The emergence of immersive digital technologies, such as shared augmented reality (shAR), virtual reality (VR) and motion capture (MC) offers promising new opportunities to advance our understanding of human cognition and design innovative technology-enhanced learning experiences. Theoretical frameworks for embodied and extended cognition can…

Virtual reality (VR) can provide access to otherwise inaccessible aspects of the world and thus promote science learning. We developed a VR learning tool about the water cycle, with 11 lessons for classroom teaching at the primary level. We assessed prior knowledge before a four-week intervention and learning outcomes directly after the…

Virtual Reality (VR) is increasingly recognized as a promising tool to enhance learning, yet research on the use of VR instructional approaches for online learning remains limited. The present study aims to address this research gap by examining the effects of VR instructional approaches and textual cues on learning. We conducted an educational VR…

The purpose of this study was to examine if student understanding of new material could be promoted by manipulating the perceptual factors experienced at the time of learning. It was hypothesized that the thematic relevance of perceptual factors would be a significant contributor to learner understanding. To test this hypothesis, one hundred…

Increased recognition of the role of the body and environment in cognition has taken place in recent decades in the form of new theories of embodied and extended cognition. The growing use of ever more sophisticated computer-generated 3D virtual worlds and avatars has added a new dimension to these theories of cognition. Both developments provide…

In an increasingly multilingual world, it is important to examine methods that may lead to more efficient second language learning, as well as to analyze the mechanisms by which successful learning occurs. The purpose of the current study was to investigate how different learning contexts can impact the learning of Mandarin Chinese as a second…

Lack of motivation and of real-world relevance have been identified as reasons for low interest in science among children. Game-based learning and storytelling are prominent methods for generating intrinsic motivation in learning. Real-world relevance requires connecting abstract scientific concepts with the real world. This can be done by…

Betty's Brain is an open-ended learning environment in which students learn about science topics by teaching a virtual agent named Betty through the construction of a visual causal map that represents the relevant science phenomena. The task is complex, and success requires the use of metacognitive strategies that support knowledge acquisition,…

This study aims to be a contribution to a theoretical model that explains the effectiveness of the learning and decision-making processes by means of a feedback and mental models perspective. With appropriate mental models, managers should be able to improve their capacity to deal with dynamically complex contexts, in order to achieve long-term…

Teaching and learning are highly social activities. Seminal psychologists such as Vygotsky, Piaget, and Bandura have theorized that social interaction is a key mechanism in the process of learning and development. In particular, the benefits of peer interaction for learning and motivation in classrooms have been broadly demonstrated through…

A study of four seventh-graders using an open-ended learning environment (OELE) on mechanical physics combining computer-generated graphics, computer simulations, video, and print-based materials indicated that while learners built and formalized scientific theories, in some cases, they assimilated new data into existing theories, ignored…

Explores how users interact and learn during computer-based simulations given graphical and textual forms of feedback. Graduate students were randomly assigned computer simulations with graphical feedback, textual feedback, or graphical plus textual feedback. Findings indicate that graphical feedback provides experiential learning, but that these…