Gender differences in responding to open-ended problem-solving questions

We reanalyzed data from published studies (Harp & Mayer, 1997, 1998; Mayer & Moreno, 1998, Mayer et al., 1995, 1996) in which college students learned about the formation of lightning, and were then given open-ended problem-solving question. When asked, “What could you do to decrease the intensity of lightning?,” females were approximately eight times more likely than males to refuse to answer on the grounds that nature cannot be altered. The pattern persisted across four data sets involving 810 participants. The results have practical implications for the design of alternative assessment instruments involving open-ended questions and theoretical implications for gender-based differences in verbal communication styles.     

Representation visuals' impacts on science interest and reading comprehension of adolescent English learners

This experimental study explored the impact of representation + glossary label visuals on science outcomes in a sample of 174 Grade 7 English learners (ELs). Analysis of covariance results indicated that, regardless of English proficiency, ELs in both treatment and control conditions performed similarly on reading comprehension (p = .26) and triggered interest (p = .65) measures, with a trend in means favoring the no-visuals, control group. These findings suggest that, although recommended by the literature, representation + glossary label visuals for ELs may be associated with deleterious (seductive details) rather than beneficial (dual coding) effects. Additional research is needed on higher-level visuals (organization, interpretation, transformation) to identify visual accommodations most effective in supporting ELs' science learning. Regression analysis results indicated that triggered situational interest predicted science reading comprehension above and beyond English language proficiency, suggesting the importance of instructionally stimulating this interest type. Implications for theory and practice are discussed.     

Do Judgments of Learning Directly Enhance Learning of Educational Materials?

When people make judgments of learning (JOLs) after studying paired associates, the process they engage in to monitor their learning can directly enhance learning for some types of material (Soderstrom et al. 2015). The current experiments investigated whether JOLs directly enhance learning educationally relevant texts. Across 5 experiments (N?=?703), people read several sections of an educational textbook with or without JOLs embedded between each section. We manipulated whether JOLs queried one’s understanding of the text at the aggregate level (Experiment 1) or for specific concepts in the text (Experiment 2a, 2b, 3, and 4). We also manipulated whether JOLs were framed to afford covert retrieval practice by prompting judgments with either the target information present or absent (Experiment 3). In most cases, instructing students to make JOLs did not improve comprehension above and beyond just reading the text. However, when people were instructed to retrieve information prior to making JOLs (Experiment 4), large learning gains occurred. These results indicate that JOLs in their standard form are unlikely to produce educational benefits to text comprehension in part because learners do not spontaneously retrieve criterial information when making metacomprehension judgments.

     

Collaborative learning activities in graduate courses

Structured collaborative learning activities undertaken in two graduate level classes are described. Student and instructor perspectives on these activities are explored based on data collected through interviews, open-ended evaluation instruments, and journals. Four perspectives on collaborative learning emerged from the data: (1) student expectations; (2) instructor tolerance for ambiguity and flexibility; (3) student reliance on authority; and, (4) evaluation of student learning. Suggestions for implementing collaborative groups in graduate courses are presented.Julie A. Hughes Caplow is an Associate Professor of Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She received her Ph.D. from the University of Iowa in Higher Education Administration. Her areas of interest include postsecondary instructional strategies, faculty beliefs about teaching and knowledge, and postsecondary curricula. CarolAnne M. Kardash is an Associate Professor of Educational and Counseling Psychology at the University of Missouri-Columbia. She received her Ph.D. from Arizona State University in Educational Psychology. Her areas of interest include text processing, reading comprehension, and instructional and learning strategies.     

Designating reader perspective to increase comprehension and interest

In three experiments we examined whether reader perspective on a long expository text could be manipulated such that increased text interest and enhancement of two comprehension outcomes would result. In Experiment 1 we verified the viability of a new text for experimental purposes. We then assigned readers a perspective before reading in Experiment 2 and after reading in Experiment 3. One primary research question addressed whether interest in a long expository text could be manipulated by assigning readers a perspective. We considered this to be an examination of purpose-driven interest ( Schraw & Dennison, 1994). As hypothesized, participants rated text segments as more interesting when the segments corresponded to their assigned perspective. In support of our second hypothesis, that recall would increase as a function of reader perspective, low to medium effects were found for both total number and depth of ideas recalled. We discuss implications of this work for understanding of the role of relevance in increasing recall. Implications for practice and future research are also discussed.     

