Search

The present study examined whether students' prior knowledge moderated the effects of their motivation compositions on learning performance (ie, retention and transfer) and interaction (ie, interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) and behavioural pattern) in learning from video lectures. The results confirmed the benefits of the composition of two high motivation students on their knowledge transfer. The results also showed that students' prior knowledge had a moderating effect on interaction. For low prior knowledge students, high motivation composition increased their IBS in the temporoparietal junction-inferior parietal lobule (TPJ-IPL), temporoparietal junction-supplementary motor area (TPJ-SMA), inferior parietal lobule-supplementary motor area (IPL-SMA) and anterior prefrontal-anterior prefrontal cortex (aPFC-aPFC) regions during co-explaining and enhanced their regulating-related behavioural sequences and decreased disagree-related behavioural sequences. However, for high prior knowledge students, a high motivation dyad composition decreased their IBS in the supramarginal gyrus-anterior prefrontal cortex (SMG-aPFC) while co-viewing the video lecture, and in the TPJ-IPL, TPJ-SMA, IPL-SMA and SMG-aPFC during co-explaining, cognitive communication, argumentation-related and regulating-related behavioural sequences but enhanced off-task-related behavioural sequences. Our findings suggest that instructors should encourage high motivation students to co-view video lectures, and scaffold students with low prior knowledge to enhance regulating-related behavioural sequences and scaffold students with high prior knowledge and high motivation to enhance cognitive communication, argumentation-related and regulating-related behavioural sequences and decrease off-task-related behavioural sequences.

Evidence regarding the benefits of an instructor's deictic gestures in video lectures on adults' learning may not necessarily be reflective of their effect on children's learning. Furthermore, there is a lack evidence regarding how deictic gestures specifically affect learners' learning process. Based in cognitive load theory, with consideration of the signaling principle and embodiment principle in multimedia learning, the present study sought to determine whether an instructor's deictic gestures affected young adults' and children's learning from video lectures differently. Participants consisted of 60 college students as the young adults sample and 63 pupils as the children sample. Each participant viewed one of two video lectures, either with or without the instructor using deictic gestures. During the experiment, participants' eye movements, prior knowledge, learning process, and learning performance were recorded and measured. The results of nonparametric tests showed that when the instructor used deictic gestures, the children paid more attention to the video content while the young adults reported a higher learning experience. Both groups demonstrated improved learning performance, regardless of age. Our findings highlight the fact that young adults and children do learn differently from video lectures with an instructor using deictic gestures. Furthermore, our findings contribute to understandings regarding the design of video lectures and video-based learning, specifically, that if an instructor is presenting the content in video lectures, they should be encouraged to use deictic gestures to improve students' learning.

This electroencephalography (EEG) study tested the benefits of generative learning and the underlying neural mechanism of these benefits when learning from video lectures. Twenty-six Chinese young adults independently viewed two video lectures in a repeated measures design. Each video lecture was broken into 40 segments, and after each segment, the participants either generated an oral sentence (generative learning condition) or viewed a sentence (passive viewing condition). Participants' learning performance (accuracy and reaction time) were assessed after viewing each video, and their EEG oscillations (i.e., lower alpha band and upper alpha band in frontal and occipital-parietal regions) were recorded while watching each video and while generating a sentence or viewing a sentence. Paired t tests showed that students had higher learning performance (higher accuracy and shorter reaction time) after learning by using a generative learning strategy than learning by passive viewing. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that when learning by using a generative learning strategy, students exhibited increased frontal and occipital-parietal lower alpha and upper alpha power, both while watching the video lectures and generating/viewing a sentence. The two learning strategy conditions showed a larger difference in upper alpha power than in lower alpha power. Correlation analyses showed that students' alpha power in the generative learning strategy condition was positively related to their reaction time. Based on the learning performance tests, generative learning is more effective than passive learning from video lectures; based on the EEG results, the effectiveness appears to be due to students being primed to apply a top-down processing strategy. The findings have an important practical implication: instructors can encourage students to engage in generative learning after viewing video lectures.

