Learning and Instruction最新文献

Although there is controversy surrounding rewards and competition in education, they are key elements in digital game-based learning (DGBL). Research on the influence of rewards and competition in DGBL often yields mixed results, suggesting a need to investigate individual game elements and their interactions. This study implemented DGBL focusing on computational thinking (CT) in 7th-grade classes. Both quantitative and behavioral data were collected to understand the impact of rewards (power-up or customization) and competition (with or without) on students’ intrinsic motivation, game performance, behaviors, and CT skills. The findings uncovered significant interactions between rewards and competition. Students with both competition and power-up rewards achieved the highest game points but the lowest CT performance, whereas those exposed to the same power-up rewards without competition attained the lowest game points but the best CT performance. Implications are drawn for DGBL research and practice.

Background

Spatial thinking plays a crucial role in STEM success. Minecraft Education, a digital game-based learning platform, provides opportunities for developing students’ spatial thinking while supporting curricular content.

Aim

This study evaluated the effectiveness of a Minecraft Education intervention, integrated into the curriculum, in improving spatial thinking and creativity.

Sample

Fifth and sixth year primary school students (M_age = 11.53, SD_age = 0.58) and their teachers.

Methods

The study used a mixed-methods, two-level cluster randomised-controlled trial design. Thirty-two classes (N = 885 students) were randomly assigned to the intervention or education-as-usual control group. Assessments of spatial thinking and creativity were completed at pre-test, post-test and 6-week follow up. Teacher interviews were conducted to understand their experiences of the intervention.

Results

While no overall intervention-related improvements in spatial thinking were found, subgroup analyses revealed that 5th year demonstrated improved spatial thinking compared to 6th year at post-test. This may be attributable to 5th year students’ higher levels of engagement in the intervention. Unexpectedly, creativity scores were higher in the control group at post-test. Qualitative interviews identified four themes: 1) Improving spatial thinking, 2) Improving creativity, 3) Engagement, and 4) Difficulties implementing the programme.

Conclusion

This study highlights the importance of increasing student engagement in spatial interventions to improve their spatial skills. Finally, the study suggests that sustained practice is required to maintain the benefits of spatial instruction/training.

Background

The learning styles myth is prevalent among (pre-service) teachers. Research shows that texts and podcasts refuting misconceptions and contrasting them with scientific concepts can effectively dissolve such misconceptions through cognitive conflicts, encouraging the reflection of one's beliefs. However, it is unclear if texts and podcasts differ in refuting pre-service teachers' misconceptions.

Aims

We investigated if conceptual change texts and podcasts have different potential for inducing conceptual change among pre-service teachers regarding their beliefs in the learning styles myth, compared to an expository information presentation immediately and up to eight weeks after the intervention.

Sample

116 pre-service teachers participated in the short term, and 100 in the long term.

Methods

The experimental study used a 2 x 2 x 4 mixed-design (manner of information presentation: conceptual change vs expository; medium: podcast vs text; time: immediately before and after the treatment as well as four and eight weeks later). Participants were randomly assigned to one of four conditions. Students' beliefs were measured at all four measurement points.

Results

The conceptual change conditions led to a stronger decrease in students' beliefs than the expository conditions in the short term (p < 0.01, η² = 0.08) and the long term (p = 0.03, η² = 0.04). Text and podcast were equally effective in the short term (p = 0.62, η² = 0.00, BF₀₁ = 9.13) and the long term (p = 0.67, η² = 0.00, BF₀₁ = 39.94).

Conclusion

Podcasts and texts using conceptual change strategies can effectively dispel pedagogical misconceptions among pre-service teachers up to eight weeks post-intervention.

Background

As instructional quality is crucial for successful learning, its conditional factors are of particular interest for research and practice. Research showed that distal as well as proximal class composition factors are related to instructional quality. However, it is still unclear to what extent these aspects explain differences in instructional quality between classes of the same teacher.

Aim

This study investigates differences in instructional quality (cognitive activation, classroom management, student support) between classes taught by the same teacher and how these differences are related to distal (gender ratio, SES, proportion of multilingual learners) and proximal (self-concept, interest, mathematics grade) classroom composition factors.

Sample

Analyses are based on 3566 students in 219 classes taught by 106 teachers in 9th-grade mathematics classrooms in Germany.

Methods

We estimated three-level doubly-latent linear mixed models regressing instructional quality on class composition factors with students at level 1, classes at level 2, and teachers at level 3.

Results

Roughly 7–13 % of the variance in instructional quality perceived by the students can be attributed to class characteristics. Higher class-mean interest and a lower proportion of multilingual learners are related to higher cognitive activation. Class-mean self-concept is negatively and interest is positively related to student support. Higher discipline can be significantly explained by higher mean mathematics grades and more female students in the class.

Conclusions

Our results underline the importance of considering the classroom context when striving for high instructional quality, highlighting the importance of promoting proximal factors such as student interest.

Background

The viewing perspective effect refers to the finding that students learn better from instructional videos recorded from first-person perspective than third-person perspective, but little is known about the neural mechanism underlying this effect.

Aims

This study investigates the underlying neural mechanism of the viewing perspective effect.

Samples

Participants were 60 university students in Experiment 1, and 65 university students in Experiment 2.

Methods

Experiment 1 replicated previous studies by using paper folding tasks (i.e., butterfly and four-leaf clover). Participants were randomly assigned to the first-person view group (i.e., watching videos recorded from a first-person view) or the third-person view group (i.e., watching videos recorded from a third-person view). Experiment 2 extended viewing perspective research by using neuroimaging methodology. Participants were randomly assigned to the two groups as in Experiment 1, but with fNIRS probes placed on each student's head. Participants watched the butterfly video (watching phase) and then performed the task (imitation phase).

