The Effects of Individualism Vs. Collectivism on Learner's Recall, Transfer and Attitudes Toward Collaboration and Individualized Learning

This study examined the differences in achievement between groups exhibiting different cultural dimensions in a particular online instructional environment. Variables were measured concerning the relationship between instructional environments, cultural dimensions and online learner preference. The subjects of this study were a representative sample of groups of graduate students from different cultures. The instrument was composed of a treatment that was represented across two instructional environments. A web-based tool measured participant’s cultural dimension, recall, transfer of knowledge and learning preference. A 2 x 2 x 2 ANOVA analysis method was used to examine the effects of individualism and collectivism on learner preference and achievement (recall, transfer). Significance in transfer measures was found. This indicated deep understanding of materials for collectivist participants. Correlational analysis revealed significance between cultural dimension and learner preference for instructional methods. Findings were consistent with the body of literature on crosscultural psychology. Forrest E. McFeeters Doctorate Candidate Dr. Glen A. Holmes May 23, 2003

[1]  A. Bandura Self-Efficacy: The Exercise of Control , 1997, Journal of Cognitive Psychotherapy.

[2]  Chi-yue Chiu,et al.  Component ideas of individualism, collectivism, and social organization: An application in the study of Chinese culture. , 1994 .

[3]  Cynthia Weston,et al.  Selecting Instructional Strategies , 1986 .

[4]  G. Hofstede Culture′s Consequences: Comparing Values, Behaviors, Institutions and Organizations Across Nations , 2001 .

[5]  Lauren Cifuentes,et al.  Promoting multicultural understanding and positive self-concept through a distance learning community: Cultural connections , 2000 .

[6]  Richard E. Mayer,et al.  Multimedia Learning , 2001, Visible Learning Guide to Student Achievement.

[7]  R. Bruning Cognitive Psychology and Instruction , 1998 .

[8]  J. B. Stull,et al.  Hofstede's Dimensions of Culture as Measurements of Student Ethnocentrism: A Quasi-Experimental Study. , 1995 .

[9]  M. E. Shaw Group dynamics : the psychology of small group behavior , 1971 .

[10]  One tale of why and how to teach and learn online internationally , 2001 .

[11]  C. Halse,et al.  Cross cultural perspectives of teachers: a study in three countries , 2000 .

[12]  Jacob Eisenberg How Individualism-Collectivism Moderates the Effects of Rewards on Creativity and Innovation: A Comparative Review of Practices in Japan and the US , 1999 .

[13]  Darcy Walsh Hardy,et al.  Learner Development: Beyond the Technology. , 1997 .

[14]  E. Tedla Sankofa: African Thought and Education , 1995 .

[15]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Instructional design models for well-structured and III-structured problem-solving learning outcomes , 1997 .

[16]  D. DeBry,et al.  Globalizing instructional materials: , 2001 .

[17]  W. Komba Choices in Liberal and Non‐liberal Political and Educational Thought , 1998 .

[18]  Glen A. Holmes,et al.  Culture as a Decision Variable for Designing Computer Software , 1997 .

[19]  Peggy A. Ertmer,et al.  Behaviorism, Cognitivism, Constructivism: Comparing Critical Features From an Instructional Design Perspective , 2008 .

[20]  Tonya L Smith-Jackson,et al.  Cultural Ergonomics in Ghana, West Africa: A Descriptive Survey of Industry and Trade Workers’ Interpretations of Safety Symbols , 2002, International journal of occupational safety and ergonomics : JOSE.

[21]  Leslie J. Briggs,et al.  Principles of Instructional Design , 1974 .

[22]  G. Hofstede,et al.  Cultures and Organizations: Software of the Mind , 1991 .

[23]  M. Driscoll Psychology of Learning for Instruction , 1993 .

[24]  B. Willis Distance education : strategies and tools , 1994 .

[25]  Rebecca L. Oxford,et al.  A Factor Analytic Study of Language-Learning Strategy Use: Interpretations from Information-Processing Theory and Social Psychology. , 1993 .

[26]  Stephen Bostock,et al.  Constructivism in Mass Higher Education: a Case Study , 1998, Br. J. Educ. Technol..

[27]  Donald L. Rubin,et al.  Evaluating the Impact of Collectivism and Individualism on Argumentative Writing by Chinese and North American College Students , 2000, Research in the Teaching of English.

[28]  G. Salomon Distributed cognitions : psychological and educational considerations , 1997 .

[29]  M. Gelfand,et al.  Converging measurement of horizontal and vertical individualism and collectivism , 1998 .

[30]  Angela Y. Lee,et al.  “I” Value Freedom, but “We” Value Relationships: Self-Construal Priming Mirrors Cultural Differences in Judgment , 1999 .

[31]  Eva Dobozy,et al.  Psychology Applied to Teaching , 1971 .

[32]  Aaron Schutz,et al.  John Dewey's Conundrum: Can Democratic Schools Empower? , 2001, Teachers College Record: The Voice of Scholarship in Education.

[33]  Stephen C. Ehrmann,et al.  Emerging Models of Online Collaborative Learning: Can Distance Enhance Quality?. , 2001 .

[34]  Robert M. Gagné,et al.  Essentials of Learning for Instruction , 1988 .

[35]  David Moshman,et al.  Exogenous, endogenous, and dialectical constructivism☆ , 1982 .

