Investigating the effects of cognitive style on blended museum learning

Abstract

Museums provide an ideal inquiry learning environment with fruitful learning resources for diverse learners. With digital applications in museums, there is a need to consider the influences of the museum context in the service design to avoid negative effects on museum learning. Besides, there is a need to provide proper learning supports to satisfy the different needs of diverse learners. In order to effectively support diverse learners learning, cognitive style has been the focus due to the significant effects on learning with digital applications. However, as there are limited studies on understanding the effects of cognitive style on museum learning, this study developed a game-based learning service to engage learners in interacting with museum exhibits and other people in a blended museum learning context. The learners’ learning experiences were examined to evaluate the service design, and an independent t-test was used to identify the differences between learners with different cognitive styles, i.e., the Field dependent (FD) and Field independent (FI). The results show that FI and FD learners have different preferences concerning service design during their visits. Besides, the unmatched service design may influence FI learners better than it would FD learners