Learner control in animated multimedia instructions

The interactivity principle in multimedia learning states that giving learners control over pace and order of instructions decreases cognitive load and increases transfer performance. We tested this guideline by comparing a learner-paced instruction with a system-paced instruction. Time-on-task and interactive behavior were logged, and were also related to interest, prior knowledge, and cognitive involvement. We successfully replicated the interactivity principle in terms of better transfer. However, this coincided with a large increase in time-on-task. Also, large individual differences existed in the use of learner control options, which were mostly unrelated to the other variables. Thus, the benefits of introducing learner control in multimedia learning are at the expense of learning efficiency, and it remains unclear for whom the interactivity principle works best.     

大学生英语自主学习成效归因实证研究

根据Weiner的归因理论,以问卷的形式调查了不同英语成绩等级的大学生在英语自主学习过程中对学习成效的归因情况,主要涉及四个方面,即努力程度、语言天赋、教师水平和学习环境。结果表明不同成绩等级的学生归因不同。除＂学习环境＂外,不同成绩等级的学生在另外三个因素＂个人努力＂＂语言天赋＂＂教师水平＂的选择上都存在显著差异,且该三个因素与＂成绩等级＂存在线性关系。最后基于研究结果提出相应的促进学习者英语自主学习的对策。     

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.     

个体差异与计算机辅助语言教学的优势

介绍了计算机辅助语言教学的基本形式；同时以学习者的个体差异为着眼点，从学习者的认知、情感及社会性等方面论述了机辅语言教学的优势。肯定了机辅语言教学的优势，旨在为促进高校外语教学，培养满足社会需求的人才提供有益的建议。     

The effects of levels of elaboration on learners’ strategic processing of text

In the current work, we examined learners’ comprehension when engaged with elaborative processing strategies. In Experiment 1, we randomly assigned students to one of five elaborative processing conditions and addressed differences in learners’ lower- and higher-order learning outcomes and ability to employ elaborative strategies. Findings indicated no significant differences among conditions on learning outcomes. However, learners better able to employ elaborative processing strategies performed better on outcome measures. Experiment 2 extended this research and addressed whether there would be differences across elaborative processing conditions in learners’ comprehension at delayed testing. We also examined the role of motivation in performance and strategy use. Findings indicated no differences on the outcome measures at delayed testing; however, there were significant differences in learners’ performance on an integration outcome at immediate testing. In addition, significant positive correlations were indicated for several outcome measures, strategy use and mastery orientation. Future research should further consider instructional scaffolds to promote learners’ strategic processing and critical individual difference variables as they effect elaborative processing.     

An empirical study of using sequential behavior pattern mining approach to predict learning styles

The learning style of a learner is an important parameter in his learning process. Therefore, learning styles should be considered in the design, development, and implementation of e-learning environments to increase learners’ performance. Thus, it is important to be able to automatically determine learning styles of learners in an e-learning environment. In this paper, we propose a sequential pattern mining approach to extract frequent sequential behavior patterns, which can separate learners with different learning styles. In this research, in order to recognize learners’ learning styles, system uses the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator’s (MBTI). The approach has been implemented and tested in an e-learning environment and the results show that learning styles of learners can be predicted with high accuracy. We show that learners with similar learning styles have similar sequential behavior patterns in interaction with an e-learning environment. A lot of frequent sequential behavior patterns were extracted which some of them have a meaningful relation with MBTI dimensions.     

Latent class analysis of non-formal learners’ self-directed learning patterns in open educational resource repositories

Open educational resources (OERs) are increasingly adopted in non-formal education contexts. However, little research has been conducted to investigate the self-directed learning patterns of non-formal learners using OERs. A lack of knowledge about non-formal learners precludes discussions on how to support their self-regulated learning in open learning environments. We explored the self-directed learning patterns of 1892 non-formal online learners who were using OER repositories. In addition, we examined whether differences existed in future intentions to use OERs between learners with different learning patterns. Four latent classes were identified, and learners’ age was found to affect class membership. We also found that non-formal learners’ use of self-directed learning strategies predicted their future intentions to use OERs. This study advanced our understanding of the subpopulations of non-formal learners using OERs. Future research will benefit from the findings related to designing OER environments that can accommodate diverse self-directed learners.     

