructional Development, 1979,3(1), 33–39.
Pask, G.Computer assisted learning and teaching. Proceedings of a Seminar on Computer-Based Learning Systems, National Council for Educational Technology, Leeds University, London: Councils and Education Press, 1969.
Peterson, P.L. Interactive effects of student anxiety, achievement orientation, and teacher behavior or student achievement and attitude.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1977,69, 779–802.
Peterson, P.L., Janicki, T.C., & Swing, S.R. Aptitude-treatment interaction effects of three social studies teaching approaches.American Educational Research Journal, 1980,17, 339–360.
Piaget, J.Genetic epistemology. New York: Columbia University Press, 1970.
Polanyi, M.Personal Knowledge. Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press, 1958.
Posner, G.J., & Strike, K.A. A categorization scheme for principles of sequencing content.Review of Educational Research, 1976,46, 665–690.
Pothoff, R.F. On the Johnson-Neyman technique and some extensions thereof.Psychometrika, 1964, 29, 241–256.
Reese, H.W., & Overton, W.F. Models of development and theories of development. In L.R. Goulet & P.B. Baltes (Eds.), f2Life-span developmental psychology: Theories and research. New York: Academic Press, 1970.
Reigeluth, C.M. In search of a better way to organize instruction: The elaboration theory.Journal of Instructional Development, 1979,2(3), 8–14.
Reigeluth, C.M., Merrill, M.D., & Bunderson, V. The structure of subject matter content and its instructional design implications.Instructional Science, 1978,7, 107–127.
Reigeluth, C.M., & Merrill, M.D. Classes of instructional variables.Educational Technology, 1979,19(3), 5–24.
Reigeluth, C.M., & Rogers, C.A. The elaboration theory of instruction: Prescriptions for task analysis and design.NSPI Journal, 1980,8(1), 16–26.
Rhetts, J.E. Aptitude-treatment interactions and individualized instruction. In L. Sperry (Ed.),Learning performance and individual differences. Glenview, IL: Scott, Foresman, 1972.
Rhetts, J.E. Task, learner, and treatment variables.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1974,66, 339–347.
Resnick, L.B. Task analysis in instructional design: Some cases from mathematics. In D. Klahr (Ed.),Cognition and instruction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1976.
Ross, S.M., & Rakow, E.A. Adaptive design strategies for the teachermanaged course.Journal of Instructional Psychology, 1980,7, 13–19.
Rummelhart, D.E., & Ortony, A. The representation of knowledge in memory. In R.C. Anderson, R.J. Spiro & W.E. Montague (Eds.),Schooling and the acquisition of knowledge. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977.
Rummelhart, D.E., & Norman, D.A. Accretion, tuning, and restructuring: Three modes of learning. In R. Klatsky & J.W. Cotton (Eds.),Semantic factors in cognition, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1978.
Salomon, G. Heuristic models for the generation of aptitude-treatment interaction hypotheses.Review of Educational Research, 1972,42, 327–343.
Salomon, G. Internalization of filmic schematic operations in interaction with learners’ aptitudes.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1974,66, 513–518.
Salomon, G. Cognitive approach to media.Educational Technology, 1976,16(5), 25–28.
Salomon, G. The language of media and the cultivation of mental skills. Report submitted to the Spencer Foundation. Jerusalem, Israel: Hebrew University, June, 1977. (ED 145 808).
Salomon, G.Interaction of media, cognition, and learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass, 1979.
Schmitt, J.B. The interactive effects of selected personality variables and a fixed treatment in two content areas on an analytical reasoning task (Doctoral dissertation, University of Southern California, 1980).Dissertation Abstracts International, 1980,41, 1555–1556A.
Schwen, T.M. Learner analysis: Some process and content concerns.AV Communication Review, 1973,21, 44–72.
Seidel, R.J. Research on instructional decision models. Final report. Alexandria, VA: Human Resources Research Organization, 1973. National Science Foundation grant NSF-65-774.