A closer look at split visual attention in system- and self-paced instruction in multimedia learning

Two experiments examined visual attention distribution in learning from text and pictures. Participants watched a 16-step multimedia instruction on the formation of lightning. In Experiment 1 (N = 90) the instruction was system-paced (fast, medium, slow pace), while it was self-paced in Experiment 2 (N = 31). In both experiments the text modality was varied (written, spoken). During learning, the participants’ eye movements were recorded. Results from both experiments revealed that learners spent more time studying the visualizations with spoken text than those with written text. In written text conditions learners consistently started reading before alternating between text and visualization; moreover, they spent more time reading the text than inspecting the visualizations. While in Experiment 1 additional time that was made available in conditions with a slow or medium instruction pace was spent inspecting visualizations, in Experiment 2 longer learning times resulted from reading the text more intensively. With respect to learning outcomes (retention, transfer, and visual memory) Experiment 1 revealed an effect of text modality for visual memory only. In Experiment 2 no modality effects were found. Instruction pace was hardly related to learning outcomes. Overall, the results confirm prior findings suggesting that the distribution of visual attention in multimedia learning is largely guided by the text.     

Measurement of cognitive load in multimedia learning: a comparison of different objective measures

Different indicators are interesting for analyzing human learning processes. Recent studies analyze learning performance in combination with cognitive load, as an indicator for learners’ invested mental effort. In order to compare different measures of cognitive load research, the present study uses three different objective methods and one subjective method, reviewing the seductive details effect in a computer-based multimedia learning instruction. An experimental two-group design (N = 50) was used, with exposure to seductive details during learning as the between group factor. Eye movements were analyzed concerning the indicated cognitive activity and cognitive load was measured by the rhythm method (Park 2010; Park and Brünken 2015), the index of cognitive activity (ICA) (Marshall 2007), as well as by subjective ratings of mental effort and task difficulty (Paas 1992). Results confirm the seductive details effect for learning success with a decrease in retention and comprehension performance, an increase in total cognitive activity indicated by eye movements and significant higher cognitive load, indicated by rhythm method. The ICA values and the subjective ratings on mental effort and task difficulty show no difference in cognitive load between the groups. The results provide evidence of the suitability of different objective measures for a direct and continuous cognitive load assessment in multimedia learning. Further, the results show the benefit of combining different methods to gain detailed insight into information processing while learning with multimedia as well as a differentiated access to the single cognitive load factors.     

Measuring need for closure in classroom learners

Need for closure, as formulated by Kruglanski and colleagues [Kruglanski, A. W. (1990). Lay epistemic theory in social-cognitive psychology. Psychological Inquiry, 1(3), 181–197; Kruglanski, A. W., & Webster, D. M. (1996). Motivated closing of the mind: Seizing and freezing. Psychological Review, 103, 263–283; Webster, D. M., & Kruglanski, A. W. (1994). Individual differences in need for cognitive closure. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 76(6), 1049–1062], refers to the motivated tendency to seek structure, simplify complex information, and avoid ambiguity. In this article, we argue that this motive may impact classroom learning in important ways and introduce a self-report measure of need for closure situated in the classroom learning environment. Psychometric properties of the new measure are assessed in multiple samples using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. Correlations between the new measure and existing indicators of cognitive closure, as well as variables known to influence motivation and academic achievement, support our assertions regarding the association between need for closure and academic functioning while also providing evidence for the construct validity of the measure. Finally, internal consistency and test–retest reliability suggest that the new measure functions as a reliable measure of need for closure within the classroom.     

多媒体学习的科学探索——Richard E. Mayer学术思想研究

理查德·梅耶是国际著名的教育心理学家。文章回顾了他的学术生涯和贡献,评述了其在多媒体学习认知理论和多媒体信息设计等方面的创新研究和主要贡献,分析了其学术思想的局限,最后阐述了他的学术研究对中国教育技术研究的特殊意义。     

