Offering and discovering domain information in simulation-based inquiry learning

The present study investigated how presenting domain information influences scientific reasoning and knowledge acquisition in low prior knowledge students. Fifty-five college freshmen received an inquiry task in an unfamiliar domain and were randomly assigned to a condition in which domain information was available before and during the task, before the task, or not at all. Students in the first two conditions exhibited more hypothesis-driven behavior and acquired more knowledge than students without access to domain information. The comparison among the two conditions with domain information yielded similar results in favor of the before and during condition. Together these findings confirm the predicted superiority of the before-plus-during format.