[36]  R. Mayer,et al.  When learning is just a click away: Does simple user interaction foster deeper understanding of multimedia messages? , 2001 .

[37]  Kevin Oliver,et al.  Methods for Developing Constructivist Learning on the Web. , 2000 .

[38]  D. Campbell,et al.  EXPERIMENTAL AND QUASI-EXPERIMENT Al DESIGNS FOR RESEARCH , 2012 .

[39]  Dharm P. S. Bhawuk,et al.  Evolution of culture assimilators , 2001 .

[40]  E. Aronson The Jigsaw Classroom , 1978 .

[41]  Arthur L. Blumenthal,et al.  The process of cognition , 1977 .

[42]  Barbara Lewis,et al.  A constructivist model of an online course , 2001 .

[43]  Barbara L. McCombs,et al.  The role of the self-system in self-regulated learning , 1986 .

[44]  Sara Cotterall,et al.  Key variables in language learning: what do learners believe about them? , 1999 .

[45]  Rebecca L. Oxford,et al.  Vive la Différence? Reflections on Sex Differences in Use of Language Learning Strategies , 1988 .

[46]  Robin Lee Harris Freedman Open-ended questioning : a handbook for educators , 1994 .

[47]  James M. Jones,et al.  Racism: A cultural analysis of the problem. , 1986 .

[48]  Richard Bothel Bringing It All Together , 2001 .

[49]  H. Triandis,et al.  Intercultural education for multicultural societies , 1985 .

[50]  David H. Jonassen,et al.  Constructivism: Implications for the Design and Delivery of Instruction , 1996 .

[51]  Jacob Cohen,et al.  A power primer. , 1992, Psychological bulletin.

[52]  R. Prawat,et al.  Philosophical perspectives on constructivist views of learning , 1994 .

[53]  Annemarie S. Palincsar,et al.  Social constructivist perspectives on teaching and learning. , 1998, Annual review of psychology.

[54]  Janet Walsh,et al.  The decline of collectivism? A comparative study of white-collar employees in Britain and Australia , 1999 .

[55]  J. Bruner Actual minds, possible worlds , 1985 .

[56]  Gail Hughes-Wiener The “learning how to learn” approach to cross-cultural orientation , 1986 .

[57]  H. Triandis The Psychological Measurement of Cultural Syndromes. , 1996 .

[58]  Albert L. Ingram,et al.  Online Collaboration: Making It Work. , 2002 .

[59]  J. Burton,et al.  Behaviorism and Instructional Technology. , 2004 .

[60]  H. Triandis Individualism And Collectivism , 1995 .

[61]  Peter Smith Association of Small Computer Users in Education: Proceedings of the ASCUE Summer Conference (32nd, North Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, June 13-17, 1999). , 1998 .

[62]  Paul D Jeanne Ellis Ormrod Leedy,et al.  Practical Research: Planning and Design , 1974 .

[63]  H. Sullivan,et al.  Student performance and attitudes using personalized mathematics instruction , 2002 .

[64]  G. Hofstede Cultural differences in teaching and learning , 1986 .

[65]  H. G. Schaeffer,et al.  Book Reviews : Computer Methods for Mathematical Computations: G.E. Forsythe et al. Englewood Cliffs, NJ, Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1977 , 1979 .

[66]  Herbert A. Simon,et al.  The Sciences of the Artificial , 1970 .

[67]  C. Hui Measurement of individualism-collectivism , 1988 .

[68]  C. Brainerd Recent Advances in Cognitive-Developmental Theory , 1983 .

[69]  Nae-Dong Yang,et al.  The relationship between EFL learners' beliefs and learning strategy use , 1999 .

[70]  M. Streibel The Importance of Physical Place and Lived Topographies , 1998 .

[71]  Thomas A. Pollack Preparing a Course for Distance Education Delivery. , 1998 .

[72]  B. Waldrip,et al.  Cultural Learning Environment: Validity and Application of a Questionnaire. , 1997 .

[73]  J. Bransford How people learn , 2000 .

[74]  Michael Simonson Evaluating Teaching and Learning at a Distance , 1997 .

[75]  S. Schwartz Individualism-Collectivism , 1990 .

[76]  Guglielmo Trentin,et al.  The Quality-Interactivity Relationship in Distance Education. , 2000 .

[77]  B. Wilson Constructivist Learning Environments: Case Studies in Instructional Design , 1995 .

[78]  C. Peklaj,et al.  Effects of cooperative versus individualistic learning on cognitive, affective, metacognitive and social processes in students , 1999 .

[79]  Konrad Morgan Cross-Cultural Considerations for Simulation-Based Learning Environments , 2000 .

[80]  Lauren Cifuentes,et al.  Using web tools, collaborating, and learning online , 2001 .

[81]  J. M. Ewing,et al.  Learning using the World Wide Web: a collaborative learning event , 1999 .

[82]  H. Triandis Individualism-collectivism and personality. , 2001, Journal of personality.

[83]  A. Collins,et al.  Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning , 1989 .

[84]  Schahram Dustdar,et al.  Videoconferencing across cultures — a conceptual framework for floor control issues , 1999, J. Inf. Technol..

[85]  P. Lachenbruch Statistical Power Analysis for the Behavioral Sciences (2nd ed.) , 1989 .

[86]  H. Markus,et al.  Culture and the self: Implications for cognition, emotion, and motivation. , 1991 .