Serlin, R.C., & Levin, J. Identifying regions of significance in aptitude-by-treatment interaction research.American Educational Research Journal, 1980,17, 389–399.
Shapiro, K.R. An overview of problems encountered in aptitude-treatment interaction research for instruction.AV Communication Review, 1975,23, 227–241.
Shavelson, R. Some aspects of the correspondence between content structure and cognitive structure in physics instruction.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1972,63, 225–234.
Shuell, T.J. Learning theory, instructional theory, and adaption. In R.E. Snow, P. Federico & W.E. Montague (Eds.),Aptitude, learning, and instruction. Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1980.
Snow, R.E. Individual differences and instructional theory.Educational Researcher, 1977,6, 11–15. (a)
Snow, R.E. Research on aptitudes: A progress report. In L.S. Shulman (Ed.),Review of Research in Education, Vol. 4. Itesta, IL: Peacock, 1977. (b)
Snow, R.E. Individual differences and instructional design.Journal of Instructional Development, 1977,1(1), 23–26.
Snow, R.E. Theory and method for research on aptitude processes.Intelligence, 1978,2, 225–278.
Snow, R.E. Aptitude and achievement.New Directions for Testing and Measurement, 1980,5, 39–59. (a)
Snow, R.E. Aptitude, learner control, and adaptive instruction.Educational Psychologist, 1980,15, 151–158. (b)
Snow, R.E., & Salomon, G. Aptitudes and instructional media.AV Communication Review, 1968,16, 341–357.
Sternberg, R.J. Intelligence, information processing, and analogical reasoning. Hillsdale, Ill,: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977.
Sternberg, R.J. Toward a unified componential theory of human reasoning. Tech. Rep. No. 4, New Hunter, CT.: Department of Psychology, Yale University, 1978. (Ed 154 421)
Sternberg, R.J., & Weil, E.M. Aptitude x strategy interaction in linear syllogistic reasoning.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1980,72, 226–239.
Tallmadge, G.K., Shearer, J.W., & Greenberg, A.M.Study of training equipment and individual differences: The effects of subject matter variables. (Tech. Rep. NAV-TRADENCEN 67-C-0114-1) Palo Alto, Ca.: American Institutes for Research in the Behavioral Sciences, May, 1968.
Task Force on ID Certification. Competencies for the instructional/trainng development professional.Journal of Instructional Development, 1981, 4(4), 14–15.
Tennyson, C.C., Tennyson, R.D., & Rothen, W. Content structure and instructional control strategies as design variables in concept acquisition.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1980,72, 499–505.
Tennyson, R.D. Instructional control strategies and content structure as design variables in concept acquisition using computer-based instruction.Journal of Educational Psychology, 1980,72, 506–512.
Tobias, S. Achievement-treatment interactions. Review of Educational Research, 1976,46, 61–74.
Tobias, S. Anxiety-treatment interactions: A review of the research. In J. Sieber, H.F. O’Neil, & S. Tobias (Eds.),Anxiety, learning, and instruction. Hillsdale, N.J.: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, 1977.
Tobias, S. Adapting instruction to individual differences among students.Educational Psychologist, 1981,16, 111–120.
Wildman, T.M. Cognitive theory and the design of instruction.Educational Technology, 1981,21(7), 14–20.
Wildman, T.M., & Burton, J.K. Integrating learning theory with instructional design.Journal of Instructional Development, 1981,4(3), 5–14.
Winn, W. Content structure and cognition in instructional systems. Paper presented at the Annual Convention of Association for Educational Communications and Technology, Kansas City, April, 1978. (ED 151 315)
Worthen, B.R. Discovery and expository task presentation in elementary mathematics.Journal of Educational Psychology and Monograph Supplement, 1968,58, (1, Part 2).
Yallow, E. Individual differences in learning from verbal and figural materials (unpublished doctoral dissertation, Stanford University).Dissertation Abstracts International, 1980,41, 609A.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Jonassen, D.H. Aptitude- versus content-treatment interactions. Journal of Instructional Development 5, 15–27 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02905228
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02905228