INTERRELATIONSHIP OF KNOWLEDGE, INTEREST, AND RECALL - ASSESSING A MODEL OF DOMAIN LEARNING

Two experiments examined the interrelationship of subject-matter knowl edge, interest, and recall in the field of human immunology/human biol ogy and assessed cross-domain performance in the field of physics. Fra med by a stage model of domain learning, cluster-analytic methods were used to group individuals on the basis of their performance on cognit ive and affective measures in immunology. Resulting cluster profiles w ere compared with predictions expected from the stage model. Performan ce for students in these clusters was compared with their performance on similar measures in the field of physics. in Experiment 1, 30 preme dical students and 17 graduate students in educational psychology serv ed as participants. Results revealed 3 unique clusters of students tha t tended to conform to predictions of the domain learning model. Indiv iduals' knowledge, interest, and recall of immunology generally parall eled their performance in the domain of physics. Experiment 2 sought t o test and extend the findings of the initial experiment. Participants were 78 undergraduate students in education. Although 4 clusters emer ged, patterns in knowledge, interest, and recall were similar to those revealed in Experiment 1.