Considerable research suggests a link between mind wandering and diminished levels of motivation and interest. During episodes of mind wandering, individuals may engage in efforts to redirect their attention back to the task at hand (known as focus back effort). Building on the resource-control hypothesis, we hypothesized that the influence of…

We investigated whether increased perceptual processing difficulty during reading or listening to a Sherlock Holmes novella impacts mind wandering as well as text comprehension. We presented 175 participants with a novella in either a visual or an auditory presentation format and probed their thoughts and motivational states from time to time…

The empirical evidence concerning the question whether an instructor should be presented on online lecture slides is equivocal and two lines of theoretical reasoning exist. On the one hand, the instructor may distract from the content, thereby hampering learning; on the other hand, the instructor may function as a social cue that triggers a more…

In recent years, the importance of mobile devices has increased for education in general and more specifically for science and mathematics education. In the classroom, approaches for teaching with mobile devices include using student-owned devices ("bring your own device"; BYOD approach) or using school-owned devices from central pools…

This study aims to advance our understanding of the nature and source(s) of individual differences in pragmatic language behavior over the adult lifespan. Across four story continuation experiments, we probed adults' (N = 496 participants, ages 18-82) choice of referential forms (i.e., names vs. pronouns to refer to the main character). Our…

The use of video lectures has become a core feature of digital learning, but how the media diversity carried in videos affects learning experience has been rarely studied. Adopting a two-factor experimental design, this study used cognitive style questionnaires, brain wave detection, cognitive load scale, and post-test to explore the impacts of…

Attentional control theory indicates that concentration is considered an important variable that contributes to learning. There are some devices for players to practice their concentration, but there are few virtual reality (VR) designs which can increase the level of difficulty for students to discipline their mental concentration with…

Background: Learning to use software using screencast videos with worked examples in the corresponding practice files presents a classic split-attention problem that requires learners to mentally integrate information from the video with a target application. While there is evidence that splitting attention either temporally or spatially adversely…

Fidget toys have been marketed as universal educational supports in the absence of a scientific evidence base. This article gives an overview of the existing literature on the effect of fidget toy use on student attention, behavior, and learning, and a review of two competing theoretical approaches to fidget toys: sensory processing theory and…

Data is everywhere, but not always accessible to everyone. Conventional data visualization tools and guidelines often assume a standard user, neglecting the neurodivergent needs of individuals with cognitive disabilities. These disabilities can create significant obstacles in data-driven reasoning, including difficulties in processing complex…

Younger children have more difficulty in sharing attention between two concurrent tasks than do older participants, but in addition to this developmental change, we documented changes in the nature of attention sharing. We studied children 6-8 and 10-14 years old and college students (in all, 104 women and 76 men; 3% Hispanic, 3% Black or African…

E-learning systems, which are used for teaching complex software, can facilitate learning if they provide an appropriate teaching approach that decreases learners' cognitive load in addition to providing practical knowledge. We believe there is lack of cognitively guided educational recommendations on how to effectively and efficiently design such…

Cognitive load theory (CLT) applies what is known about human cognitive architecture to the study of learning and instruction, to generate insights into the characteristics and conditions of effective instruction and learning. Recent developments in CLT suggest that the human motor system plays an important role in cognition and learning; however,…

Adult learners are a significant proportion of distance learners and many of these students are working mothers. Several instructional design models center the learner, and this requires understanding the learner needs, strengths, and context. There is a gap in the literature describing the experience of modern working mother students in distance…

Although the presentation of extraneous (i.e., irrelevant or unnecessary) information hinders learning, it is unclear whether and how layout and pacing influence this effect. In two experiments, participants learned how the heart functions using four different layouts: a diagram presented without unnecessary text (diagram only), with unnecessary…