This study aimed at evaluating the effectiveness of microlearning in higher education. The sample consisted of first-year MBA students, and a post-test control group design was used to assess the effectiveness of a microlearning module. The results indicated that the use of microlearning was significantly related to learning performance and…

This study developed a VR-based mobile learning system to simulate the natural environment of a geopark for university students to learn geological knowledge. This learning method used a Google cardboard equipped with smartphones, where students can watch stereoscopic scenes and experience virtual environments as if visiting the geopark. In order…

We investigated whether worked examples could be used to reduce cognitive load on mathematics learners who may have reduced available cognitive resources due to experiencing anxiety or excess stress. Across 2 days, 280 fifth-grade students learned from a difficult lesson on ratio, half of whom reviewed worked examples at key problem-solving…

This dissertation investigates the interplay between the implicit knowledge that learners have of a nonnative language and their processing of that language, examining two types of relative clauses (RCs) in English: gapped RCs (e.g., "the man that they hired") and resumptive RCs (e.g., *"the man that they hired him").…

The last three decades have seen significant development in understanding and describing the effects of task complexity on learner internal processes. However, researchers have primarily employed behavioral methods to investigate task-generated cognitive load. Being the first to adopt neuroimaging to study second language (L2) task effects, we…

As educators, we often seek to engage students' prior knowledge to help them learn new and potentially difficult science content. However, sometimes our experiences with the world lead us to create misconceptions that run counter to the scientific consensus. Refutational texts have been shown to be more effective at changing individuals'…

We investigated whether seductive details (i.e., interesting but irrelevant adjuncts) are harmful to learning only when students (mistakenly) think that they are relevant. We therefore conducted a study in which participants (N = 86) learned either without seductive details (control condition) or with seductive details--in the latter case with or…

Purpose: Pupillary responses captured via pupillometry (measurement of pupillary dilation and constriction during the performance of a cognitive task) are psychophysiological indicators of cognitive effort, attention, arousal, and resource engagement. Pupillometry may be a promising tool for enhancing our understanding of the relationship between…

Negative effects of seductive details have been well documented. One current line of research focussed on solutions to reducing the seductive details effect is becoming increasingly promising. Contributing to this line of research, this study investigated whether perceptual load moderated the seductive details effect. The study used a 2 × 2…

Purpose: The primary purpose of this study was to examine the effect of sentence length on speech rate and its characteristics, articulation rate and pauses, in typically developing children. Method: Sixty-two typically developing children between the ages of 10 and 14 years repeated sentences varying in length from two to seven words. Dependent…

Students' opportunities to learn science are shaped by the intellectual work in which they engage in science classrooms. By considering the opportunity to learn as a more nuanced and complex concept than simply as exposure to the subject matter, we argue that the kind of tasks that teachers assign to students presents an important element to…

The purposes of this study were to evaluate the effects of an auditory-distractor stimulus and vocal-blocking task on performance on a math task and measures of overt verbal operants. College students served as participants, and they were instructed to solve an arithmetic problem while continuously emitting overt verbal behavior. The overt verbal…

Supporting language in mathematics classrooms requires both curriculum material that follows language-responsive design principles and teaching practices that enact these principles with high instructional quality. This paper presents the analytic framework L-TRU, which was developed to assess language-responsive teaching practices quantitatively.…

This study examined how instructional librarians can incorporate principles from cognitive load theory to engage students in research and improve learning outcomes for a common library instructional delivery model. The study employed a between-subjects, quasi-experimental design to compare how instructional sessions would impact information…

Within the fields of learning design, instructional systems and educational psychology, cognitive load has been discussed and debated for a number of years. The impact of course designs on learning process is still questioned, and how we learn continues to be an intriguing question. The fields of working memory (WM) and cognitive load (CL) have…