Effects of lecture video styles on engagement and learning

Educational technology research and development - Lecture videos are an integral part of distance education. Much has been done to investigate the effects of lecture video styles, but many of the...     

Effects of online synchronous instruction with an attention monitoring and alarm mechanism on sustained attention and learning performance

Many studies have shown that learners’ sustained attention strongly affects e-learning performance, particularly during online synchronous instruction. This work thus develops a novel attention monitoring and alarm mechanism (AMAM) based on brainwave signals to improve learning performance via monitoring the attention state of individual learners and helping online instructors or teaching assistants to improve the sustained attention levels of learners with low-attention states as they perform online synchronous instruction activities. Totally, 83 and 65 Grade 7 students were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups that respectively underwent online synchronous instruction with and without AMAM support. Analytical results reveal that the experimental group of learners exhibited significantly better learning performance and sustained attention than those in the control group, verifying that the AMAM efficiently promotes the learning performance and sustained attention of learners. Moreover, the proposed AMAM was more helpful in improving the learning performance of female learners than those of male learners and improved the sustained attention of both male and female learners. Furthermore, the sustained attention, frequency of attention alarms, and learning performance of the learners in the experimental group were strongly correlated, and the sustained attention and frequency of attention alarms strongly predicted learning performance.     

Effects of different text display types on reading comprehension,sustained attention and cognitive load in mobile reading contexts

Despite the popularity of mobile reading devices, many studies have indicated that small screens restrict information transmission, adversely affecting reading performance on mobile devices. Moreover, mobile reading typically occurs in different reading contexts. Therefore, suitable text display type for mobile reading in different reading contexts should be considered, such that learners can effectively read content. This work selected the frequently used static and dynamic text display types (i.e. Paging and Auto-scrolling) and assessed their effects on mobile reading performance. Furthermore, the features of static and dynamic text display types were considered when designing a mixed text display type for mobile reading. Based on brainwave detector, reading-comprehension test sheet, and cognitive-load scale, this work designed a mobile reading experiment with a two-factor experimental design to assess the effects of the selected static, dynamic, and designed text display types, which were respectively presented in sitting, standing, and walking contexts, on reading comprehension, sustained attention, and cognitive load of learners. Experimental results show that sitting obtained the highest sustained attention and the mixed text garnered lowest sustained attention. Moreover, although analytical results show that no significant difference existed in overall reading comprehension with each text type presented with the mobile reading contexts, reading comprehension (i.e. memory, comprehension, and application types) was significantly affected by the reading context, and to some degree, the text display type. This work also found that the text display type is a major factor affecting learners' cognitive load; however, learners' cognitive load is not be affected by the considered reading contexts. Among the three text display types, the mixed type generates the highest cognitive load, followed by the dynamic type, and then the static type. In conclusion, the three reading contexts with the three text display types have both advantages and disadvantages for reading comprehension, sustained attention, and cognitive load. As a result, text display type for mobile reading on small screens should be adjusted according to reading context or to improve reading comprehension, attention, or cognitive load.     

Effects of instructor's facial expressions on students' learning with video lectures

This study investigated whether video lectures instructed by a heightened level of expressiveness instructor were better than those instructed by a conventional level of expressiveness instructor or audio-only in promoting students' online learning, and what kind of effects do instructor's facial expressions have on students' learning. Three different types of video lectures (one with a heightened level of expressiveness instructor, one with a conventional level of expressiveness instructor and one with the instructor' audio only) were used to study the effects of instructor's facial expressions. Sixty-nine participants from Chinese Normal University were selected to learn with these video lectures. Results of this study indicated that video lectures with a heightened level of expressiveness instructor were better than those with a conventional level of expressiveness instructor and audio-only ones with regard to improving students' arousal level and learning satisfaction. Instructor's facial expressions had no significant influence on participants' short-term recall (p = .90), while instructor's facial expressions did influence students' medium-term recall (p = .03). Instructor's facial expressions played a key role in students' online learning.     

Impact of class lecture webcasting on attendance and learning

The present study investigated the impact of class lecture webcasts on students’ attendance and learning. The research design employed four data collection methods in two class sections—one with webcast access and another without—of the same course taught by the same instructors. Results indicated the following four major findings. (1) The availability of webcasts negatively impacted student attendance but the availability of other online resources such as PowerPoint slides had a greater negative impact on attendance. (2) Webcast access appeared to nullify the negative effects absenteeism had on student performance. (3) For most performance measures based on lecture content, more webcast viewing was associated with higher performance. (4) Most students in the webcast section reported positive learning experiences and benefits from using webcasts, even though a majority also reported using webcasts for missing a class. In summary, these results collectively suggest that webcasts could have positive effects on students’ learning experiences and performance, even if class attendance does decline.     

Effects of segmenting,signalling, and weeding on learning from educational video

Informed by the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, this study examined the effects of three multimedia design principles on undergraduate students' learning outcomes and perceived learning difficulty in the context of learning entomology from an educational video. These principles included segmenting the video into smaller units, signalling to direct students' attention to relevant information, and weeding to remove any non-essential content (SSW). It was hypothesized that the SSW treatment would decrease perceived learning difficulty and facilitate the transfer of knowledge and the structural knowledge acquisition. Results of the study demonstrate that participants in the SSW group outperformed the non-SSW group on the tests of knowledge transfer and structural knowledge acquisition and reported lower levels of learning difficulty. These findings support the use of SSW to help novice learners organize and integrate knowledge from complex, dynamic audio-visual media like video.     

