Text-based Learning vs . Learning with Computer Simulations : Does Gender Matter ?

Investigating multimedia learning has a long tradition and we can refer to a large body of empirical results. Gender-based differences and further individual factors, however, have not been considered as moderating variables to a large extent. The current article presents some preliminary results of a large-scale study aiming at investigating the efficacy and efficiency of multimedia learning objects for the use in higher medical education. The experiment described here compared text-based learning of blood flow effects with simulation-based learning. Interestingly, the results show that males as well as females could use both types of learning objects equally well and that they did not differ in learning styles and strategies. However, the results yielded very distinct differences in the impact of different learning strategies on learning performance.