认知风格对情境感知泛在学习成效的影响——以国小蝴蝶生态教学为例

新技术的快速发展促进了情境感知泛在学习的进展。情境感知泛在学习利用移动、无线通讯技术和传感技术检测真实世界中学习者的学习行为并给他们提供直接的、个性化的学习支持。但是,是否每一个学生都能受益于这样一种新型的泛在学习形式仍然受到人们的质疑并成为一个值得进一步讨论的问题。同时,认知风格经常被教育者认为是在新的学习环境中影响学生学习效能的一个重要因素。作者试图通过在一个情境感知的移动学习环境中开展蝴蝶辨别的学习活动来研究学习者不同的学习风格之间的差异。     

Effects of the inquiry-based mobile learning model on the cognitive load and learning achievement of students

The advancement of mobile device and wireless communication technologies is having a great influence on the design concept of learning activities. In this study, we attempt to integrate field study into the inquiry-based mobile learning model; moreover, a mobile learning environment that allows students to access both physical and virtual resources is developed accordingly. During the in-field learning activity, the mobile learning system is able to present the learning tasks, guide the students to visit the real-world learning targets for exploration, and provide them with supplementary materials via the mobile devices. The aim of this research focuses on the effects of this mobile learning model on students' cognitive load and learning achievements. The 51 sixth graders who participated in this research were assigned to an experimental and a control group. From the pre and posttests as well as the cognitive load questionnaire, it was found that the students who learned with the inquiry-based mobile learning approach had better learning achievement and less cognitive load than those who learned with the traditional approach. Therefore, it is concluded that the mobile learning model has positive effects on elementary students in local culture learning.     

Facilitating deep-strategy behaviors and positive learning performances in science inquiry activities with a 3D experiential gaming approach

ABSTRACT

Facilitating students’ deep-strategy behaviors and positive learning performances of science inquiry is an important and challenging educational issue. In this study, a contextual science inquiry approach is proposed for developing a 3D experiential game to cope with this problem. To evaluate the impacts of the game on students’ science learning approaches, learning achievements and problem-solving awareness as well as the learning behavioral patterns of the students with different learning achievements, a quasi-experiment was conducted in an elementary school geoscience course. The participants were two classes of sixth graders. One class was the experimental group who learned with the 3D experiential game, and the other was the control group who learned with the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. The experimental results showed that the students learning with the 3D experiential gaming system showed better learning achievements, problem-solving tendency, deep learning strategies, and deep learning motive than those who learned with the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. Moreover, the higher-achievement students showed more behavioral patterns of deep learning strategies than the lower-achievement students. The findings of this study provide a good reference for helping lower-achievement students improve their learning performance.     

The effects of instructional methods on students' learning outcomes requiring different cognitive abilities: context-aware ubiquitous learning versus traditional instruction

The purpose of this study was to explore the effects of the context-aware ubiquitous learning (u-learning) approach versus traditional instruction on students' ability to answer questions that required different cognitive skills, using the framework of Bloom's taxonomy of educational objectives, including knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis. In this study, 230 third- and fourth-grade students in 8 classes were counterbalanced and assigned to the u-learning approach and traditional instruction for learning different topics in two separate plant-observing activities. The results showed that the students who learned with traditional instruction performed better than those who used the u-learning approach in terms of answering questions that required their cognitive abilities of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, and synthesis. Moreover, an in-depth analysis of the students' learning behaviors in the u-learning context revealed that most of their learning behaviors recorded in the u-learning system were not significantly related to their cognitive abilities.     

A microworld-based role-playing game development approach to engaging students in interactive,enjoyable, and effective mathematics learning

In traditional teacher-centered mathematics instruction, students might show low learning motivation owing to the lack of applied contexts. Game-based learning has been recognized as a potential approach to addressing this issue; however, without proper alignment between the gaming and math-applied contexts, the benefits of game-based learning could be limited. Therefore, this study aims to develop a microworld-based educational game, which provides simulated contexts encouraging students to explore, discover, and solve practical problems using the mathematics knowledge gained in the class. A quasi-experimental design was implemented in the learning activity of the “Speedy World” unit in an elementary school mathematics course to examine the effectiveness of the proposed approach. A total of 107 sixth graders participated in the experiment. The experimental results showed that the students who learned with the microworld-based gaming approach had better learning achievement and motivation in the mathematics course than those who learned with the conventional technology-enhanced learning approach. In addition, the students also showed that they highly accepted the microworld-based game for learning mathematics. The findings of this study provide good evidence for the importance and necessity of associating authentic applied contexts with gaming contexts in developing computer educational games for mathematics.     

