The Moderating Effect of Prior Knowledge on Higher Order Thinking Skills in the Interactive Multimedia Learning Environment

This study aims to identify the moderating effect of prior knowledge on the achievement of form four Biology students (aged 16 years) in Malaysia in higher order thinking skills, classifying skills, comparing and contrasting skills and problem solving skills. To this end, a quasi?experimental design was used. The sample consists of 181 respondents where 90 respondents were assigned to the experimental group and 91 respondents comprised the control group. The respondents were selected by a four-stage cluster sampling. The experimental group was subjected to learn Nutrition through an interactive multimedia courseware named Nutri-Score, whereas the control group learnt the topic traditionally. Pre-test and post-test consisting of one short item question and three essay questions based on Rubrics for Specific Tasks or Situations from Marzano Model were designed to measure the respondents' achievement. Findings revealed a positive effect on the experimental group's achievement in higher order thinking skills, classifying skills, comparing and contrasting skills but not in problem solving skills. Moreover, learners with high and average prior knowledge showed a higher improvement in academic achievements compared to those with low prior knowledge. This result contradicts to the assumption of the cognitive theory of multimedia learning that learners with low prior knowledge would benefit from its principles more than learners with high prior knowledge.