Designing a constructive learning activity with interactive elements: the effects of perspective-shifting and the quality of source material

When teachers or instructors create computer-based learning environments, they often solely consider technical aspects of interactivity. As a consequence, learners’ main role is to respond to requests of the learning environment (e.g. by answering multiple-choice questions). This aspect of interactivity is, however, not sufficient to understand the complex benefits of interactivity for learners’ knowledge acquisition. In order to create a higher level of interactivity, an instructional task that encourages learners to design learning materials for fellow learners is used in this paper. We will show that this instructional task can induce interactive elements because learners are encouraged to take not only their own perspective into account when designing. In addition, we investigated if the quality of source material affects knowledge acquisition in design tasks. In a two-by-two design, students (n?=?108) had to design either a learning environment for others (i.e. to perform perspective-shifting), or a representation of acquired knowledge for themselves (no perspective-shifting) with less or more coherent information sources. Results indicate that performing perspective-shifting can be a powerful technique for eliciting interactive learning behavior and, thus, for learning. The quality of information sources does not influence knowledge acquisition to a great extent.     

Enhancing problem-based learning designs with a single e-learning scaffolding tool: Two case studies using challenge FRAP

Problem-based learning (PBL) is a powerful instructional approach. By working through assessable complex problem-solving tasks learners can be encouraged to actively engage in investigation and inquiry and to use high level cognitive thought processes to solve real-life problems in professional contexts. A critical element of a successful PBL design is the inclusion of instructional support, such as scaffolding, to guide and assist the learner through the reasoning process that is crucial to successful problem-solving. The e-learning tool ‘Challenge FRAP’ (Form for the Recording of the Analysis of Problems) is client-based public domain authoring software which facilitates the use of scaffolding, the provision of progressive feedback and can promote student reflection at key decision-making points. This paper illustrates the benefits of such an e-learning scaffolding tool through two PBL case studies; one group-based PBL task in science and technology and one self-directed PBL task in plant pathology.     

Element Interactivity and Intrinsic,Extraneous, and Germane Cognitive Load

In cognitive load theory, element interactivity has been used as the basic, defining mechanism of intrinsic cognitive load for many years. In this article, it is suggested that element interactivity underlies extraneous cognitive load as well. By defining extraneous cognitive load in terms of element interactivity, a distinct relation between intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load can be established based on whether element interactivity is essential to the task at hand or whether it is a function of instructional procedures. Furthermore, germane cognitive load can be defined in terms of intrinsic cognitive load, thus also associating germane cognitive load with element interactivity. An analysis of the consequences of explaining the various cognitive load effects in terms of element interactivity is carried out.     

Instructional scaffolds for learning from formative peer assessment: effects of core task,peer feedback,and dialogue

Formative peer assessment is an instructional method that offers many opportunities to foster students’ learning with respect to both the domain of the core task and students’ assessment skills. The contributions to this special issue effectively address earlier calls for more research into instructional scaffolds and the implementation of dialogic features in formative peer assessment. However, open issues remain regarding the role of assessment criteria, the benefit of formative peer assessment for transferable knowledge and skills, the role of metacognitive and cognitive processes in the provision and reception of peer feedback, and the proposed benefit of more interactive forms of formative peer assessment. Addressing the latter issue in particular, a framework of three dimensions of increasing interactivity is proposed in order to guide future research. These three dimensions comprise the learner’s engagement with the core task (low interactivity), the provision and reception of peer feedback (medium interactivity), and the learner’s engagement with argumentation, tutoring, and co-construction in dialogue with peers (high interactivity).     

A model for designing hypervideo-based instructional scenarios

In this article, we provide a conceptual model for the design of instructional scenarios integrating hypervideo as an instructional tool. The model provides a structural aid for making design decisions about using hypervideo in instruction. We start by introducing the theoretical rationale for hypervideo as a tool, exploiting three different interactivity functions. We then examine the cognitive and socio-cognitive theories that can inform the design and usage of hypervideo. Next, we present the instantiation of these functions and theories in a software interface, after which we present the model, which is based on the following two layers of design decisions: the first pertains to the interactivity features and the second is connected with the instructional strategy. Three main design steps are presented in the form of guidelines, corresponding to a preparation phase, a production phase, and a use phase. Finally, a set of cases exhibiting exemplary implementations of a hypervideo-based instructional scenario are described.     