When is the best time to use rubrics in flipped learning? A study on students’ learning achievement,metacognitive awareness,and cognitive load

ABSTRACT

Rubrics can guide teachers to provide effective feedback and students’ peer- and self-assessment. This paper examines the effect of rubric use in flipped learning activities on students’ learning achievement, metacognitive awareness, and cognitive load through a quasi-experiment. A total of 83 university students were randomly assigned to an experimental group or a control group. The students in the experimental group were given rubrics in performing pre-class learning activities on the cloud platform, while those in the control group used rubrics in post-class assessment and modification of their finished works. The results show that rubric use can assist flipped learning by improving students’ learning achievement and metacognitive awareness, while reducing their cognitive load. Using rubrics before in-class work can yield stronger benefits in raising metacognitive awareness and lessening cognitive load. Moreover, the study reveals that students tend to hold a generally favorable attitude toward rubric use. These findings imply that appropriate use of rubrics in flipped learning has the potential to create a more efficient and learner-friendly condition to enhance self-regulated learning.     

Influence of an integrated learning diagnosis and formative assessment-based personalized web learning approach on students learning performances and perceptions

The advancement of computer and communication technologies has enabled students to learn across various real-world contexts with supports from the learning system. In the meantime, researchers have emphasized the necessity of providing personalized learning guidance or support by considering individual students’ status and needs in order to improve their learning performance. Based on this perspective, this study proposes a formative assessment-based approach for improving the learning performance of students in a personalized learning environment. An integrated learning diagnosis and formative assessment-based personalized web learning system was developed based on this approach. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed approach, an experiment was conducted in an elementary school mathematics course in Thailand. The experimental results showed that (1) the students learning with the proposed system revealed significantly better learning achievement and learning perceptions than those learning with the conventional learning system and (2) students’ learning perceptions of the system had significant relationships with their learning achievement.     

Investigation of the impact of two verbal instruction formats and prior knowledge on student learning in a simulation-based learning environment

This study investigated how the format of verbal instructions in computer simulations and prior knowledge (PK) affected 8th graders' cognitive load (CL) level and achievement in a multimedia learning environment. Although PK was not found to significantly affect student performance and CL level, instruction format was found to impact both. Students who used narrative simulations were found to have a greater CL but also to perform better than those using simulations with on-screen text instructions. However, no significant differences were found between the cognitive efficiency of the two groups. The difficulty of the subject matter and limitations in students' prior content-related knowledge may have increased the intrinsic CL, such that students had difficulty in interpreting the content even if their PK was relatively high. The narrative instructions were more likely than the on-screen text information to reduce the extraneous CL and promote understanding of content. A new measure of cognitive processing is needed to identify the types of CL involved in e-learning and determine the properties of adequate e-learning materials. Finally, the findings of the study are discussed and suggestions for future studies and instructional design are provided.     

Using an interactive ubiquitous learning system to enhance authentic learning experiences in a cultural heritage course

This paper proposes a novel interactive ubiquitous learning system (IULS) for authentically teaching a cultural heritage course and imparting relevant concepts to students. Experimental results demonstrated that learning performance was significantly improved after students used the IULS. This study also demonstrated that students using the IULS achieved superior results to those achieved using conventional teaching models. No gender bias affecting the performance of students in the experimental group was observed because each student consistently performed to a higher standard on the learning tasks compared with students in the control group, particularly in learning comprehension-related content. The IULS was more effective in enhancing the overall learning performance of students exhibiting different cognitive styles in liberal arts education courses. Furthermore, the results of a survey on Instructional Materials Motivation Survey revealed that Relevance was the most highly rated motivational factor among students who used the IULS, suggesting that students were motivated to use the IULS. Thus, we believe that a liberal arts education supplemented with the IULS yields a significant learning advantage for students by improving overall learning performance and motivation.     

Intelligent design: student perceptions of teaching and learning in large social work classes

Research into the effects of large classes demonstrates that students are disadvantaged in terms of higher order learning because interactions between teachers and students occur at lower cognitive levels. This has significance for social work education, with its emphasis on the development of critical thinking and problem solving, both higher order cognitive skills. This paper reports on quantitative and qualitative research that explored social work students’ perceptions of different teaching and learning strategies in a large mental health course designed with reference to principles of student‐centred learning and constructive alignment. Findings revealed that well‐integrated design, relevance to the real world and teacher enthusiasm were seen as most useful by students, rather than particular learning strategies per se. Higher satisfaction ratings and grades were also associated with this student‐centred course compared with an earlier traditional lecture‐style course. The paper concludes that design based on the interplay between diverse learning activities, including lecture input, strengthened the student‐centred orientation of learning and recommends further research that compares learning outcomes associated with these contrasting approaches to professional education.     

