Multimedia Learning in an Interactive Self-Explaining Environment: What Works in the Design of Agent-Based Microworlds?

Students learned about electric motors by asking questions and receiving answers from an on-screen pedagogical agent named Dr. Phyz who stood next to an on-screen drawing of an electric motor. Students performed better on a problem-solving transfer test when Dr. Phyz's explanations were presented as narration rather than on-screen text (Experiment 1), when students were able to ask questions and receive answers interactively rather than receive the same information as a noninteractive multimedia message (Experiments 2a and 2b), and when students were given a prequestion to guide their self-explanations during learning (Experiment 3). Deleting Dr. Phyz's image from the screen had no significant effect on problem-solving transfer performance (Experiment 4). The results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning and yield principles for the design of interactive multimedia learning environments. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Do Multiple Representations Need Explanations? The Role of Verbal Guidance and Individual Differences in Multimedia Mathematics Learning.

Elementary school children, some of whom were nonnative speakers of English, learned to add and subtract integers in a discovery-based multimedia game either with or without verbal guidance in English or optionally in Spanish (Groups G--verbal guidance and No-G--no verbal guidance, respectively). Group G members chose to listen to verbal explanations in their first language and showed larger posttest scores than Group No-G. High-computer-experience students in Group G outperformed the rest of the students on training session scores and a transfer test. Longer latencies to respond to practice problems affected all learning measures positively. Results support the use of verbal guidance for discovery-based multimedia games and show that multimedia games may not be equally effective for all learners. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Learning science in virtual reality multimedia environments: Role of methods and media.

College students learned about botany through an agent-based multimedia game. In Experiment 1, students received either spoken or identical on-screen text explanations; in addition, the lesson was presented either via a desktop display (D), a head-mounted display (HMD) used while sitting, or an HMD used while walking (W). In Experiment 2, we examined the effects of presenting explanations as narration (N), text (T), or both (NT) within the D and W conditions. Students scored higher on retention, transfer, and program ratings in N conditions than in T conditions. The NT condition produced results in between. Students gave higher ratings of presence when learning with HMDs, but media did not affect performance on measures of retention, transfer, or program ratings. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

When Static Media Promote Active Learning: Annotated Illustrations Versus Narrated Animations in Multimedia Instruction.

In 4 experiments, students received a lesson consisting of computer-based animation and narration or a lesson consisting of paper-based static diagrams and text. The lessons used the same words and graphics in the paper-based and computer-based versions to explain the process of lightning formation (Experiment 1), how a toilet tank works (Experiment 2), how ocean waves work (Experiment 3), and how a car's braking system works (Experiment 4). On subsequent retention and transfer tests, the paper group performed significantly better than the computer group on 4 of 8 comparisons, and there was no significant difference on the rest. These results support the static media hypothesis, in which static illustrations with printed text reduce extraneous processing and promote germane processing as compared with narrated animations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

“材料科学基础“课程双语教学的实践与研讨

阐述了开展"材料科学基础"课程双语教学的意义,探讨了制约其双语教学开展的不利现状和实施双语教学的有利奈件,在现有的教学奈件下,引进国外优秀原版教材,进行"材料科学基础"专业课多媒体双语教学实践.结果表明,合理组织教学资源,选用原版教材,发挥多媒体技术的积极作用,有选择地开展"材料科学基础"课程双语教学是可行的,而且可以获得良好的教学效果.     

Applying the science of learning: Evidence-based principles for the design of multimedia instruction.

During the last 100 years, a major accomplishment of psychology has been the development of a science of learning aimed at understanding how people learn. In attempting to apply the science of learning, a central challenge of psychology and education is the development of a science of instruction aimed at understanding how to present material in ways that help people learn. The author provides an overview of how the design of multimedia instruction can be informed by the science of learning and the science of instruction, which yields 10 principles of multimedia instructional design that are grounded in theory and based on evidence. Overall, the relationship between the science of learning and the science of instruction is reciprocal. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Motivational Science Perspective on the Role of Student Motivation in Learning and Teaching Contexts.

A motivational science perspective on student motivation in learning and teaching contexts is developed that highlights 3 general themes for motivational research. The 3 themes include the importance of a general scientific approach for research on student motivation, the utility of multidisciplinary perspectives, and the importance of use-inspired basic research on motivation. Seven substantive questions are then suggested as important directions for current and future motivational science research efforts. They include (1) What do students want? (2) What motivates students in classrooms (3) How do students get what they want? (4) Do students know what they want or what motivates them? (5) How does motivation lead to cognition and cognition to motivation? (6) How does motivation change and develop? and (7) What is the role of context and culture? Each of the questions is addressed in terms of current knowledge claims and future directions for research in motivational science. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Pictorial aids for learning by doing in a multimedia geology simulation game.