基于认知负荷理论的有效教学设计研究

有效教学设计应基于学习者的认知规律,设法降低外在、内在认知负荷,同时增加相关认知负荷。在教学设计时,可以采用自由目标策略、关联信息捆绑策略、一步到位策略与多通道策略降低外在认知负荷;采用任务先"分"后"整"逐步呈现策略与任务先"简"后"繁"二次呈现策略降低内在认知负荷;采用变异任务策略与嵌入支架策略增加相关认知负荷。     

《工程力学》网络课程的总体策划及教学设计

本在阐述了网络课程的教学设计理论及教学设计方法的基础上，通过对《工程力学》网络课程进行总体策划和教学设计，论述了以正确的教学思想为指导、分析学习的特征、分析教学内容、选择教学媒体等设计理念及设计方法，介绍了《工程力学》网络课程的基本情况、功能模块和设计开发具有仿真性、交互性和实践性的网络课程的方法。     

The Role of Affective Variables in Autonomous Learning

The propensity of learners for autonomous learning is a function of the development of cognitive and metacognitive abilities for (a) processing, planning, and regulating learning activities; and (b) controlling and regulating affect and motivation. The development of these latter capabilities depends on the development of self-system structures and self-system processes. If learners are to apply processes necessary for autonomous learning, they must generate positive affect and motivation toward the learning task and toward applying the mental effort required. In turn, for positive affect and motivation to be generated, students must believe that their effort will lead to learning success and will contribute to meaningful personal goals. They must also be able to positively evaluate their personal competency and ability to take personal control over the demands of the learning task. A causal model based on these relationships is described, and instructional implications and future research directions are discussed.     

The expertise reversal effect in prompting focused processing of instructional explanations

Providing prompts to induce focused processing of the central contents of instructional explanations is a promising instructional means to support novice learners in learning from instructional explanations. However, within research on the expertise reversal effect it has been shown that instructional means that are beneficial for novices can be detrimental for learners with more expertise if the instructional means provide guidance that overlaps with the internal guidance provided by the prior knowledge of learners with more expertise. Under such circumstances, prompts to induce focused processing might even be detrimental for learners with expertise whose prior knowledge already provides internal guidance to learn from explanations. On this basis, we aimed at experimentally varying expertise by developing prior knowledge. Specifically, we used a preparation intervention with contrasting cases to enhance learners’ prior knowledge (expertise). Against this background, we tested 71 university students in a 2 × 2 factorial experimental design: (a) Factor of expertise. Working with contrasting cases to develop prior knowledge and expertise to provide internal guidance to learn from instructional explanations (with vs. without), (b) Factor of prompts. Prompts to induce focused processing of the explanations (with vs. without). The results showed that prompts to induce focused processing fostered conceptual knowledge for novice learners whereas prompts hindered the acquisition of conceptual knowledge for learners with expertise that was developed by working with contrasting cases beforehand. Moreover, measures of subjective cognitive load and learning processes suggest that the instructional guidance provided by prompts compensated for the low internal guidance of novice learners and overlapped with the internal guidance of learners with expertise.     

Enhancing transfer by learning generalized domain knowledge structures

Transferring one’s knowledge in new situations is usually associated with cognitively demanding processes. The paper explores an approach to facilitating transfer of knowledge by explicitly instructing learners in medium-level generalized but yet domain-connected knowledge structures that are applicable to a broader range of tasks in the domain and could be essential in managing the cognitive load associated with transfer. The paper includes a theoretical analysis of the potential role of the generalized domain knowledge in transfer and an experimental study designed to investigate the effectiveness of explicit instruction in a generalized domain knowledge structure (function–process–structure schema) in technical areas. Forty-nine undergraduate university students with low or no prior knowledge in the domain participated in the randomised 2 (schema-based vs. non-schema-based instruction)?×?2 (general-to-specific vs. specific-to-general knowledge sequences) experiment investigating the effects of these two factors on posttest transfer performance and subjective ratings of learning difficulty (interpreted as indicators of cognitive load). The results indicated a significant (p?<?0.05) main effect of schema-based instruction; a possible trend (p?<?0.1) favouring general-to-specific instructional sequence for posttest test performance; and a significant interaction between the two factors for ratings of difficulty. The paper concludes that (a) transfer within a domain could be facilitated by explicitly instructing learners in generalized domain schemas; (b) general-to-specific approach could possibly be used as a preferred instructional sequence for enhancing transfer; and (c) cognitive load perspective could add some valid arguments to explain the role of generalized domain knowledge in transfer.     