Feasibility analysis of improving on-campus learning paths via a depth sensor

This research aims to apply a depth sensor to create a human-body-sensing context for outdoor learning paths; it is conducted by incorporating both quasi-experiment and survey to compare students’ cognitive learning outcome within the context and understand students’ attitudes toward the context created. The result of ANCOVA indicates that the context of an introductory film activated by the depth sensor produces better cognitive learning outcome. Furthermore, the survey of students’ attitudes also shows positive attitudes from both experimental and control groups toward the additional use of a human-body-sensing system activated by the depth sensor. The experimental results show the depth sensor can be used to improve conventional learning paths, i.e. with information boards only, for it enables students to participate in wireless sensing learning with their hands free from holding any device.     

基于学习认知地图的开放学习者模型研究

学习者模型是自适应学习系统的重要组成部分,然而传统的学习者模型往往是封闭的,学习者无法知晓模型的具体内容。文章从学习者模型内容开放的视角,设计了能够表征学习者认知状态和知识结构并推送学习路径与学习同伴的开放学习者模型——学习认知地图。基于学习元平台,文章从认知状态评测、知识结构计算和可视化呈现三个方面对学习认知地图的构建过程进行了阐述。之后,文章将构建的学习认知地图应用于中学信息技术课堂,实践结果表明:学习认知地图能够提升学生的学习态度,同时学生对具有学习认知地图支持的在线学习方式满意度更高。文章设计并检验了作为一种开放学习者模型实践样态的学习认知地图的效果,以期为开放学习者模型的进一步研究提供参考。     

Does the design of learning outcomes matter from students’ perspective?

Learning outcomes have gained more attention in the development of higher education course unit programmes. This study sought to understand how the design of learning outcomes relates to students’ perceptions of their motivation, satisfaction, engagement and achievement of the learning outcomes. The learning outcomes from 78 course units were coded to reflect the level of cognitive demand according to Bloom’s Taxonomy and the attended students (n = 1329) were surveyed regarding their perceptions of their achievement of the learning outcomes. The results indicated that the lowest four levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy were most commonly used in the design of learning outcomes, the highest level was not used at all. The levels of learning outcomes related to students’ perceptions of their achievement of learning outcomes, motivation, satisfaction and engagement. The results demonstrated that students were more likely motivated, satisfied, engaged to achieving learning outcomes, which were designed at higher levels of cognitive demand.     

An augmented reality-based learning approach to enhancing students’ science reading performances from the perspective of the cognitive load theory

Reading has been regarded as a medium for learning science, revealing the importance of enhancing learners’ reading competence in science education. The critical features of science texts are their multiple representations, such as text and visual elements, which assist the representation of science concepts. A multimedia learning environment can present relevant materials in various formats and help students to process the materials in meaningful ways, for example, by integrating learning materials with relevant prior concepts, and organizing them into a consistent and coherent cognitive structure. However, some issues with multimedia instructional design have been proposed, such as students’ cognitive load and learning motivations. In this study, an augmented reality-based science learning system was developed based on the contiguity principle of multimedia learning in order to promote students’ science learning. Moreover, an experiment was conducted on a natural science course in an elementary school to assess the effectiveness of the implemented system on students’ learning. The experimental results display that the students learning with this approach found made significant gains in their learning achievements and motivations compared to those learning science with conventional multimedia science learning; moreover, their perceptions of extraneous cognitive load were significantly reduced during the learning activity.     

Development and evaluation of a context-aware ubiquitous learning environment for astronomy education

In recent years information technology has been integrated into education to produce a series of trends, beginning with “electronic learning” (e-learning), through “mobile learning” (m-learning) and finally to “ubiquitous learning” (u-learning), which aims to improve learner motivation through overcoming the conventional limitations of time and location. U-learning practices are still being developed, and learners frequently experience difficulty focusing on learning objectives, and effective learning strategy tools are still lacking. This study reports the design of a context-aware astronomy learning system. The system integrates several technologies, including radio frequency identification, wireless communication networks, handheld mobile devices, and databases to help students learn astronomical concepts. Two content modules were developed in the context of natural science education for fifth-grade elementary school students in Taiwan. Indicators of user experience with the system were collected for further phenomenographic analysis, based on four perspectives of the Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology model to assess learner willingness to use this novel u-learning approach. Results show that ease-of-use and the availability of immediate operational or technical support are key factors in increasing learning motivation and performance.     

