This study investigated the effectiveness of visual training or verbal training on how to use a text-picture processing strategy for learning from computer-based multimedia instructional material. Sixty-nine university students were randomly assigned to the verbal training group (students received text-based instruction for a text-picture…

Pedagogical agents have been designed to support the significant challenges that learners face when self-regulating in advanced learning environments. Evidence suggests differences in learners' prior skills and abilities, in conjunction with excessive didactic support, can cause overreliance on these external aids, which in turn prevents deeper…

Background: Virtual reality (VR) is considered a promising approach to support learning. An instructional design is essential to optimize cognitive processes. Studies show that VR has unique instructional and pedagogical requirements. Objectives: To evaluate the effectiveness and applicability of the modality principle, which was previously…

This study explores the role of the instructor's face and eye gaze as social and attentional cues in promoting learning from a video lecture on kidney physiology. In a 2 × 2 between-subjects design, 133 college students were randomly assigned to a gaze behavior condition and a video whiteboard type condition. The instructor either shifted her gaze…

This analysis investigates two differential "PowerPoint" slide designs--presentation and teleprompter--for multimedia learning. Eye tracking measures assessed differences in fixations. Participants demonstrated greater fixation counts for teleprompter slides, measures of aesthetic liking evidenced that slides incorporating imagery…

Multiple external representations (MERs) play an important role in the learning field of mathematics. Whereas the cognitive theory of multimedia learning and the integrative text and picture comprehension model assume that the heterogeneous combination of symbolic and analogous representations fosters learning; the design, functions, and tasks…

Unlike the other studies on emotional design in multimedia learning, the present study differentiated the two confounding variables of visual interface design and structured content to manipulate the instructional material. Specifically, we investigated how the visual aesthetics of positive emotional interface design influenced learners' cognitive…

The acquisition of Chinese characters has been widely acknowledged as challenging for learners of Chinese as a foreign language (CFL) due to their unique logographic nature and the time and effort involved. However, recent advancements in instructional technologies demonstrate a promising role in facilitating the teaching and learning of Chinese…

This study investigated differences in Chinese as a Foreign Language (CFL) students' learning achievement, cognitive load level, and eye-movement patterns when learning three types of Chinese characters: pictographs, compound ideographs, and phono-semantic compounds with multimedia slides. Thirty CFL students participated in this study. Additional…

Using virtual reality (VR) in educational settings is becoming increasingly popular. The feasibility of replacing an instrumentation-based organic chemistry lab with a VR experience has been evaluated. A VR laboratory experience was designed to teach students how to use an infrared spectrometer and elucidate an unknown structure from the resulting…

Background: When learning with text and pictures, learners often fail to adequately process the materials, which can be explained as a failure to self-regulate one's learning by choosing adequate cognitive learning processes. Eye movement modelling examples (EMME) showing how to process multimedia instruction have improved elementary school…

The presentation of extraneous (i.e., irrelevant or unnecessary) information may hamper learning with multimedia. The present study examined whether people can learn to ignore unnecessary information with increasing experience with the task and whether this depends on the layout of that information. In two experiments, participants learned about…

Anticipation Guides (AGs) help learners to activate prior knowledge before an instructional unit. As a pre-learning strategy, AGs motivate learners to explore learning materials by challenging, activating, or corroborating their prior knowledge and predictions about a subject. While AGs have mostly been used in reading instruction, in this study,…

This study investigated the effects of multimedia and modality design principles using a learning intervention about Australia with a sample of college students and employing measures of learning outcomes, visual attention, satisfaction, and mental effort. Seventy-five college students were systematically assigned to one of four conditions: a)…

The current study tested the effects of multimedia instructional designs (text+picture, audio+picture, and text+audio+picture) on retention and transfer of information in college students with and without dyslexia while tracking students' eye movements. After controlling for verbal ability, the dyslexia group differed from controls only in the…