Many test items use both an image and text, but present them in a spatially separate manner. This format could potentially cause a split-attention effect in which the test taker's cognitive load is increased by having to split attention between the image and text, while mentally integrating the two sources of information. We investigated the…

Spatial understanding of complex anatomical concepts is often a challenge for learners, as well as for educators. It is even more challenging for students with low mental spatial abilities. There are many options to teach spatial relationships, ranging from simple models to high-end three-dimensional (3D) virtual reality tools. Using a randomized…

Rapid developments in educational technology in higher education are intended to make learning more engaging and effective. At the same time, cognitive load theory stresses limitations of human cognitive architecture and urges educational developers to design learning tools that optimise learners' mental capacities. In a 2-month study we…

Purpose: Social media has shown a substantial influence on the daily lives of students, mainly due to the overuse of smartphones. Students use social media both for academic and non-academic purposes. Due to an increase in the usage of social media, academicians are now confronting pedagogical issues, and the question arises as to whether the use…

The purpose of this study is to develop and examine the psychometric properties of the Online Course Overload Indicator (OCOI) and the Student Mental Fatigue Survey (SMFS). The OCOI was designed to measure students' perceptions of cognitive overload in online courses. The SMFS was used to assess students' perceptions of mental fatigue while taking…

The current study investigated L2-based assumptions of the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning and Cognitive Load Theory for the multimedia, modality, and redundancy principles. In this non-equivalent groups quasi-experimental design study, four groups of Turkish-speaking teacher trainees of the English language received a 12-minute non-paced…

Building bridges between two of the most influential research fields in educational psychology, self-regulation and cognitive load theory, is highly relevant but also challenging. The collection of papers in this special issue reflects this interplay by reviewing the still scarce base of empirical data in an impressively elaborated and profound…

In sentence comprehension, negative sentences tend to elicit more processing cost than affirmative sentences. A growing body of work has shown that pragmatic context is an important factor that contributes to negation comprehension cost. The nature of this pragmatic effect, however, is yet to be determined. In 4 behavioral experiments, the current…

With the advancement of informational and portable technologies, virtual manipulatives based on tablets are applied to support students' learning in science education. However, research on the impact of tablet-student ratios on individual knowledge acquisition and cognitive load in collaborative inquiry learning has not been addressed in detail…

Business cases are commonly adopted into the accounting curricula to promote deep learning. However, in practice, case-based learning is often ineffective without facilitation because of accounting students' strong surface-learning tendencies. This study investigates the case-based learning effect of colour-coded digital annotation (CCDA). CCDA…

Objective: Explicit instructions to students to use the index finger to trace out specified elements of mathematics worked examples have been shown to improve mathematics learning outcomes; however, there is limited research on whether the magnitude of tracing actions impacts these outcomes. Method: Using an experimental design, 34 adults were…

In this study, the effects of using cueing with a narrator in animations on science learning and cognitive load level of elementary students have been revealed. For this purpose, a quantitative research design is used in the study. 223 third grade students, 124 of them are girls and 99 of them are boys, have formed the sample. The results show…

Modern text-to-speech voices can convey social cues ideal for narrating multimedia learning materials. Amazon Alexa has a unique feature among modern text-to-speech vocalizers as she can infuse enthusiasm cues into her synthetic voice. In this first study examining modern text-to-speech voice enthusiasm effects in a multimedia learning…

Learning to spell is a difficult but essential task for children learning to read. Several spelling tasks involving different cognitive demands are used in classroom. To provide better guidance for teaching practices, a critical question is whether spelling performance of beginner readers is task dependent. The present study focuses on the…

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…