Are instructions in video format always better than photographs when learning manual techniques? The case of learning how to do sutures

In faculties of medicine today, a growing number of medical procedures are taught in manual techniques workshops. These workshops leave the students only very little time to train. One solution to this problem would be to provide medical students with an opportunity to practice these skills by themselves thanks to online learning materials. In order to determine the instruction presentation medium best suited to complete this training, different formats were compared (video + audio, video + text, and photographs + text). Forty-eight students were required to do five sutures using one of these formats. Their performance was assessed by time measurements and measurements of the quality of the knots. For all of the time indicators, the results show that the videos were more effective than the photographs for the first trial. This trend was reversed for the following trials, where the performance levels recorded using the photographs were better than those using the videos. The quality of the knots, however, was systematically better with the photographs than with the videos for all of the trials.     

“I just do what the boys tell me”: Exploring small group student interactions in an integrated STEM unit

Gender equity issues remain a challenge in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, where women are highly underrepresented. As integrated STEM instruction becomes increasingly popular in elementary and middle school classrooms, it is important to consider whether the small group activities that are commonplace in STEM instruction support the equitable participation of young girls. This study builds on the existing body of literature to better understand how gender is related to student participation in small group STEM activities and whether students participate differently in science and engineering activities. A single embedded case study was used to explore the experiences of four students aged 10–11 years as they participated in small group work within an integrated STEM unit in their fifth-grade classroom. Two girls and two boys worked together throughout the unit to explore science content related to electromagnetism and apply their content knowledge to an engineering design challenge. Video and audio of students' small group interactions were analyzed using an observation protocol to code their participation in each 3-min segment of STEM activity. Student- and case-level analyses were used to identify patterns of interaction based on gender and type of activity (science vs. engineering). Findings suggest that boys and girls participate in small group STEM activities in different ways, adopting distinct roles within their group. In addition, students displayed divergent patterns of interaction in science- and engineering-focused lessons, suggesting that students need additional practice and support in navigating between science and engineering in integrated STEM units.     

Prevalence,function, and structure of photographs in high school biology textbooks

Photographs are a major aspect of high school science textbooks, which dominate classroom approaches to teaching and learning. It is thus surprising that the function of photographs and their relation to captions and texts have not been the topic of analysis. The purpose of this study was to investigate the prevalence, function, and structure of photographs in high school science. Our motivating research question was, “What can students learn from textbooks when they study photographs?” To answer this and several subordinate questions, we selected and analyzed four Brazilian biology textbooks. We focus on the use of photographs and the relation among them, various types of texts, and the subject matter presented. Our analysis reveals that the structural elements of text, caption, and photographs and the relations among them differ across the textbooks and at times even within the same book. This, of course, will influence readers' interpretations of the photographs changing their role in the text. The results of our study have implications for textbook authors and textbook readers. We suggest that future studies may focus on students' and teachers' interpretation of photographs in real time. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 40: 1089–1114, 2003     

Impact of Adaptive Materials on Teachers and their Students with Visual Impairments in Secondary Science and Mathematics Classes

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields, important in today’s world, are underrepresented by students with disabilities. Students with visual impairments, although cognitively similar to sighted peers, face challenges as STEM subjects are often taught using visuals. They need alternative forms of access such as enlarged or audio‐converted text, tactile graphics, and involvement in hands‐on science. This project focused on increasing teacher awareness of and providing funds for the purchase of supplemental adaptive resources, supplies, and equipment. We examined attitude and instructional changes across the year of the programme in 15 science and mathematics teachers educating students with visual impairments. Positive changes were noted from pretest to posttest in student and teacher perspectives, and in teacher attitudes towards students with disabilities in STEM classes. Teachers also provided insights into their challenges and successes through a reflective narrative. Several adolescent students resisted accommodations to avoid appearing conspicuous to peers. Teachers implemented three strategies to address this: providing the adaptations to all students in the class; convincing the student of the need for adaptation; and involving the class in understanding and accepting the student’s impairment. A variety of teacher‐created adaptations for various science and mathematics labs are reported. Another finding was many adaptations provided for the student with visual impairment benefitted the entire class. This study supports the claim that given knowledgeable, supportive teachers, and with appropriate accommodations such as tactile or auditory materials, students with visual impairments can be as successful and engaged as other students in science and mathematics.     