It is well known that outlines can help learners establish a conceptual framework that connects new knowledge with prior knowledge, and thus promote learning. However, it is unclear whether outlines are beneficial before learning from watching an educational video. We tested the effects of two goal setting strategies on learning from a video lecture. Learners (N = 87) were randomly assigned to one of three groups: read an instructor-generated outline before the video (n = 29); read the same outline, and based on it, generate their own outline of the key ideas before the video (n = 29); control group (n = 29). The study was conducted in an eye-tracking laboratory. Learners in the instructor-generated outline group reported higher learning engagement than those in the control group. Learners in the reading and generating outline group paid greater attention to the learning materials, and had higher learning performance scores, than those in the control group. The two strategy groups did not differ from each other on learning engagement or learning performance. The findings suggest that: To improve learning, instructors should ask learners to read an instructor-generated outline, and to generate their own outline based on the instructor's outline, before viewing the video lecture.

Synchronous online learning via technology has become a major trend in institutions of higher education, allowing students to learn from video lectures alongside their peers online. However, relatively little research has focused on the influence of these peers on students' learning during video lectures and even less on the effect of peer familiarity. The present study aimed to test the various effects of peer presence and peer familiarity on learning from video lectures. There were three experimental conditions: individual-learning, paired-learning with an unfamiliar peer, and paired-learning with a familiar peer. ANCOVA results found that students paired with a familiar peer reported higher motivation in learning and more self-monitoring behaviors than those paired with an unfamiliar peer or who learned alone. Furthermore, students paired with both unfamiliar or familiar peers demonstrated better learning transfer than those who learned alone. Together, these results confirm the benefits of and support learning alongside a familiar peer during video lectures.

This study tested the mutual effects of the instructor's eye gaze and facial expression on students' eye movements (i.e. first fixation time to the slides, percentage dwell time on the slides, and percentage dwell time on the instructor), parasocial interaction, and learning performance in pre-recorded video lectures. Students (N = 118 undergraduate and graduate students) were assigned to watch one of four videos in a 2 (gaze: direct, guided) × 2 (facial expression: surprised, neutral) between-groups design. Contrary to our hypotheses, eye movement data showed that students who watched the video lecture with the instructor's guided gaze and surprised face showed longer first fixation time to the slides and lower dwell time on the slides; these students also had lower learning scores. Instructor eye gaze and facial expression did not influence students' ratings of parasocial interaction. Our results suggest that in reference to social cues during video lectures with slides, "more" is not necessarily "better." The findings have practical implications for designing pre-recorded slide-based video lectures: An instructor is cautioned against using multiple social cues simultaneously, especially in video lectures in which the instructor and the visual learning materials compete for students' attention.

Much effort has been put into the design of video lectures, but little attention has been paid to the social environment in which learning takes place. The present study addressed this gap by assigning Chinese undergraduate and graduate students who had passed the College English Test-4 to learn easy or difficult English vocabulary words in three different conditions: alone, in the presence of a peer spectator, or in the presence of a peer co-actor. In Experiment 1, participants learned difficult vocabulary words and the effects were measured by both neural activity (EEG signals, measured while participants watched the video lectures and during the generative learning activities) and behavioral evidence (learning performance assessed after having watched the video lectures: immediate and delayed test scores, cognitive load, and motivation). Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that learning alone was more beneficial than learning in the presence of a peer, as indicated by better learning performance and reduced EEG theta band power. In Experiment 2, participants learned easy (rather than difficult) English vocabulary words and outcomes were measured by immediate and delayed learning performance. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that the presence of a peer was more beneficial than learning easy content alone. Combined data from both experiments showed that difficulty moderated the effect of social context. Participants performed best when students learned the difficult content alone, and when they learned the easy content with a peer present.