Productivity in educational psychology journals from 2003 to 2008

Productivity of individuals and institutions in educational psychology journals has been previously examined in three separate studies (Hsieh et al. [Hsieh, P., Acee, T., Chung, W., Hsieh, Y., Kim, H., Thomas, G. D., et al. (2004). An alternate look at educational psychologist’s productivity from 1991 to 2002. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 333–343]; Smith et al. [Smith, M. C., Locke, S. G., Boisse, S. J., Gallagher, P. A., Krengel, L. E., & Kuczek, J. E., et al. (1998). Productivity of educational psychologists in educational psychology journals, 1991–1996. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23, 173–181]; [Smith, M. C., Plant, M., Carney, R. N., Arnold, C. S., Jackson, A., Johnson, L. S., et al. (2003). Further productivity of educational psychologists in educational psychology journals, 1997–2001. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, 422–430.]) spanning the years 1991–2002. The present study updates this literature by examining the same five journals: Cognition and Instruction, Contemporary Educational Psychology, the Educational Psychologist, Educational Psychology Review, and the Journal of Educational Psychology from 2003 to 2008. Individual productivity was calculated by the number of (a) articles published and (b) points based on a formula that considers author position in relation to the number of authors. The University of Maryland and Richard E. Mayer maintained their positions as the top research institution and author, respectively. There was also growth in collaboration as well as international involvement as measured by number of authors.     

Individual and Institutional Productivity in Educational Psychology Journals from 2009 to 2014

This article examines the productivity of both individuals and institutions, indexed through an examination of five educational psychology journals (Cognition and Instruction, Contemporary Educational Psychology, Educational Psychologist, Educational Psychology Review, and Journal of Educational Psychology) from 2009 to 2014. These results are discussed relative to four previous studies (Hsieh et al. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 29, 333–343, 2004; Jones et al. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 35, 11–16, 2010; Smith et al. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23, 173–181, 1998; Contemporary Educational Psychology, 28, 422–430, 2003). Vanderbilt University and Fred Paas replaced the University of Maryland and Richard E. Mayer as the top research institution and author, respectively. Sixteen of the top 19 researchers’ institutions were outside the USA, compared to only 10 of the top 32 during 2003–2008 and three of the top 20 during 1991–1996. Educational psychology research continues the trend of becoming more international.     

Developmental relationship between declarative metacognitive knowledge and reading comprehension during secondary school

European Journal of Psychology of Education - Knowledge about one’s own cognitive processes is the basis for the monitoring and regulation of learning processes for effective reading...     

Improving Native American children’s listening comprehension through concrete representations

The primary purpose of the present study was to determine whether recent findings documenting the benefits of text-related motor activity on young children’s memory for reading passages [Glenberg, A. M., Gutierrez, T., Levin, J. R., Japuntich, S., & Kaschak, M. (2004). Activity and imagined activity can enhance young readers’ reading comprehension. Journal of Educational Psychology, 96, 424–436.] could be extended to the text processing of Native American children. Forty-five third through seventh-grade students with academic learning difficulties listened to four narrative passages under one of three instructional conditions: manipulate, where students moved toy objects to represent the story’s content; visual, where students observed the results of an experimenter’s toy manipulations; and free-study, where students thought about the content of the presented story sentences. Findings were consistent with the literature documenting the comprehension and memory benefits of text-relevant concrete representations, with students in the manipulate and visual conditions statistically outrecalling students in the free-study condition. In contrast to the results of the Glenberg et al. (2004) reading study, no conditions-related differences were observed on a final passage where students were instructed to generate internal visual images of story events in the absence of external visual support (i.e., when no toys were present).     

Lexical processing skill in college-age resilient readers

Despite an extensive literature linking individual differences in phonological processing to reading ability, some adults show normal text comprehension abilities despite poor pseudoword reading (Jackson & Doellinger (2002). Journal of Educational Psychology, 94, 64–78). This study was undertaken to investigate differences between these individuals, termed resilient readers, and proficient readers in performance and degree of lateralization on a variety of single word processing tasks. Participants completed seven divided visual field tasks investigating various aspects of reading. Resilient readers performed less accurately on basic word recognition tasks, but not on the tasks involving semantic access. Resilient readers did not differ from proficient readers on reaction time or lateralization on any of the experimental tasks. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that skilled phonological decoding is not necessary for reading for meaning in a college population. It is proposed that higher-level semantic information and general world knowledge may allow some readers to compensate for deficiencies in lower-level word recognition processes.

