Educational Technology Research and Development最新文献

Recent years have seen an increase in the use of immersive virtual reality (IVR) technology in education and training. Studies examining the efficacy of IVR-based interventions have shown improved performance compared to traditional training programmes; however, little is known about whether such improvements can be detected at the level of individual cognitive abilities. The present study sought to examine the effect of IVR on memory using an incidental learning paradigm. Undergraduate volunteers viewed a three-minute 360° video clip under immersive and non-immersive conditions—respectively, using a Head Mounted Display (HMD) or a 2D flat screen monitor—followed by a surprise recall task. Although both devices supported active exploration of the scene in 360°, recall was significantly improved for learners in the immersive condition. These findings suggest that IVR has a facilitative effect on cognition, and that learners may naturally engage with IVR-delivered content without any special instruction or preparation.

This study aimed to examine the effect of four types of assessment on overall student success in an online college-level climate change course. Quizzes, midterms, lab assignments, and a capstone project as well as knowledge check questions were used to assess different aspects of student learning, consistent with Bloom’s taxonomy hierarchy. Quizzes and midterms assess basic knowledge, including remembering and understanding concepts, laboratory assignments require students to analyze and integrate concepts, and the capstone allows students to evaluate their understanding and create new content. Binary logistic regression, multiple regression analysis, continuous-by-continuous interaction modeling, and path analysis were used to investigate the moderating and mediating effects of these assessment types. We found both direct and indirect positive interactions as well as one negative interaction. Positive interactions were identified between quiz and lab assignment achievement and between capstone achievement and lab assignment achievement. The total score for correctly answered knowledge check questions positively affected quiz and lab assignment achievements. The interaction between capstone project achievement and total score for correctly answered knowledge check questions showed a negative interaction. Finally, the total score for correctly answered knowledge-check questions had an indirect positive effect on overall student success in the course. Results show that different types of assessment in an online course are complementary and amplify student learning.

Researchers have indicated the importance of engaging learners in self-regulated learning (SRL) states when situated in game-based learning contexts; however, it remains a challenge for both educational and educational technology researchers to effectively integrate both. To this end, this study investigated how SRL strategies are interwoven with game-based learning in higher education by searching the web of science database to systematically review the papers published between 2009 and 2020 in academic journals. The encoded dimensions ranged from the primary research purpose to research issues, including application domains, research methods, duration of the studies, SRL strategies, game types, and game genres. It was found that since 2015, the research purposes have become increasingly diverse, with skills acquisition in game-based learning being regarded as the most important goal, followed by knowledge acquisition and behavior change. Such games took goal orientation, peer learning, and regulating as the main SRL strategies, which exerted a positive effect on learning performance, self-efficacy/confidence, attitudes/effort, satisfaction/interest, and learning behavior. Meanwhile, these SRL strategies were well embedded into problem-solving, simulation, multi-type, and RPG game types against the setting of the real-life-related storyline as the main game genre. Since previous studies lacked the systematic application of all SRL strategies within a game-based learning environment, they could not uncover the dynamic and cyclic processes of SRL in game-based learning environments. Hence, this study proposed corresponding suggestions for future research issues as a reference for researchers, teachers, and decision-makers.

The effectiveness of digital game-based language learning (DGBLL) has been recognized by scholars. With the development of computer technology and multimedia learning environments, computer agents have been widely used in game systems to provide learning guidance or assistance. A computer agent is a virtual character created in a digital learning system to achieve instructional goals. However, in traditional teaching systems, computer agents are designed to perform a single role, such as a teacher or a student. Computer agents with a single interactive logic often lack the functionality required to understand students’ conditions and needs from various perspectives, and cannot adapt for better learning support. Therefore, this study proposed an adaptive role-switching strategy that allows computer agents to adjust their roles and functions according to students' needs in digital games to promote their learning achievement. An adaptive computer agent-based digital game was developed to investigate the impact of this model on English vocabulary learning achievement, motivation, self-efficacy, and English anxiety among EFL (English as Foreign Language) students. A quasi-experiment was designed and 56 middle school students in four classes were recruited. Two classes (n = 30) were arranged to be the experimental group which used an adaptive computer agent-based digital game (adaptive computer agent-based digital game, ACA-DG), while two classes (n = 26) were arranged to be the control group which used the conventional computer agent-based digital game (conventional computer agent-based digital game, CCA-DG). The results showed that students in the experimental group had significantly higher learning achievement and self-efficacy than those in the control group. On the other hand, students in the experimental group had significantly lower English anxiety than those in the control group. There was no significant difference between the two groups regarding learning motivation.