Explorations of relationships among learners, tasks, and learning

Based on a critical re-analysis of cognitive load theory (CLT), Schnotz and Kürschner identified the need for research on more sensitive ways of assessing learner characteristics, both prior to and during instruction, in order to understand learning processes and outcomes. One emergent theme of the papers in this special issue is that the “same” learning environment is differentially demanding and produces different results depending on characteristics of the learners, most importantly their knowledge in the task domain. These findings indicate that to optimize learning outcomes, theories of instructional design and learning need to be more adaptive and reflect the nuances of interactions among learners, tasks, and instructional supports.     

基于智能Agent的远程学习者情感与认知识别模型——眼动追踪与表情识别技术支持下的耦合

情感与认知状态的准确识别是实现远程学习者与教学Agent有效互动的基础。只有有效识别出学习者的情感与认知状态,教学Agent在改变学习者行为态度、帮助学习者获取和理解知识、支持学习者认知发展方面才能取得预期的效果。现有的教学Agent普遍存在两方面问题:一是缺乏情感交互性,容易使远程学习者产生厌倦情绪;二是认知推断功能薄弱,对学习效果的促进作用不稳定。这主要是由于Agent对学习者状态的识别不够充分造成的。已有的学习者状态识别方法虽然在学习者情绪状态的识别方面各有优势,但却无法同时检测学习者的视域、学习情绪与认知状态。学习者的眼动追踪数据是判断学习者实时状态的重要指标,也是学习者与Agent进行情感交互的重要依据。结合表情识别和眼动追踪技术构建的基于智能Agent的远程学习者情感与认知识别模型,将眼动追踪与表情监控迭代识别、情感与认知识别过程相耦合,以提高远程学习者状态的识别准确率,改进Agent对学习者的情感和认知支持,为智能教学Agent与远程学习者交互机制的研究提供新的思路和方法。     

Supporting learning with interactive multimedia through active integration of representations

When learners explore dynamic and interactive visualisations they are often not able to interact with them in a systematic and goal-oriented way. Frequently, even supporting learners in processes of discovery learning does not lead to better learning outcomes. This can be due to missing pre-requisite knowledge such as the coherent mental integration of the pictorial and symbolic sources of information. In order to support learners in this process, we encouraged them to interactively and externally relate different static sources of information to each other before exploring dynamic and interactive visualisations. We evaluated the benefit of this instructional support in two experimental studies concerning the domains of statistics and mechanics. It revealed that the active integration of static representations before processing dynamic visualisations resulted in better performance and can provide a basis for a more systematic and goal-oriented experimentation behaviour during simulation-based discovery learning.in final form: 16 November 2004     

论现代远程教育系统的交互

在远程教育中，交互性是决定教育质量的一个重要因素，交互活动直接影响着远程课程的学习效果。现代远程教学模式以现代通信网络为支撑平台，是一种以交互式为中心的自学习模式，它是未来教学模式的主流。交互方式的选择与应用，是进行远程教育课程教学设计的关键组成部分，需要教育工作和课件开发的共同参与和设计。交互技术飞速发展，新技术的出现与应用推动了远程教育的交互方式的变革和交互性的加强。对远程教育活动的交互性评价是衡量远程教育过程质量的一个重要方面，可以从教育的社会本质、教育效果和教育目标、课件、教育和学习等多方面进行评价分析。     

Lecturers’ vs. students’ perceptions of the accessibility of instructional materials

This goal of this study was to examine the differences between lecturers and students’ perceptions of the accessibility of instructional materials. The perceptions of 12 mature computing distance education students and 12 computing lecturers were examined using the knowledge elicitation techniques of card sorting and laddering. The study showed that lecturers had pedagogical views while students tended to concentrate on surface attributes such as appearance. Students perceived instructional materials containing visual representations as most accessible. This has two implications for the professional development of computing lecturers designing instructional materials. First, lecturers need to appreciate the differences between expert and novice views of accessibility and how students will engage with the materials. Second, lecturers need to understand that learners perceive instructional materials containing visual representations as more accessible compared to ‘text only’ versions. Hence greater use of these may enable students to engage more readily in learning. Given that print is the ubiquitous teaching medium this is likely to have implications for students and lecturers in other disciplines.     