Background: Video lectures which include the instructor's presence are becoming increasingly popular. Presenting a real human does, however, entail higher financial and time costs in making videos, and one innovative approach to reduce costs has been to generate a virtual speaking instructor. Objectives: The current study examined whether the use of a virtual instructor in video lectures would facilitate learning as well as a human instructor, and whether manipulating the virtual instructor's characteristics (i.e., voice and appearance) might optimize the effectiveness of the virtual instructor. Methods: Our study set four conditions. In the control condition, students watched a human instructor. In the experiment conditions, students watched one of (a) a virtual instructor which used the human instructor's voice and an AI image, (b) a virtual instructor which spoke in an AI voice with an AI image made to speak using text-to-speech and lip synthesis techniques, or (c) a virtual instructor with used an AI voice and an AI likable-image of an instructor. Results and Conclusions: The AI likable instructor condition had a significant positive effect on students' learning performance and motivation, without decreasing the attention students paid to the learning materials. Implications: Our findings suggest that instructional video designers can make use of AI voices and AI images of likable humans as instructors to motivate students and enhance their learning performance.

Generating written explanations is a popular learning strategy in an online learning environment. Students can explain to themselves (ie, self-explanations) or a peer-student (ie, instructional explanations). However, for improving learning from video lectures, it is unclear whether writing self-explanations is more beneficial than writing instructional explanations, and whether writing both types of explanation is more beneficial than writing only one type. We compared the learning-related outcomes of students who wrote explanations under one of four conditions: self-explanation (n = 30), instructional explanation (n = 30), self-explanation then instructional explanation (n = 30) and instructional explanation then self-explanation (n = 30). We assessed the participants' external and internal attention, explanation quality, and immediate and delayed learning performance. Students in the conditions that included self-explanations showed higher internal attention, as well as better immediate and delayed performance than those in the instructional explanations condition. In addition, students in the two combined conditions showed a higher level of organization and elaboration than those in the instructional explanations condition. These results suggest that students should write explanations to themselves while learning from video lectures.

Learning from video lectures is becoming a prevalent learning activity in formal and informal settings. However, relatively little research has been carried out on the interactions of learning strategies and social environment in learning from video lectures. The present study addresses this gap by examining whether learner-generated explanations and co-learner presence with or without nonverbal praise independently and interactively affected learning from a self-paced video lecture about infectious diseases. University students were randomized into viewing either the video with instructor-generated explanations or the same video but generating explanations themselves. Outcomes were assessed by the quality of explanations, learning performance, mental effort, attention allocation, and behavioral patterns. Between-group comparisons showed that, in the absence of a peer co-learner, learning performance was similar in both the instructor-generated and learner-generated explanation groups. However, in the presence of a peer, learner-generated explanation facilitated learning performance. Furthermore, learner-generated explanation in the presence of a co-learner also reduced learners' mental effort and primed more behaviors related to self-regulation and monitoring. The results lead to the following strong recommendation for educational practice when using video lectures: if students learn by generating their own explanations in the presence of a co-learner, they will show better learning performance even though the learning is not necessarily more demanding, and will engage in more behaviors related to explanation adjustment and self-regulation.

This study tested whether seeing others' typed messages while viewing video lectures affected learners' attention and learning performance. Participants viewed one of three versions of a video lecture: (a) conventional video lecture as control; (b) video lecture with others' programmed messages appearing onscreen when the instructor was giving demonstrations on course content; (c) video lecture with others' programmed messages appearing onscreen when the instructor was posing questions. In Experiment 1, participants viewed video lectures without pause and could not post messages themselves. Eye tracking data revealed that although seeing others' messages did not decrease learners' attention to the learning content in the video, greater attention to others' messages was associated with lower retention. Furthermore, learners who viewed the conventional video lecture showed higher transfer than those who viewed either of the video lectures that included others' messages. In Experiment 2, participants viewed self-paced lectures and could post messages themselves. Experiment 2 duplicated the results of Experiment 1 in a realistic educational setting. Overall, these findings suggest that seeing others' messages during a video lecture has negative effects on learners' attention and learning.