Personalised context-aware ubiquitous learning system for supporting effective English vocabulary learning

Because learning English is extremely popular in non-native English speaking countries, developing modern assisted-learning schemes that facilitate effective English learning is a critical issue in English-language education. Vocabulary learning is vital within English learning because vocabulary comprises the basic building blocks of English sentences. Therefore, numerous studies have attempted to increase the efficiency and performance of learning English vocabulary. ‘The situational learning approach’ proposed that ‘context’ is an important consideration in the language learning process and can enhance learner learning interest and efficiency. Restated, meaningful vocabulary learning occurs only when the learning process is integrated with social, cultural and life contexts. With the rapid development of context-awareness techniques, the development of context-aware mobile learning systems, which can support learners in learning without constraints of time or place via mobile devices and associate learning activities with real learning environment, enables the conduct of a novel context-aware ubiquitous learning mode to enhance English vocabulary learning. Accordingly, this study proposes a personalised context-aware ubiquitous learning system (PCULS) for learning English vocabulary based on learner location as detected by wireless positioning techniques, learning time, individual English vocabulary abilities and leisure time, enabling learners to adapt their learning content to effectively support English vocabulary learning in a school environment. Experimental results indicated that the accuracy of the employed wireless positioning scheme is over 92%, which is sufficient to help learners detect their locations. Additionally, the PCULS has been successfully implemented on PDA devices in a school environment to support effective situational English vocabulary learning. Experimental result indicates that the learning performance of learners who used personalised English vocabulary learning systems with context awareness (i.e. PCULS) was superior to learners who used personalised English vocabulary learning systems without context awareness.     

The impact of media multitasking on learning

While multitasking is not a new concept, it has received increasing attention in recent years with the development of new media and technologies. Recent trends appear to suggest that multitasking is on the rise among the younger generation. The purpose of the study is to determine if students obtain more or less information in multitasking conditions. We examined the relationships of multitasking to attention, cognitive load and media with 130 college student participants. In this study, participants were given a timed (16 minutes) reading comprehension test in three conditions: Silence (only reading), Background multitasking (reading with a non-tested video shown simultaneously), and Test multitasking (reading with a tested video shown simultaneously) conditions. Our findings indicated that: (1) participants in the Background condition performed as well as those in the Silence condition, and (2) when participants were tested on their video comprehension, the group in the Test condition performed significantly better than the group in the Background condition. The results of this study suggest that cognitive load plays an important role in determining how much information is retained when students perform more than one task at a time.     

The effects of gender variety and power disparity on group cognitive complexity in collaborative learning groups

This study sets up to test the extent to which gender variety moderates the impact of power disparity on group cognitive complexity (GCC) and satisfaction with the group in a collaborative learning setting. Using insights from gender differences in perceptions, orientations and conflict handling behavior in negotiation, as well as gender differences in exerting social influence in small group settings we hypothesize that gender variety alleviates the negative impact of power disparity on GCC and satisfaction. We test this hypothesis in a sample of 110 student groups and our results show that for high gender variety, power disparity has a small positive effect on GCC, while for low gender variety power disparity has a negative effect on GCC. In a similar vein we show that in gender homogeneous groups, power disparity has a negative association with satisfaction, while for mixed-gender groups the association between the two is not significant. We discuss (1) the implications of these results for the management of diversity in educational and organizational settings and (2) the use of cognitive mapping as a comprehensive evaluation tool for collaborative learning effectiveness.     

Learning residential electrical wiring through computer simulation: The impact of computer‐based learning environments on student achievement and cognitive load

Multimedia learning environments such as computer simulations are widely accepted as tools for supporting science learning. Although the design of multimedia learning environments can be domain specific, few studies have focused on the use of computer simulations for learning residential electrical wiring. This study aimed to determine whether students using computer simulations learned better than traditional classroom learners in the domain of residential wiring. A quasi‐experiment was implemented with 169 high school students. The simulation group participated in a series of computer simulations, whereas the control group received lectures and demonstrations from an instructor. Students' cognitive load as elevated by multimedia leaning tasks was compared with that of students learning using traditional methods. The simulation group learned significantly better and reported higher cognitive load than did the control group. Moreover, the simulation group managed cognitive resources more efficiently on transfer of learning than did the control group. Having more opportunities to interact with a simulation‐based learning environment could result in higher cognitive load. The higher cognitive load seemed to result in better performance on the achievement test and, therefore, the learners' mental effort was possibly invested mainly in meaning making in the virtual learning environments. Discussion of the results, instruments and research design, as well as suggestions for future studies are provided.     

Effects of perceptions of the learning environment and approaches to learning on Chinese undergraduates’ learning

This study examined the relationship between students’ perceptions of the learning environment, high school performance, approaches to learning, and learning outcomes (generic skills development and course satisfaction). A sample of 74,687 undergraduates from 39 full-time regular universities in China responded to a questionnaire comprising four self-constructed scales. The results supported the reliability and validity of the instruments. A structural equation model showed that approaches to learning mediated the relationship between perceptions of the learning environment and learning outcomes. Specifically, deep approach was found to positively predict learning outcomes. Good teaching positively predicted deep and surface approaches, as well as learning outcomes. Student-faculty and peer interactions were strong predictors of learning approaches and learning outcomes. High school performance had weak effects on learning approaches and learning outcomes. These findings highlight the need of developing new instruments for assessing Chinese undergraduate students’ learning and have implications for improving undergraduate teaching in China.