WHAT DOES THE COMPUTER CONTRIBUTE TO LEARNING

This paper describes a study conducted with Stat Lady, a computer-base d approach to teaching and learning the rules of PROBABILITY, based on the postulate that learning is a constructive process, fostered by an experiential learning environment that is anchored in real-world prob lems. This study compared learning from Stat Lady vs learning from a p aper-and-pencil Workbook version of the identical curriculum, and addr essed the question: ''What does the computer contribute to learning?'' Findings showed that Stat Lady learners performed at least as well (a nd in some cases, much better) on the outcome tests compared to the Wo rkbook group. Specifically, we found that (a) Stat Lady was clearly th e superior environment for high-aptitude subjects, (b) Stat Lady subje cts acquired significantly more declarative knowledge than the Workboo k subjects, and (c) regardless of aptitude, the majority of learners f ound the Stat Lady condition to be significantly more enjoyable and he lpful than the Workbook condition. Implications for the design of inst ructional systems and further research are offered.