影响语言迁移的几个因素

该文讨论了在第二语言习得中影响语言迁移的几个因素：语言学习的社会环境,语言标识,语言距离和学习者的个体差异。语言教师可以用这些因素分析学生的不同情况,从而避免负迁移的出现而增进正迁移,提高教学质量。     

The effect of manipulatives on mathematics achievement across different learning styles

The current study investigates the influence of manipulatives used in combination with traditional approaches to mathematics education and how varying amounts of time spent on manipulative use influence student achievement across different learning styles. Three learning environments were created that incorporated varying proportions of traditional teaching approaches and manipulative methods. In one of the learning environments, the teacher used strictly lecture- and exercise-based teaching activities, which are more conducive to abstract learning. Abstract learners showed higher academic performance compared with concrete learners in the environment where only traditional methods were used. For the other two environments, which utilised varying combinations of manipulative tools and traditional methods, the differences in the mathematics achievement levels among students of varying learning styles were not statistically significant. The study also showed that concrete learners demonstrated higher performance in mathematics when manipulatives were used than did their counterparts in the environment where only abstract activities were used; however, in the third learning environment, increasing the amount of manipulative use did not provide an extra benefit to concrete learners.     

Mining Effective Learning Behaviors in a Web-Based Inquiry Science Environment

Analyzing learners’ learning behaviors helps teachers understand how learning behaviors of learners influence learning performance. To determine which learning behaviors influence learners’ science-based inquiry learning performance, this work develops an xAPI (Experience Application Programming Interface)-based learning record store module embedded in a Collaborative Web-based Inquiry Science Environment (CWISE) to record detailed data about students’ learning processes. This work discusses whether the significant correlation and cause-effect relationship among science inquiry competence, learning time, and learning performance exist, and examines whether remarkable shifts and differences in the learning behaviors of learners with different learning performances and inquiry competences exist by using sequential pattern mining and lag sequential analysis. The results demonstrate that inquire ability, total learning time in the designed inquiry learning course, and learning time in an inquiry buoyancy simulation experiment are positively correlated with learning performance and can predict learning performance, and the learning time in the inquiry buoyancy simulation experiment appears to be the most significant predictor. The results of lag sequential analyses indicate that learners with high learning performance and high inquiry competence re-adjust hypotheses after performing an inquiry buoyancy simulation experiment, while learners with low learning performance and low inquiry competence lack this critical inquiry learning behavior. This study presents a systematic analysis method to insight the effective learning behaviors in a web-based inquiry learning environment based on mining students’ learning processes, thus providing potential benefits in guiding learners to adjust their learning behaviors and strategies.

     

学习者对远程学习、数字化学习与在线学习环境认知差异的实证研究

在当前教育领域内,远程学习、数字化学习与在线学习环境这些专业术语并不少见,学习者和相关研究人员在面临这些专业术语时往往会存在一些理解上的偏差,在使用过程中也会存在一些困惑,因此很有必要对这些术语进行深入研究。目前数字化学习、在线学习与远程学习环境领域相关的研究较多,他们之间的差异不仅仅是表达术语层面,重要的是不同学习环境的侧重点和呈现特点有一定的差异。为此,我们通过实证方法分析研究该问题,总结学习者是如何认识这些学习环境的。结果表明,不同学习者对数字化学习、在线学习与远程学习环境有不同的期望和认知。     

What Makes a Successful ESL Learner

What makes a successful learner? Some people learn foreign languages more quickly than others; they progress rapidly while others still struggle along making very slow progress. What individual differences might contribute to the successful learning process? Based on the case study of two second language learners and the comparison between their learning outcome and performance, this paper tries to explore more insights about the leaner factors and their influences on second language learning.     