Infant visual sustained attention and respiratory sinus arrhythmia

Infants were studied cross-sectionally at 14, 20, and 26 weeks of age. They were presented with varying and complex patterns on a TV screen. Two-thirds of the presentations were accompanied by an "interrupting stimulus" in the periphery delayed in time from the onset of fixation on the central stimulus. The infants were not easily distracted from looking at the central stimulus when the presentation of the interrupting stimulus occurred at the point of maximal heart rate (HR) deceleration. However, if the presentation occurred at the end of the HR response, the infants were easily distracted. Infants with large amounts of respiratory sinus arrhythmia (RSA; i.e., HR variability) in a baseline recording were less distractible during the deceleration-defined trials than were infants with low amounts of RSA. High-RSA infants also showed larger HR deceleration on these trials than did the low-RSA infants. These results are consistent with a model positing that sustained HR lowering during visual fixation is an index of active attention and that RSA is an index of voluntary, sustained attention in infants.     

Effects of different types of learning on handwriting movements in young children

This experiment aimed at studying the benefits of different types of training (visual, motor, or visual-motor), in comparison to a control group, on 5-year-olds' performance in a task of writing cursive letters. The visual-motor training was shown to be the most effective training. The efficacy of visual training was clear at the letter quality level, and the impact of the motor training was shown at the movement fluency level. We assume that the visual training better contributes to learning the shape of the letter trajectory, while the motor training better contributes to improve handwriting movement execution.     

The effects of developmental delay on sustained attention in young children

The development of developmentally delayed young children is similar to that of normal children in sequence and organization. The hypothesis of this research was that delayed children do differ from the norm when tasks involve discerning nuances, balancing competing stimuli, or acquiring and retaining selected information. Using a videotaped free-play situation, we examined attention deployment behaviors of 3 groups: normally developing (ND), Down syndrome (DS), and developmentally delayed with uncertain etiology (UE). Gesell DQ scores ranged from 50 to 75 in the latter 2 samples. In Study 1, infants had developmental ages of 12-24 months. The UE subjects spent less time engaged with toys than ND or DS subjects, and both delayed groups had less simultaneous appraisal of the environment, more time unoccupied in any way, and more throwing behavior than the ND group. In Study 2, at the 22-30-month developmental age range, DS and UE subjects had patterns of play that included many primitive activities such as banging and mouthing. Taken together, the results show reductions in ongoing acquisition and elaboration of information during play; these in turn may have significant developmental ramifications.     

Both handwriting speed and selective attention are important to lecture note-taking

The primary purpose of this investigation was to evaluate the relationship of handwriting speed, fine motor fluency, speed of verbal access, language comprehension, working memory, and attention (executive control; selective) to note-taking and all of the aforementioned variables to test performance (written recall). A second purpose was to determine whether one or both of the hypothesized components of handwriting speed (as based in the children’s literature), fine motor speed or speed access to verbal codes (SAVCs), are responsible for the relationship of handwriting speed to notes. Results indicated that handwriting speed and selective attention were the only variables significantly related to notes and note-taking skill was the only variable that was significantly related to test performance. In a secondary analysis, we tested whether fine motor fluency and SAVC were related to handwriting speed. Handwriting speed was regressed on all of the other independent variables. Only fine motor fluency and SAVC were related to handwriting speed. The implications of these results for conceptualizations of note-taking and handwriting speed are discussed.     

The impact of digital distraction on lecture note taking and student learning

Instructional Science - Laptop computers allow students to type lecture notes instead of relying on the traditional longhand (i.e. paper–pencil) method. The present research compared laptop...     

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.     

谈新课程下生物学课程教学的融合与统一

本文探讨了新课程下生物学课程教学价值取向，指出生物学课堂教学是学会教学与学会学习是融合与统一；是科学教育与人文体验的融合与统一；是整体期望与个体个性的融合与统一；是学科渗透与主线教学的融合与统一。     

A configural theory of attention and associative learning

A formal account of the relationship between attention and associative learning is presented within the framework of a configural theory of discrimination learning. The account is based on a connectionist network in which the entire pattern of stimulation presented on a trial activates a configural unit that then enters into an association with the trial outcome. Attention is assumed to have two roles within this network. First, the salience of the stimuli at the input to the network can be increased if they are relevant to the occurrence of reinforcement and decreased if they are irrelevant. Second, the associability of configural units can increase on trials when the outcome is surprising and decrease when the outcome is not surprising.     

Example-based learning: Effects of different types of examples on student performance,cognitive load and self-efficacy in a statistical learning task

Previous research has indicated the disconnect between example-based research focusing on worked examples (WEs) and that focusing on modeling examples. The purpose of this study was to examine and compare the effect of four different types of examples from the two separate lines of research, including standard WEs, erroneous WEs, expert (masterly) modeling examples, and peer (coping) modeling examples, on student performance (knowledge retention, near transfer, and far transfer), cognitive load, and self-efficacy. One hundred and sixteen students participated in the study by undergoing computer-based instruction in one of the four versions differing in how examples were provided. The results showed that, overall, expert modeling examples were most effective in promoting knowledge retention, near transfer, and far transfer, while peer modeling examples were shown to be superior in fostering self-efficacy among the four different types of examples.     

Effects of using a second-screen application on attention,learning, and user experience in an educational content

Using a secondary device while viewing a primary device (i.e. TV), or media multitasking, is now common. Numerous researchers and practitioners have attempted to introduce secondary devices into education as a new learning environment providing additional information to the user. However, the learning-related effects of using a second screen remain controversial. This study examined the effects of second-screen-application use on attention, learning performance, and user experience per content relevance for three primary contents (PC; i.e. videos) requiring different amounts of cognitive load: low, medium, and high. Second-screen use reduced learning performance and user satisfaction when the PC required high cognitive load. However, participants exhibited increased learning performance, concentration, and satisfaction with the PC requiring medium-cognitive-load when highly relevant information was presented on the secondary screen simultaneously. Based on these findings, guidelines were suggested for designing a second-screen application without degrading users’ learning and experience.