“Instructional disobedience”: a largely neglected phenomenon deserving more systematic research attention

Education is characterized by at least the following features: (a) it offers learning environments that help students to achieve preset goals, (b) it induces learners to engage in relevant learning tasks, and (c) it offers support while learners execute learning tasks. Offering learning environments builds on the assumption that learners will actually engage in the learning tasks and use the support provided. There is, however, growing evidence, that in a lot of cases students do not comply with that assumption. By not engaging as expected in the learning tasks and/or by not (adequately) using the support, learners reveal the phenomenon of what could be called—at least from the perspective of the (designer of the) learning environment—‘instructional disobedience’. ‘Instructional disobedience’ occurs when learners do not act as expected from them in a learning environment. While the literature has already referred to faulty assumptions and specified conditions for the effectiveness of instructional interventions, it seems the phenomenon of instructional disobedience has not yet attracted systematic research attention. In this contribution, we want therefore further unravel the nature and relevance of the phenomenon. This is done by analyzing the occurrence of instructional disobedience, possible explanations and ways to deal with it. As a start we illustrate the phenomenon by providing some examples.

     

面向时代需求 实现范式转变——赖格卢特论信息时代视角下的教学理论演进

教学是帮助学习者构建内化的知识的各种行为。信息时代所出现的变革呼唤着教学新范式。教学新范式既保留了已经被实践证明行之有效的基本教学方法(讲解、示证和练习),同时也鼓励采用变通教学方法(问题教学、项目学习、模拟学习、辅导学习和认知学徒等)。信息时代的教学理论遵循着四项基本原理,这就是个性化与多样性,主动性与自导性,协作性与情感性、整体性与一体化,而技术在记录学习进步、规划学习蓝图、提供学习指导和评估学习效果等方面也起到了不可或缺的保障作用。     

Toward a Synthesis of Cognitive Load Theory, Four-Component Instructional Design, and Self-Directed Learning

This article explores the opportunities to apply cognitive load theory and four-component instructional design to self-directed learning. Learning tasks are defined as containing three elements: learners must (a) perform the tasks, (b) assess their task performance, and (c) select future tasks for improving their performance. Principles to manage intrinsic and extraneous load for performing learning tasks, such as simple-to-complex ordering and fading-guidance strategies, are also applicable to assessing performance and selecting tasks. Moreover, principles to increase germane load, such as high variability and self-explanation prompts, are also applicable to assessment and selection. It is concluded that cognitive load theory and four-component instructional design provide a solid basis for a research program on self-directed learning.     

未来课堂教学设计特性：具身认知视角

随着信息技术的飞速发展,传统课堂逐渐趋向于一个充满技术和更加人本化的泛在学习空间,未来课堂概念应运而生。目前对于未来课堂的研究主要侧重于对未来课堂的空间设计、技术应用、特点特性等方面的研究,还缺乏与未来课堂特性相应的教与学方式及教学模式的系统研究。开展具有前瞻性的未来课堂教学设计有利于推动未来课堂实践。教学设计中隐含着关于认知和学习的理论。虽然传统认知观对教师主导的,以传授客观知识为主要目的的传统课堂教学设计做出了重要贡献,但是其作为面向学习者主动建构知识和实现意义理解的教学设计的理论基础不再是充分的。当代认知理论研究已完成了由离身到具身的范式转型。具身认知理论强调身体在认知过程中的关键作用及认知、身体与环境交互的重要性。基于具身认知的视角,未来课堂的教学设计不再仅仅是提供具体的可操作性步骤,而是为在教学中产生更多的可能性而做好准备,其具有学习内容的情境性、学习环境的无意识性、教学目标的生成性、教学过程的动态性以及学习活动的体验性等特性。