Background: Practice tests have been shown to be an effective means to foster long-term retention in higher education, at least compared to restudying (i.e., the testing effect). Objective: The present study replicated and extended prior research by examining whether and to what extent the positive effects of testing on long-term retention in a…

In the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, students have more choice of how to attend courses than ever before; for a large number of courses at a technical university, they are still able to watch the lectures live online or in recorded format later. We found that interactivity may bring back students into the classroom almost as effectively as…

While previous studies have shown that L2 listeners tend to focus more on videos with additional information, like presentation slides, the amount of eye gaze did not necessarily translate to higher listening test scores . Unlike previous research focusing on the benefits of additional visual cues, this study explores how emotions impact L2…

COVID-19 greatly increased the online delivery of higher education. But one limitation of online learning is that students often struggle to stay engaged while watching online lectures. We examined whether including an instructor's face in lecture videos (instructor visibility) enhances student engagement or learning. In two preregistered…

Increasing the playback speed of video lectures is popular amongst students as a time saving strategy, but does this negatively impact test performance? Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to examine the effect of increasing video lecture playback speed on content test performance. A meta-regression with robust variance estimation was used to…

The COVID-19 pandemic disrupted community colleges and created a new context in which they were forced to operate. Faculty, especially those who normally taught in-person, were required to transition quickly to fully online classrooms. Drawing on semi-structured interviews conducted at the start of the pandemic with 17 students pursuing degree…

Because of the recent pandemic, new teaching methods have been trialed, even in traditional disciplines such as histopathology that typically involve extensive hands-on laboratory work. In this study, we investigated the effects of three different learning modalities in histopathology teaching: optical microscopy, in-class virtual microscopy (VM),…

With the increase in life expectancy and the rapid advancement of digital technology, older adults often face challenges where formal learning opportunities are scarce. Consequently, they are compelled to rely on instructional videos for continuous learning. However, many older adults struggle with low self-efficacy and motivation. Although…

A comparison of student performance in an introductory biology class that used a lecture-based approach (N = 15 classes; 462 students) with those that had a no-lecture approach (N = 9 classes; 238 students). All classes were taught by the principal researcher. In the no- lecture environment, shifts in student perceptions of science were…

The current study investigated the effects of segmentation design and drawing on college students' video learning. Participants were 158 college students randomly assigned to view either a segmented or continuous video lecture (video type: segmented vs continuous) and who either received instructed to draw while learning or no instructions at all…

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…

Diversifying higher education curricula has been called for as one way to reduce racial inequalities in higher education. This study makes an original contribution by focusing on images of people in lecture slides. We explored how people of colour versus white individuals were portrayed in images (n = 250) used in lecture slides in four first-year…

In this study, we investigated the relationship between perceived learner control and student engagement in a blended course. Data were collected from 110 s-year bachelor students through weekly questionnaires to gather information about how they perceived their learner control and engagement in various study activities, including reading…

University examinations categorise students according to their individual achievements determined by teaching staff. This procedure serves the elicitation and certification of student knowledge and thus reproduces academic hierarchies. Drawing on empirical evidence from ethnographic fieldwork in Engineering and History departments, this article…

The goal of this research was to test the effectiveness of a new science curriculum focused on increasing awareness and knowledge of microplastic pollution in middle school students. The curriculum utilized three teaching methods including lectures, object-mediated learning, and peer collaboration to enhance student engagement and learning. The 84…