Purpose: As different countries are witnessing a surge in online course enrollments, the purpose of this study is to examine the impact of different stressors and strains on the continuity of online classes for understanding learner behavior. While extroverts are more talkative, sociable and open than introverts, it is necessary to understand the…

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…

High dropout rates in online courses, caused by potential factors such as financial issues, low motivation and poor self-regulation among learners, pose a significant challenge to the sustainable development of online education. Therefore, continuance of online courses has become a critical topic in both the academic and practical fields. By…

The current set of studies examined whether two common appraisals that students make during learning (whether they have control over their learning and whether they place value into learning the material) give rise to common types of thoughts students also experience (mind wandering, personal connections, and freely-moving thought). Study One…

In online education, the appropriate choice of means of knowledge visualization can reduce cognitive load and improve cognitive efficiency. However, no universal basis for selection can cause confusion in the pedagogical context. This study used the revised Bloom's taxonomy to combine the types of knowledge with cognitive goals. We used a course…

Collaborative problem-solving (CPS) involves the interaction and interdependence of students' social and cognitive skills, making it a complex learning process. To delve into the complex dynamics of CPS, previous research has categorized socio-cognitive roles, providing insights into social-cognitive frameworks. However, despite the specific…

Research has illustrated the role visual design plays in effective communication and instruction. However, more research has yet to investigate how online course designers (i.e., anyone who designs online courses) add visual appeal to online courses. This study explored the visual design process in online course development. It examines how…

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…

In this article, we leverage data from over 1,000 students participating in two different online courses to investigate whether better learning outcomes are associated with student decisions to practice instead of (re-)reading. Consistent with laboratory and classroom findings, we find that students' decisions to practice are related to better…

Although research on schema has been widely investigated for the past decades, little research has addressed the development of a systematic instructional design theory using schema principles and processes. This study proposes a systematic schema-based instructional design model, including general and schema analysis, schema-based design, and…

Depression is one of the top mental health concerns among undergraduates and disproportionately affects students who are underrepresented in science. As such, understanding how emerging science learning environments, such as online science courses, affect students with depression is integral to creating a more inclusive scientific community. In…

This mixed methods study compared the Community of Inquiry (CoI) presences and student performance between two course sections in a course -- HyFlex vs. online asynchronous. The CoI presences show participants' perception of three important elements -- teaching presence, social presence, and cognitive presence in a computer-mediated course…

Offering online courses can be seen as a way of enhancing the three essential "presences" (teaching, cognitive, and social) of the Community of Inquiry (CoI) model. Creating and enhancing cognitive, teaching, and social presences require an innovation for teachers during planning, implementing, and evaluating their online courses. As…

Digital storytelling is a promising method to improve the quality of online learning. Digital stories are short videos using multimedia elements. Digital stories can be instructional, narrative, or informative. Digital stories can be categorized in several different ways, but most often as personal narratives, instructional videos, or historical…

This quantitative and cross-sectional study investigated the relationships between college students' perceived satisfaction of three psychological needs and learning outcomes that were measured by perceived learning gains and online learning satisfaction, as well as the mediating effects of three types of engagement on the relationships. The study…