高职学生学习风格与英语成绩关系研究

在回顾前人对学习风格研究的基础上,对五所高级职业技术学院195名学生的学习风格与综合英语成绩及单项英语成绩的关系进行了研究。独立样本检验显示,高分组的学习者倾向于群体型的学习风格,而低分组的学习者倾向于个体型和场独立型的学习风格;男生和女生只在听觉型和场依赖型两种学习风格上表现出不同;回归分析结果表明,群体型、个体型和场独立型三种学习风格与综合英语测试成绩相关,个体型和冲动型两种学习风格对英语成绩具有负向预测作用;群体型、个体型、场独立和冲动型四种学习风格与单项成绩之间具有显著相关关系。     

Multiple‐goal learners and their differential patterns of learning

The hypothesis in this study was that different types of multiple‐goal learners would have different patterns of learning. A sample of 797 adult distance learners enrolled in different programs offered by a distance learning university in Hong Kong completed a questionnaire assessing their goals, use of strategies, motivational beliefs, and attitudes towards the course they were doing. Two‐stage cluster analyses found a group of single‐goal learners (mastery focused) and three groups of multiple‐goal learners with different focuses in their goal profiles: performance focus, work focus, and multiple focuses. These four clusters of learners differed in terms of use of learning strategies, regulatory strategies, motivational beliefs, and attitudes towards the course. Learners focusing on work‐related goals or performance goals achieved better examination results than did those focusing on multiple goals or solely on mastery goals.     

自适应学习系统中双向适应交互评价实证研究

随着信息技术的快速发展,网络学习已经成为人们生活中不可或缺的一种学习方式。以实现网络个性化学习为目标的自适应学习系统成为提高网络学习质量的重要研究课题。然而目前大多数自适应学习系统仅具有单向适应能力,即实现了系统根据用户特性适应性向学习者呈现学习资源、过程和策略的功能。尽管这种功能有助于解决学习者认知超载和网络迷航问题,一定程度上提高了学习效率,但学习者在此系统中是一种被动学习,不利于培养学习者自主学习能力和创新能力,也不利于促进学习者对知识的主动建构,还容易使学习者产生惰性。因此,应该充分考虑学习者和系统之间的主客体关系,在自适应学习系统中建立双向适应交互,即用户主动选择资源的适应性交互和系统主动推送资源的自适应交互。双向适应交互最为关键的是用户模型,而认知风格是用户模型中影响学习者个体差异的一个重要元素。从学习效率和使用感受两个层面实证评价双向适应交互性,以及认知风格对其的影响发现:采用自适应学习方式,学习者具有更积极的学习态度,能够取得更好的学习绩效;但认知风格会影响到自适应学习和适应性学习的绩效。     

Exploring the effect of learning styles on learning achievement in a u-Museum

In recent years, mobile technology has been developing rapidly and has been widely used. There are many successful cases of mobile technology applied greatly in today’s teaching and even combined with sensing devices to overcome the limitations of traditional learning environment. In order to make teaching more diversified, teachers currently treat field trips as one of the major ways to aid traditional classroom teaching. Based on Keller’s ARCS motivation model, this study used the natural disaster section in the sixth graders’ Natural Science-Taiwan subject as an example and application of radio frequency identification (RFID) technology in mobile devices to develop a context-aware ubiquitous learning system to be applied in the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan. With the guide of the system, learners can use mobile carriers to receive content information displayed in the Museum for learning. This study conducted experiment in the 921 Earthquake Museum of Taiwan to explore whether using the system for learning significantly improves learning outcomes and motivation in comparison to traditional navigation learning. Felder & Silverman’s theory of learning style was incorporated to explore whether there exists differences in learning performance and outcome among learners with different learning styles so design and strategies for future teaching system can be improved.     