In the contemporary society, it is important to cultivate students’ visual literacy. However, there has been a lack of sufficient training for students to improve their visual literacy in the classroom. A problem-posing approach (Visual Thinking Strategy, VTS, a learning strategy with question sequences to facilitate critical inquiry) has been proposed to achieve this objective. However, problem-posing should be supported with scaffolds to help learning deeply. And concept mapping is such a scaffold to aid problem-posing in visual literacy cultivation. In this study, a quasi-experiment was conducted on two classes of undergraduate students in Shanghai to evaluate the effects of the proposed approach. An online learning system was developed based on the proposed approach; moreover, a quasi-experiment was conducted on two classes of undergraduate students to evaluate the effects of the proposed approach. The experimental results show that the concept mapping-based online problem-posing approach improved the depth of students’ visual analysis, which indicates sharpening of students’ visual literacy and their critical thinking tendency. The interview results further showed that the students perceived the approach as being effective from the perspectives of “increasing visual analysis capability,” “developing thinking capability,” and “improving self-reflection in learning.”

A large body of research shows that physical activity helps school-aged children and adolescents improve their health and academic performance, and many different types of technology can be used to facilitate and promote physical activity within a school community. This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable questionnaire, titled the Comprehensive School Physical Activity Program Technology Practice Questionnaire (CSPAP-TPQ) that investigates the current practice of technology use for physical activity promotion among various school stakeholders. Two rounds of the Delphi method (n = 24 experts) were employed to determine the content validity of questionnaire items. Reliability was established using the test–retest method among 43 registered Active Schools Champions. The final version of the questionnaire encompasses 41 unique technologies with items related to respondent demographics, school characteristics, and technology experience. Expert consensus, percent agreement, and chi-square analyses suggest that the CSPAP-TPQ is a valid and reliable tool for examining technology use in school-based physical activity, which can positively impact not only students’ health and well-being but also their academic achievement.

Dialectical thinking is a way of discussing and analyzing things from different viewpoints to reach a solution. It is often taught in language courses by conducting argumentation activities. However, without providing effective strategies or tools, learners generally encounter difficulties in structuring their viewpoints during the argumentation process. To solve this problem, this study proposed dialectical constructivist scaffolding-based argumentation mapping (DCS-AM), which integrates a structured, four-stage process to support students’ dialectical thinking and oral and dialogical argumentation complexity. The argumentation map refers to a visualized tool that enables learners to structure their viewpoints for making arguments. A quasi-experiment was conducted in an English as a Foreign Language course. A total of 26 students were in the DCS-AM group, while 22 students were in the conventional constructivist scaffolding-based argumentation mapping (CS-AM) group, which adopted a more conventional format, emphasizing direct discussion and teacher-led knowledge transmission. The experimental results found that students in the DCS-AM group exhibited significantly better dialectical thinking than those in the CS-AM group. Also, an epistemic network analysis (ENA) of oral and dialogical argumentation revealed that students in the DCS-AM group frequently developed more complex argumentation than those in the CS-AM group in terms of the structural component and discourse activity, including the process of students’ dialectical thinking that was found in both groups. This finding shows that technology-supported dialectical constructivist scaffolding can help students improve their dialectical thinking and argumentation skills.