How can we help students learn to solve authentic geology problems within a virtual environment? The task was to survey an area of a planet's surface to identify the presence of various geological features such as a trench, ridge, basin, island, or seamount. Students who received prior pictorial representations of each of the possible features (pictorial scaffolding) performed more accurately than students who did not (in Experiments 2 and 3), but there was no significant effect (in Experiments 1 and 2) for including verbal statements about strategies for drawing lines and points (strategic scaffolding). Some cognitive apprenticeship techniques (such as pictorial scaffolding) are useful aids to learning in computer-based geology simulations. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Animated pedagogical agents in multimedia educational environments: Effects of agent properties, picture features and redundancy.

Two experiments explored the integration of animated agents into multimedia environments in the context of R. E. Mayer's (2001) cognitive theory of multimedia learning. Experiment 1 was a 3 (agent properties: agent only, agent with gesture, no agent) × 3 (picture features: static picture, sudden onset, animation) design. Agent properties produced no significant effects. Both sudden onset and animation conditions facilitated performance relative to the static-picture condition. In Experiment 2, we explored the effects of printed text, spoken narration, and spoken narration with the printed text, in a multimedia environment that included an agent, to investigate effects of redundancy. The spoken-narration-only condition outperformed the other 2, with no differences between printed text and printed text with spoken narration. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Early, Involuntary Top-Down Guidance of Attention From Working Memory.

Four experiments explored the interrelations between working memory, attention, and eye movements. Observers had to identify a tilted line amongst vertical distractors. Each line was surrounded by a colored shape that could be precued by a matching item held in memory. Relative to a neutral baseline, in which no shapes matched the memory item, search was more efficient when the memory cue matched the shape containing the target, and it was less efficient when the cued stimulus contained a distractor. Cuing affected the shortest reaction times and the first saccade in search. The effect occurred even when the memory cue was always invalid but not when the cue did not have to be held in memory. There was also no evidence for priming effects between consecutive trials. The results suggest that there can be early, involuntary top-down directing of attention to a stimulus matching the contents of working memory. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Computer-based learning of neuroanatomy: A longitudinal study of learning, transfer, and retention.

A longitudinal experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of new methods for learning neuroanatomy with computer-based instruction. Using a three-dimensional graphical model of the human brain and sections derived from the model, tools for exploring neuroanatomy were developed to encourage adaptive exploration. This is an instructional method that incorporates graphical exploration in the context of repeated testing and feedback. With this approach, 72 participants learned either sectional anatomy alone or whole anatomy followed by sectional anatomy. Sectional anatomy was explored either with perceptually continuous navigation through the sections or with discrete navigation (as in the use of an anatomical atlas). Learning was measured longitudinally to a high performance criterion. Subsequent tests examined transfer of learning to the interpretation of biomedical images and long-term retention. There were several clear results of this study. On initial exposure to neuroanatomy, whole anatomy was learned more efficiently than sectional anatomy. After whole anatomy was mastered, learners demonstrated high levels of transfer of learning to sectional anatomy and from sectional anatomy to the interpretation of complex biomedical images. Learning whole anatomy prior to learning sectional anatomy led to substantially fewer errors overall than learning sectional anatomy alone. Use of continuous or discrete navigation through sectional anatomy made little difference to measured outcomes. Efficient learning, good long-term retention, and successful transfer to the interpretation of biomedical images indicated that computer-based learning using adaptive exploration can be a valuable tool in instruction of neuroanatomy and similar disciplines. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of memory in concept learning.

Studies manipulating variables in the attempt to produce different memory requirements in concept learning are reviewed. Many of them have tested Underwood's theoretical position of response contiguity. Performance is generally improved by increasing the availability of previous stimulus information. The degree to which instances of the same concept occur contiguously directly affects acquisition of the concept. Attempts to demonstrate inferior performance with spaced practice have not been successful, although procedural problems make any conclusion tentative. There is some suggestion that memory effects could be classified as proactive and retroactive inhibition. A basic problem concerns the indirect type of question posed by investigators. (36 ref.) (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

车工工艺与技能训练教学中多媒体课件应用

文章论述了将多媒体技术应用于车工工艺与技能训练的关键问题,有效地发挥多媒体交互性、表现力、共享性,以及教师在授课过程中,采用多媒体技术将实际的加工现场搬到教室黑板上的虚拟教学。     

Hope and Guidance for Parents of Children with OCD: A Review of Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder.

Reviews the book "Freeing Your Child from Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder," by T.E. Chansky (see record 2000-16012-000). This is a concise and helpful resource for parents who are seeking active participation as an agent in their child's treatment of Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD). It is likely that one book alone will never be sufficient to help a child and/or parent through an entire course of treatment for OCD; rather, change appears to come through a combination of many resources, including information, books, professional support, and skill development. As part of a comprehensive intervention approach, this book provides a "roadmap" for parents seeking a helping role in supporting their child's treatment trajectory. Although this book contains invaluable information for parents, the information and guidelines will be best understood and most effectively employed when parents are consulting with a qualified psychologist. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

A Personalization Effect in Multimedia Learning: Students Learn Better When Words Are in Conversational Style Rather Than Formal Style.

