Concept maps are assumed to enhance learning as their inherent structure makes relations between information more salient. Nevertheless, research on how to design concept maps as conducive to learning as possible is still rare. In particular, the salience of spatial arrangement of thematically related concepts within the map as well as the…

The present paper examines possible benefits of spatial audio guides on learning outcomes in the spatial learning setting of an experimental exhibition and attempts to differentiate between different mechanisms underlying such an effect. In Experiment 1, we examined whether the spatial contiguity principle may be such a mechanism. A spatial audio…

Cognitive load theory provides instructional recommendations based on our knowledge of human cognition. Evolutionary psychology is used to assume that knowledge should be divided into biologically primary information that we have specifically evolved to acquire and biologically secondary information that we have not specifically evolved to…

Many studies have incorporated concept maps into digital games to enable learners to make connections between subject concepts in the game. However, most learners do not associate spontaneously with the thematic concepts in the game but need to be facilitated by effective scaffolding mechanisms to reconceptualize the learning process and content.…

Quantitative studies on technology integration often examined general quantity of classroom technology use or teacher-reported accounts of integration practices. There is a current need for a measurement tool that links students' technology use and cognitive engagement, which will allow researchers to better illustrate how technology is woven into…

This study investigated and compared the effectiveness of both digital game-based learning (DGBL) and static e-learning material for Newton's laws of motion on students' learning attention, affective experiences, cognitive load and academic achievement. Physiological signals and affective techniques were adopted to measure students' learning…

Computer programming for young children has grown in popularity among both educators and product developers, but still relatively little is known about what skills children are developing when they code. This study investigated N = 57 Kindergarten through second grade children's performance on a programming assessment after engaging in a 6-week…

Complex, multimedia software such as educational videogames offer a wide range of elements to modify learner behavior. The adjustment of such software might support learning, especially in complex settings like collaborative or cooperative scenarios. Coming from a theoretical background of educational psychology, our experiment seeks to implement…

This paper presents results from an experimental study that examined embedded strategy prompts in digital text and their effects on calibration and metacomprehension accuracies. A sample population of 80 college undergraduates read a digital expository text on the basics of photography. The most robust treatment (mixed) read the text, generated a…

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…

Proposes a framework for thinking about how metacognition research might apply to design activities. Examines two basic approaches to supporting metacognition: strategy training, and creation of a supportive social environment for metacognition. Identifies two kinds of content that are taught using these two approaches: knowledge about a specific…

New technologies allow the display of text, static visuals, and animations. Although animations are inherently attractive, they are not always beneficial for learning. Problems may arise especially when animations modify the learner's cognitive load in an unintended way. In two learning experiments with 40 and 26 university students, the effects…

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…

The cognitive load and learning effects of dual-code and interactivity--two multimedia methods intended to promote meaningful learning--were examined. In Experiment 1, college students learned about the causal chain of events leading to the process of lightning formation with a set of words and corresponding pictures (Group WP), pictures (Group…