Toward contextual sensitivity: approaches to end user instruction in the USA

The evolution of online instruction in the United States has been characterized by increasing sensitivity to the experiential contexts of end users. Two conceptual teaching models are described which recognize and extend end users' existent knowledge. The database model and the network model facilitate end users' interrogation of information retrieval (IR) systems through representation of systems' internal structures and functional outcomes. Evaluation results have shown that these instructional approaches cultivate end‐ users' development of mental models which enable them to make appropriate inferences and predictions during online decision making.