Students received a personalized or nonpersonalized version of a narrated animation explaining how the human respiratory system works. The narration for the nonpersonalized version was in formal style, whereas the narration for the personalized version was in conversational style in which "the" was changed to "your" in 12 places. In 3 experiments, students who received the personalized version scored significantly higher on transfer tests but not on retention tests than did students who received the nonpersonalized version. The results are consistent with a cognitive theory of multimedia learning in which personalization causes students to actively process the incoming material. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

The Role of Choice in Children's Learning: A Distinctive Cultural and Gender Difference in Efficacy, Interest, and Effort.

A cross-cultural experiment testing the effect of personal choice on learning was conducted with fifth- and sixth-graders from Canada (n = 130) and Taiwan (n = 153) using a computerized foreign language learning task. The results showed that choice had no significant impact on children's interest, effort, or learning outcome. Although comparable to their Chinese counterparts in efficacy beliefs, the Canadian children reported to be more interested but showed less effort and performed less well on the task. The Canadian boys had a lower efficacy belief and consistently showed less interest and effort than the girls; this gender gap, however, was not evident in the Chinese. Unlike the Canadians, Chinese children's effort was unrelated to efficacy beliefs or interest. When told explicitly there would be no test, Chinese children became more interested in the task but the Canadians were unaffected. Implications of these findings are discussed and further studies are suggested. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

A comparison of three measures of cognitive load: Evidence for separable measures of intrinsic, extraneous, and germane load.

Understanding how to measure cognitive load is a fundamental challenge for cognitive load theory. In 2 experiments, 155 college students (ages = 17 to 22; 49 men and 106 women) with low domain knowledge learned from a multimedia lesson on electric motors. At 8 points during learning, their cognitive load was measured via self-report scales (mental effort ratings) and response time to a secondary visual monitoring task, and they completed a difficulty rating scale at the end of the lesson. Correlations among the three measures were generally low. Analyses of variance indicated that the response time measure was most sensitive to manipulations of extraneous processing (created by adding redundant text), effort ratings were most sensitive to manipulations of intrinsic processing (created by sentence complexity), and difficulty ratings were most sensitive to indications of germane processing (reflected by transfer test performance). Results are consistent with a triarchic theory of cognitive load in which different aspects of cognitive load may be tapped by different measures of cognitive load. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Distributed Education and the Role of Online Learning in Training Professional Psychologists.

Distributed learning and its allied concept, distance education, have the potential to move graduate training beyond the physical classroom, providing "anytime" and "anyplace" educational opportunities to new groups of learners as well as to students in traditional campus-based programs. It is argued that the focus on online learning activities found in distributed learning institutions is most compatible with a model of pedagogy that emphasizes, among other things, asynchronous small group discussions, collaborative problem solving, reflective inquiry, competency-based outcomes, and the facilitator role of the instructor. The article concludes with suggestions for and challenges regarding the application of computer-based learning tools to the training of clinical psychologists. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)     

Deceived and distorted: Game outcome retrospectively determines the reported time of action.

Previous work suggested the association between intentionality and the reported time of action was exclusive, with intentionality as the primary facilitator to the mental time compression between the reported time of action and its effect (Haggard, Clark, & Kalogeras, 2002). In three experiments, we examined whether mental time compression could also be observed in an unintended action. Participants performed an externally cued key press task that elicited one of two possible tones. The reported time of action shifted closer to the tone when the tone was used to indicate the winner of a race (Exp.2) compared to when the tone was meaningless and did not indicate winning (Exp.1). This suggests that reported time of an unintended action could shift toward the effect in some contexts. Furthermore, the results from Exp.2 and Exp.3 (tones were substituted with verbal feedback) showed that a presumed winning action was judged to occur earlier whereas a presumed losing action was judged to be later. These findings therefore support the view that the reported time of action is reconstructed from known temporal information rather than determined by intentionality. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved)     

Role of psychological science in promoting environmental quality: Introduction.

With the advent of environmental psychology in the late 1960s, psychologists have taken a prominent role in understanding such problems as exemplified by their examination of the processes underlying the perception of environmental quality. This and related research can have impact on two critical problems: (a) preservation of the biosphere in which we live, and (b) amelioration of the sometimes poor quality of our everyday life existence. The work to date of contemporary environmental psychologists provides a powerful beginning. However, our theoretical perspective, namely, the organismic-developmental systems approach to the general study of the experience and action of persons-in-environments (Demick & Wapner, 1989; Wapner, 1987; Wapner & Demick, in press-a, in press-b), suggests that one way (among others) that psychological science might contribute to solving the specific problem of promoting environmental quality is by considering, in a holistic manner, the relations among levels of integration (biological, psychological, and sociocultural) as well as between experience (cognition, affect, and valuation) and action. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2010 APA, all rights reserved)