多模态话语研究视角下的第二语言教学

随着科学技术的发展,信息传递方式不再是单一文本,包含多种模式如音频、视频、三维立体动画等复杂形态,这些现代化手段丰富了语义表达形式,打破了常规媒介的单一性,体现了交际固有的多模态性。语言教学的最终目的是使学习者习得如何在正确的语言环境中使用语言进行交际,将多模式话语的社会符号学分析法应用于第二语言教学的研究,可以起到积极的促进作用。     

论旁逸修辞文本的建构

“旁逸”作为修辞本模式,其建构的基本心理机制是通过在正常逻辑叙述中暂时脱离正常逻辑叙述的轨道,以新异性的内容引发接受的“不随意注意”,从而达到维持正常叙述得以完成的目标。这种修辞本的建构,从表达上看可以突破正常平实叙述的冗长沉闷而增添叙写的活力,使修辞本生动而富有情味;从接受上看,由于表达在常式定式的叙写中旁枝逸出,增添了叙写内容中不应有的信息,使接受在味;从接受上看,由于表达在常式定式的叙写中旁枝逸出,增添了叙写内容中不应有的信息,使接受在本接受中的定式思路受到了突如其来的刺激,从而提高本接受的兴趣,在本解读中获得更多的审美情趣。     

The Impact of Instructional Design on College Students’ Cognitive Load and Learning Outcomes in a Large Food Science and Human Nutrition Course

The effective design of course materials is critical for student learning, especially for large lecture introductory courses. This quantitative study was designed to explore the effect multimedia and content difficulty has on students’ cognitive load and learning outcomes. College students (n = 268) were randomized into 1 of 3 multimedia groups: text + graphics (Group 1–TG); audio + text + graphics (Group 2–ATG); or video + audio + text + graphics (Group 3–VATG). Participants answered a demographic survey and pretests before viewing 2 food science supplemental lecture materials (i.e., water mobility and amino acid structures) and completing the cognitive load instrument and post‐tests within a noncontrolled setting. Cognitive load scores were tabulated and compared using a 3 × 3 ANOVA and Tukey post hoc analysis across multimedia groups and food science supplemental lecture materials. Based on the post hoc, students in Group 1–TG had higher intrinsic cognitive load scores than Group 2–ATG (ANOVA, P < 0.05). Cognitive load and post‐test scores were tabulated and compared using a spearman correlation across groups. In Group 1–TG, students that reported less intrinsic cognitive load had higher post‐test scores. Also, students that reported more germane cognitive load had higher post‐test scores. In Groups 2–ATG and 3–VATG, students that reported less extraneous cognitive load had higher post‐test scores (ANOVA, P < 0.05).     

构建多模态的大学英语教学模式

随着信息技术的不断发展,信息传递方式不再是单一的文本。多模态的表达形式丰富了语言的输入内容、语义的表达形式,体现了交际的多模态性。文章基于多模态教学理论,从教学模块、教学内容、教学互动、教学手段和教学评估五个方面构建了多模态的大学英语教学模式,旨在培养学生的多元识读能力、英语综合运用能力和自主学习能力。     

Adding immersive virtual reality to a science lab simulation causes more presence but less learning

Virtual reality (VR) is predicted to create a paradigm shift in education and training, but there is little empirical evidence of its educational value. The main objectives of this study were to determine the consequences of adding immersive VR to virtual learning simulations, and to investigate whether the principles of multimedia learning generalize to immersive VR. Furthermore, electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to obtain a direct measure of cognitive processing during learning. A sample of 52 university students participated in a 2 × 2 experimental cross-panel design wherein students learned from a science simulation via a desktop display (PC) or a head-mounted display (VR); and the simulations contained on-screen text or on-screen text with narration. Across both text versions, students reported being more present in the VR condition (d = 1.30); but they learned less (d = 0.80), and had significantly higher cognitive load based on the EEG measure (d = 0.59). In spite of its motivating properties (as reflected in presence ratings), learning science in VR may overload and distract the learner (as reflected in EEG measures of cognitive load), resulting in less opportunity to build learning outcomes (as reflected in poorer learning outcome test performance).     

