Cognitive Flexibility and Hypertext: Theory and Technology for the Nonlinear and Multidimensional Traversal of Complex Subject Matter

Traditional methods of instruction rely on linear media (e.g., textbooks and lectures). Linearity of media is not a problem when the subject matter being taught is well structured and fairly simple. However, as content increases in complexity and ill-structuredness, increasingly greater amounts of important information are lost with linear approaches and the unidimenionality of organization that typically accompanies them. The advent of random access computer technologies makes practicable new forms of nonlinear and multidimensional learning and instruction that are better suited to conveying complex content. For example, it becomes a straightforward matter to revisit the same content material in a variety of different contexts, with each visit bringing out additional aspects of that content's complexity that are missed in the single pass of linear coverage. We use the expression random access instruction to refer to a cluster of fundamental issues brought into play by nonlinear learning with random access media. This chapter discusses a unified theoretical approach to those fundamental issues, an approach that provides a foundation of principles to guide random access instruction.