Considerable research has examined the effects of
giving trainees control over their learning (Steinberg, 1977, 1989; Williams,
1993). The most consistent finding of
this research has been that trainees do not make good instructional use of the
control they are given. Yet, today’s
technologically based training systems often provide individuals with
significant control over their learning (Brown, 2001). This creates a dilemma that must be addressed
if technology is going to be used to create more effective training systems. The current study extended past research that
has examined the effects of providing trainees with some form of advisement or
guidance in addition to learner control and examined the impact of an
instructional strategy, adaptive guidance, on learning and performance in a
complex training environment. Overall,
it was found that adaptive guidance had a substantial effect on the nature of
trainees’ study and practice, self-regulation, knowledge acquired, and
performance.