Results

There was superior performance on the butterfly task with a first-person view over a third-person view in both experiments, replicating the viewing perspective effect. There was higher cortical activation in the first-person view group in the right dlPFC during the watching phase, and higher cortical activation in third-person view group in the left IPC during the imitation phase.

Conclusions

This study replicates viewing perspective effect and investigates the underlying neural mechanism of the viewing perspective effect.

Background

Problem-solving encourages learners to engage in deep knowledge processing. However, merely providing problem-solving activities without considering task complexity may not optimize learning.

Aims

The present study analyzed the effects of task complexity (consistently high vs. gradually increasing) on performance, germane cognitive load, meta-awareness, and intrinsic interest using a learning task conducted in a laboratory.

Sample

We analyzed data collected from 98 graduate and ungraduated university students (N = 98; M_age = 21.22 years, SD = 3.03).

Methods

The study comprised a main session and a post-test. During the main session participants completed a problem-solving task either with consistently high complexity or gradually increasing complexity. During the post-test all participants solved the task once with high complexity. Metacognition (regulation, knowledge), germane cognitive load, meta-awareness, and intrinsic interest were assessed by self-evaluation questionnaires.

Results

The findings indicated positive effects of consistently high complexity on immediate performance, germane cognitive load, and meta-awareness. Additionally, an important relationship between metacognition (regulation, knowledge) and meta-awareness was identified when learning with gradually increasing complexity. However, no impact of task complexity on intrinsic interest was found.

Conclusions

The findings suggest that exposing learners to consistently high complexity tasks can have beneficial effects on learning without negatively influencing intrinsic interest.

Background

Image interpretation scaffolds and mind mapping may support students’ historical reasoning. Benefits of such approaches are, until present, not empirically tested.

Aims

This quasi-experimental study compared effects of three conditions: a sequenced image interpretation scaffold, a flexible image interpretation scaffold, and mind mapping on students’ historical reasoning about and with images.

Sample

Participants were adolescents (secondary school students, N = 145, M age 13.9 years).

Methods

Historical reasoning was assessed with a writing task. Participants interpreted three photographs over three time points. At T1, students had no support. At T2 and T3, students interpreted an image with the randomly assigned condition. Students’ interpretative essays were rated to assess historical reasoning.

Results

Image interpretation scaffolds better supported historical reasoning than mind mapping. Both interpretation scaffolds enhanced historical reasoning. Particularly the flexible image interpretation scaffold appeared to benefit contextualization and the description of the relevance of the image message for the present. However, effects of the flexible scaffold were not stable over time.

Conclusions

Image interpretation scaffolds seem beneficial to support students’ interpretation of historical images. Further research needs to investigate how image interpretation scaffolds support historical reasoning for different types of images.

Background

Providing learners with standards, which represent correct solutions to a task, is a promising means to support self-assessment. To date, however, the evidence in support of standards mainly stems from studies that used tasks for which correct solutions are very similar to each other in terms of both structural and surface features. By contrast, for tasks for which correct solutions are similar to each other only in terms of structural features, empirical evidence is scarce.

Aims

The goals of the present study were to investigate the effects of standards in tasks for which correct solutions are similar to each other only in terms of structural features.

Samples

Participants were N_Exp1 = 139 and N_Exp2 = 170 university students.

Methods

Using the task of generating examples that illustrate previously encountered declarative concepts, we varied whether in self-assessing the quality of their examples learners received standards (with vs. without) and structural comparison/processing support (with vs. without) that supported learners in processing the critical structural features of the standards and their own examples.

Results

Standards increased self-assessment accuracy and performance. The effects concerning self-assessment accuracy could be enhanced by additionally providing structural comparison support.

Conclusions

We conclude that standards are a promising means to support self-assessment accuracy in tasks for which correct solutions are similar to each other only in terms of structural features. However, their effectiveness depends on the degree to which learners compare their products and the standards in terms of structural features, which needs to be supported.

Background

In a typical instructional setting, teachers are responsible for making ongoing decisions that involve judgments of students’ capabilities, knowledge, learning needs, and progress toward a certain pre-specified goal. However, there is a significant within-teacher as well as a great between-teacher variability in the actual determination of grades. Grades appear to be an amalgam of characteristics of a student, filtered through a range of teacher personality variables.

Aims

The purpose of this study was to investigate the extent to which pre-service teachers agreed on students’ grades in writing task between holistic and analytic grading approaches and how their individual characteristics and beliefs about features of assessment explained the variability in grading practices.

Sample

Teacher candidates (N = 231, 65% female) enrolled in a training program in 2020 and 2021 cohorts at the University of València, Spain, were asked to read two essays, identified by experts as being of low and high quality, and assign holistic and analytic grades.

Results

although teacher candidates provided grades consistently across the two approaches (intra-individual differences), there was a high variability in the distribution among participants (inter-individual differences). We found that, gender, area of specialization, attitudes toward feedback, and extraversion were significant predictors of grading variability.

Conclusion

This study highlights the considerable variation in grading practices among pre-service teachers, indicating the influence of individual factors such as gender, specialization, feedback receptivity, and extraversion. Despite consistent grading within specific approaches, the inter-individual differences in scores were substantial. Due to the consequential nature of teacher grades, our findings offer important insights and have critical implications for teacher preparation and professional development programs.