Computer-supported aids to making sense of scientific articles: cognitive, motivational, and attitudinal effects

High school students can access original scientific research articles on the Internet, but may have trouble understanding them. To address this problem of online literacy, the authors developed a computer-based prototype for guiding students’ comprehension of scientific articles. High school students were asked to read an original scientific research article about the effects of drug or alcohol abuse, which was presented on a computer screen either with computer-based comprehension aids or without aids. The aids provided background text and animations including answers given by the article authors. Across two experiments involving different schools and different research articles, the comprehension aids group performed better than the control group on a comprehension test concerning the article (d = +0.79 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.82 in Experiment 2) and rated the content of article as less difficult to read (d = +0.96 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.69 in Experiment 2). In addition, the comprehension aids group reported more positive motivational beliefs than the control group concerning understanding what scientists do (d = +0.51 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.56 in Experiment 2), appraising the article as worthwhile (d = +0.80 for Experiment 1 and d = +0.70 for Experiment 2), and being interested in reading another research article (d = +0.19 in Experiment 1 and d = +0.58 in Experiment 2). The groups did not differ on their attitudes concerning a career as a scientist or about alcohol and drug abuse. Overall, computer-based comprehension aids can help guide students’ comprehension processes for an original scientific research article, which in turn can improve their appreciation of what scientists do.

Do drawing tasks improve monitoring and control during learning from text?

In two experiments it was investigated how drawing as a monitoring task affects self-regulated learning and cognitive load. To this end, participants (Exp. 1: N = 73, Exp. 2: N = 69) were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In the experimental condition, students were asked to read an expository text on the formation of polar lights consisting of five paragraphs, whereby, after each paragraph, they had to create a drawing of the text's content. In the control condition, students read the same text, but performed no drawing task. In both conditions, students had to give judgments of learning (JoLs) after each paragraph and after reading the whole text as well as rate their cognitive load. Then, they were asked to select paragraphs for restudy. In Experiment 1, participants continued with an assessment of their learning outcomes immediately after their restudy selection, whereas in Experiment 2 they were first given the opportunity to actually restudy the selected paragraphs before working on the posttest. Results of both experiments indicate that JoLs rather than cognitive load predicted posttest performance. Moreover, students in the drawing condition compared with the control condition exhibited more accurate (relative) monitoring in Experiment 1 in that their JoLs were more strongly related to performance. Moreover, JoLs predicted students' restudy decisions in both experiments; however, this effect was by-and-large independent of whether they had to draw. Overall, results hint towards the potential of drawing to support metacognitive monitoring.     

Creativity in the Hong Kong classroom: What is the contextual practice?

A review is offered of Hong Kong's current education reform that sites a key role for creativity. This key role leads us to ask “Creativity in the Hong Kong Classroom: what is the contextual practice?” To address this question 27 Primary classroom teachers across three subject areas were observed and rated using the Classroom Observation Form [Furman, A. (1998). Teacher and pupil characteristics in the perception of the creativity of classroom climate. Journal of Creative Behavior, 32(4), 258–277]. The creativity potential of these teachers was then measured against the Creativity Fostering Teacher Index [Soh, K. C. (2000). Indexing creativity fostering teacher behavior: A preliminary validation study. Journal of Creative Behavior, 34(2), 118–134] and the Creative Personality Scale [Gough, H. G. (1978). A creative personality scale for the adjective check list. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 37(8), 1398–1405]. Their class students then completed the Chinese Creativity Tests [Wu, J. J., & Chen, F. X. (1998). A study on the new creativity test. Taiwan: Education Bureau and Foundation for Scholarly Exchange]. Findings support and extend current understandings of both system and componential theory [Csikzentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. New York: Harper Collins; Amabile, T. M. (1996). The social psychology of creativity. New York: Springer–Verlag; Amabile, T. M. (1996). Creativity in context. Boulder: Westview Press]. Instrument limitations and a need for interpretative cautions are discussed and their significance for further research indicated.     

Testing the ATI hypothesis: Should multimedia instruction accommodate verbalizer-visualizer cognitive style?

College students (Experiment 1) and non-college adults (Experiment 2) studied a computer-based 31-frame lesson on electronics that offered help-screens containing text (text group) or illustrations (pictorial group), and then took a learning test. Participants also took a battery of 14 cognitive measures related to the verbalizer-visualizer dimension including tests of cognitive style, learning preference, spatial ability, and general achievement. In Experiment 3, college students received either both kinds of help-screens or none. Verbalizers and visualizers did not differ on the learning test, and almost all of the verbalizer-visualizer measures failed to produce significant attribute x treatment interactions (ATIs). There was not strong support for the hypothesis that verbal learners and visual learners should be given different kinds of multimedia instruction.