Content,format, gender and grade level differences in elementary students' ability to read science materials as measured by the cloze procedure

Present instructional trends in science indicate a need to reexamine a traditional concern in science education: the readability of science textbooks. An area of reading research not well documented is the effect of color, visuals, and page layout on readability of science materials. Using the cloze readability method, the present study explored the relationships between page format, grade level, sex, content, and elementary school students ability to read science material. Significant relationships were found between cloze scores and both grade level and content, and there was a significant interaction effect between grade and sex in favor of older males. No significant relationships could be attributed to page format and sex. In the area of science content, biological materials were most difficult in terms of readability followed by earth science and physical science. Grade level data indicated that grade five materials were more difficult for that level than either grade four or grade six materials were for students at each respective level. In eight of nine cases, the science text materials would be classified at or near the frustration level of readability. The implications for textbook writers and publishers are that science reading materials need to be produced with greater attention to readability and known design principles regarding visual supplements. The implication for teachers is that students need direct instruction in using visual materials to increase their learning from text material. Present visual materials appear to neither help nor hinder the student to gain information from text material.     

An investigation of the situated learnability effects of single- and dual-modal systems in education: a report of music-oriented learning environment and science computer-assisted teaching studies

The evolution of the World Wide Web has encouraged a huge surfacing of e‐learning technologies over recent years. Often, such technology is rolled out devoid of consideration towards the way in which students process and assimilate information. To date, there exists inconclusive and contradictory evidence concerning learnability effects of single‐ and dual‐model systems in education. To overcome this, we advocate that the design of e‐learning systems requires a managed mix of elements grounded in cognitive psychology. In this paper, we report the results of a study concerned with determining an effective mix of multimedia elements. This is with regard to the situated learnability effects of single‐ and dual‐modal systems tested via ‘text only’ and ‘text and auditory–verbal’ conditions. We report on these experiments using science computer‐assisted teaching and music‐oriented learning environment, e‐learning environments developed to act as test platforms for this research. The results indicated that simultaneous presentation of identical information via text and narration was associated with enhanced learnability.     

Learning from Animated Concept Maps with Concurrent Audio Narration

An animated concept map is a presentation of a network diagram in which nodes and links are sequentially added or modified. An experiment compared learning from animated concept maps and text by randomly assigning 133 undergraduates to study 1 of 4 narrated animations presenting semantically equivalent information accompanied by identical audio narration. Two of the animations presented text; one with concurrent audio and another with delayed audio. Two of the animations presented concept maps; one in black and white and the other with nodes colored to represent semantic relatedness. The concept map groups outperformed the text groups on free recall (p < .05). The black-and-white concept map group outperformed the text groups on a multiple-choice knowledge test (p < .05). No advantages were statistically detected for color enhancements of the animated map. The results indicate that verbal information can be effectively communicated by learner-paced animated concept maps accompanied by audio narrations.     

The Possibilities of Historical Research

ABSTRACT

The authors outline results of 3 studies conducted to examine the structure of disciplinary knowledge from reading measured through proximity data. In Study 1, 168 third-grade students were asked to read a science text and rate the relationships of keywords from the passage. From these ratings, comprehension scores were calculated that related well to a free-recall measure of science reading comprehension and differentiated poor and proficient readers. In Study 2, 176 third-grade students were given the proximity data measure on science text along with measures of prior knowledge, questioning, and text searching. In Study 3, 160 ninth-grade students were given the proximity data measure after reading a social studies text that varied on the presence of text signals and familiarity. The findings of this study extend the literature on the cognitive processing that contributes to higher order comprehension of information text among elementary and secondary students.     

The effects of computer-assisted instruction and locus of control upon preservice elementary teachers' acquisition of the integrated science process skills

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of computer-assisted instruction (CAI) versus a text mode of programmed instruction (PI), and the cognitive style of locus of control, on preservice elementary teachers' achievement of the integrated science process skills. Eighty-one preservice elementary teachers in six sections of a science methods class were classified as internally or externally controlled. The sections were randomly assigned to receive instruction in the integrated science process skills via a microcomputer or printed text. The study used a pretest-posttest control group design. Before assessing main and interaction effects, analysis of covariance was used to adjust posttest scores using the pretest scores. Statistical analysis revealed that main effects were not significant. Additionally, no interaction effects between treatments and loci of control were demonstrated. The results suggest that printed PI and tutorial CAI are equally effective modes of instruction for teaching internally and externally oriented preservice elementary teachers the integrated science process skills.     