Team regulation, regulation of social activities or co-regulation: Different labels for effective regulation of learning in CSCL

Computer-supported collaborative learning (CSCL) is an approach to learning in which learners can actively and collaboratively construct knowledge by means of interaction and joint problem solving. Regulation of learning is especially important in the domain of CSCL. Next to the regulation of task performance, the interaction between learners who work in a CSCL environment needs to be regulated as well. Despite its importance, the regulation of learning in CSCL has received relatively little attention in research. In the contributions of this special issue different labels are used for various forms of regulation of learning during CSCL. During collaborative learning, the regulation of activities can take place at different levels of social interaction: the individual level, the dyadic level, and the group level. Regulative activities of all three levels are presented in the three studies. All studies have investigated whether the use of regulative activities affected performance, and have found that regulation at the dyadic and/or group level was positively related to group performance. In sum, these three contributions provide a constructive overview of the role of regulation of the (collaborative) learning process in CSCL, both in terms of the impact of regulation on learning processes and learning results as well as the influence of different kinds of support on the regulation of collaborative learning.     

Measuring Effectiveness of Health Education in a Web‐based Learning Environment: a preliminary report

Driven by claims of efficacy, flexibility and resource effectiveness, higher education is increasingly utilising the Web as an instructional tool. The claims for pedagogical effectiveness are often just that – claims — and appear not to have been proven in the reality of subject presentation and evaluation. Thus, it is necessary to examine assumptions regarding the benefits of Web‐based instruction in terms of effectiveness. This article discusses aspects of an investigation which examined and compared the effectiveness of HIV/AIDS related collaborative tutorial activities carried out in both a Web‐based learning environment and a face‐to‐face class situation within an undergraduate health education subject. Effectiveness of the pedagogical strategy and the different learning environments were measured in terms of observed learning outcomes and reported perceptions of the learners regarding their learning experience. Preliminary results based on measured learning outcomes related to the subject matter, HIV/AIDS, demonstrated that collaborative learning activities were significantly more effective in the Web‐based than in the class environment. Additionally, the vast majority of learners perceived the Web‐based environment to be as effective or more effective than the face‐to‐face, class environment in terms of facilitating their understanding of the issues explored in the subject.     

The design of technology-rich learning environments as metacognitive tools in history education

Research has shown that learners do not always engage in appropriate metacognitive and self-regulatory processes while learning complex historical topics. However, little research exists to guide the design of technology-rich learning environments as metacognitive tools in history education. In order to address this issue, we designed a metacognitive tool using a bottom-up approach. Thirty-two undergraduate students read an historical narrative text either with or without the benefit of the metacognitive tool. Results from process and product data suggest that learners using the metacognitive tool had better recall and that the tool helped them (a) notice that particular events in an historical narrative text are unexplained, and (b) generate hypothetical causes to explain the occurrence of such events. We discuss the implications of these findings for the development of the MetaHistoReasoning Tool, a technology-rich learning environment that assist learners in terms of regulating their learning while they accomplish authentic tasks of historical inquiry.     

Interactive response system (IRS) for college students: individual versus cooperative learning

In this study, the researcher aimed to understand how students learned the targeted knowledge with an interactive response system (IRS) tool, and whether learners in two different learning modes: individual and group use of IRS, differed in their learning performance and knowledge retention after the IRS activity. These two kinds of IRS interaction were integrated into the course which included multiple choice questions for testing memorable knowledge and open-ended questions for enhancing organization and critical thinking ability via a methodology that involved 120 college students and included the analysis of tests, survey questionnaires and a course learning diary. Overall, the results were consistent with the consensus that students perceive the IRS as a positive addition to their classes, as its use increased course participation, fostered interaction, and promoted the general enjoyment of the class. The results revealed that the immediate learning performance of the learners who participated in the activity through group use of the IRS was better than that of the learners with individual IRS accounts; however, the individual IRS users seemed to have better learning retention of the learning contents, and showed significant improvement on the delayed tests. Furthermore, the study also confirmed that the IRS with collaborative work could promote the students’ academic and social-emotional performance because the collaborative learning allowed them to learn from peers’ opinions and to make judgments and co-examine the learning concepts again while finding the correct answer. This paper contributes data and analysis that highlight the pedagogical benefits of the implementation of an IRS, and supports the value of using the IRS for college education.