Fan, W. (2012, April 24). An experimental comparison of the flexibility in the use of thinking styles in traditional and hypermedia learning environments. Thinking Skills and Creativity. Advance online publication. doi: 10.1016/j.tsc.2012.04.007.

The objective of the instructional experiment was to examine if the use of thinking styles is flexible in traditional and hypermedia learning environments, and if a hypermedia learning environment possesses obvious advantages than a traditional environment in adapting to students with different thinking styles. The participant university students from Shanghai, P.R. China took the General Psychology course taught by one psychology teacher. One hundred and seven science students and one hundred and thirty-one social science students were assigned into traditional and hypermedia instructional groups, respectively. The results indicated that the use of the hierarchical, executive, conservative, and monarchic styles was increased, while the use of the local style was decreased due to the traditional instructional environment. The use of the judicial and liberal styles was increased, while the use of the legislative style was weakened due to the hypermedia environment. Moreover, significant effects of discipline differences in the use of particular thinking styles were found in the traditional instructional environment. Specifically, within the context of traditional learning environments, the use of the hierarchical style increased among the science students, while the use of the local style decreased among the social science students. The study did not support the view that a hypermedia learning environment is clearly better than a traditional environment in accommodating students with different thinking styles. Implications for learning and teaching are discussed.