基于STEAM教育理念的信息技术课程教学探究

随着科学技术的高速发展,信息技术课程教学越来越被人们所关注。让学生在课堂教学中掌握必要的信息能力,是信息技术课程教学的重要目标,STEAM教育理念对信息技术课程这一教学目标的实现有着很好的促进作用。STEAM教育理念强调将信息技术与多学科进行融合教学,让学生形成整体性的学习思维,有效提升学生的综合能力和素养。文章从STEAM教育理念概述入手,对STEAM教育理念在信息技术课程教学中的应用意义、应用策略进行探索研究。     

Does the modality principle for multimedia learning apply to science classrooms?

This study demonstrated that the modality principle applies to multimedia learning of regular science lessons in school settings. In the first field experiment, 27 Dutch secondary school students (age 16–17) received a self-paced, web-based multimedia lesson in biology. Students who received lessons containing illustrations and narration performed better on subsequent transfer tests than did students who received lessons containing illustrations and on-screen text. In the second field experiment, 55 Dutch secondary school students (age 16–17) received similar multimedia programs that allowed more self-pacing and required students to record the time to learn. The illustrations-and-narration group outperformed the illustrations-and-text group on subsequent transfer tests for students who required less time to learn but not for students who required more time to learn. The interaction of learning time spent with modality of presentation on post-test scores was studied. Implications for testing of the robustness of cognitive theory of multimedia learning are discussed.     

互动与沉浸——从游戏和叙事的关系反思教学游戏设计的走向

教学游戏中游戏与叙事之间的共存体现了教育活动主动建构与价值引导相统一的特点;游戏与叙事之间的悖论则体现了标准统一的技术与具体丰富的学生个体之间的矛盾。教学游戏设计只有更加关注非线性的叙事和交互式故事生成,才能化解这一矛盾,使教学游戏技术朝着有利于学生创造性和生命成长的方向发展。     

高职院校学生心理健康教育刍议

高职院校应该根据时代发展要求和高职生的生理心理特点,重视高职生心理健康教育的地位和作用,创设良好的高职生心理健康支持系统,针对学生心理特点,应用科学的手段和方法,努力将高职生塑造成身心健康、全面发展、能适应社会发展的新型人才。     

信息呈现方式与大学生词汇记忆效果的相关研究

通过对80名武汉理工大学大四学生分别进行文本、音频和图片三种词汇呈现方式下的词汇记忆效果实验研究,结果发现:大多数大学生对词汇以视频方式呈现比以音频方式呈现具有更好的记忆效果,而且在视频呈现方式下,图片比文本具有更好的记忆效果;在词汇记忆的最佳和最差呈现方式上并无性别差异,但是在较抽象的文本呈现方式下,男生比女生具有更好的记忆效果,而在图片呈现方式下女生反应更快,男生则具有更高的准确率。     

Learning from analogy-enhanced science text

The present study examined the role that an elaborate analogy can play when middle school students learn a major concept from a science text. The elaborate analogy had both graphic and text components that integrated and mapped key features from an analog (a factory) to the target concept (an animal cell). The target features were the functions of the cell parts. In Experiment 1, eighth graders who studied an analogy-enhanced text had greater immediate and 2-week recall of cell-part functions than students who studied a control text. In Experiment 2, sixth graders who studied an analogy-enhanced text considered the target concept to be more understandable than students who studied a control text. The sixth graders who studied the analogy-enhanced text also had greater immediate and 2-week retention, as measured by both recall and recognition. In both experiments, the analogy was interpreted as acting as a mediator between the students' existing knowledge and the new knowledge in the text. The analogy mapped a familiar, concrete schema onto that of the target concept, making the target concept more understandable and memorable. Implications for the meaningful learning of science text are discussed. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Inc. J Res Sci Teach 35: 1129–1149, 1998.