Instructors' speech and gestures are tightly integrated. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms by which different types of gestures affect learning. We conducted two experiments on the effects of gestures in video lectures that included an instructor and slides, with English vocabulary as the topic. In Experiment 1, we manipulated the instructor's gestures (beat gestures vs. pointing gestures vs. depictive gestures) on neural oscillations and learning performance. The electroencephalogram results showed that students had higher alpha power and higher beta power when the instructor used pointing gestures, suggesting lower sensorimotor involvement in processing. Pointing gestures produced lower learning performance than beat gestures and depictive gestures. In Experiment 2, we manipulated the instructor's pointing gestures and the richness of visual materials in video lectures. The results showed that the effectiveness of pointing gestures was moderated by the richness of the visual materials on the slide. Specifically, pointing gestures were more effective for complex versus simple learning materials. The findings suggest that electroencephalogram oscillations and learning performance vary with the type of gesture the instructor uses and the richness of visual materials in video lectures. This study has applied value for designing effective video lectures in many disciplines: (1) When a video lecture includes simple visual materials, a beat gesture and depictive gesture would be better; (2) when a video lecture includes complex visual materials, the instructor can produce pointing gestures to single out the learning content they are talking about.

This study tested the interaction effect of the instructor's eye gaze (direct gaze vs. averted gaze) and facial expression (happy face vs. neutral face) on students' attention and learning performance in slide-based video lectures. University students (N = 120) participated in the experiment in a laboratory setting. The results of ANOVAs showed that students in the conditions that included the instructor's direct gaze paid greater attention to the instructor's face and paid less attention to the video lecture slides. However, direct gaze predicted better learning when the instructor had a happy facial expression. Our results suggest that the effects of an instructor's eye gaze are modulated by her facial expression in this educational context. The findings have practical implications for designing slide-based video lectures: an instructor is encouraged to look straight towards the camera with a happy expression.

In the present study, we tested the effectiveness of three learning strategies (self-explanation, learning by teaching and passive viewing) used by students who were learning from video lectures. Effectiveness was measured not only with traditional measures, but also with electroencephalography (EEG). Using a within-subjects design, 26 university students viewed three sets of short lectures, each presenting a different set of English vocabulary words and were asked to use a different learning strategy for each set of lectures. Participants' EEG signals were assessed while watching the videos; learning experience (self-reported motivation and engagement) and learning performance (vocabulary recall test score) were assessed after watching the videos. Repeated measures ANOVAs showed that the self-explaining and teaching strategies were more beneficial than the passive viewing strategy, as indicated by higher EEG theta and alpha band power, a more positive learning experience (higher motivation and engagement) and better learning performance. However, whereas the teaching strategy elicited greater neural oscillations related to working memory and attention compared to the self-explanation strategy, the two groups did not differ on self-reported learning experience or learning performance. Our findings are discussed in terms of potential application in courses using video lectures and in terms of their heuristic value for future research on the neural processes that differentiate learning strategies.

An instructor's gestures have an effect not only on students' learning but also on teaching itself. In two experiments, this study tested whether instructors' use of gestures while recording video lectures affected their teaching performance, stress, and cognitive load. In Experiment 1, participants recorded video lectures with gestures or without gestures. As hypothesized, t tests showed that participants in the gestures condition had better teaching performance and lower cognitive load than participants in the no-gestures condition, whereas there was no effect on stress level. In Experiment 2, participants recorded video lectures with either pointing gestures or representational gestures. The t tests indicated that participants in the pointing gestures condition showed better teaching performance and experienced lower stress than those in the representational gestures condition, but there was no difference in cognitive load. Overall, our findings suggest that in the new educational environment of video lectures, instructors should consider using gestures, especially pointing gestures, to improve their teaching and their experience of teaching.

Instructor behaviour is known to affect learning performance, but it is unclear which specific instructor behaviours can optimize learning. We used eye-tracking technology and questionnaires to test whether the instructor's gaze guidance affected learners' visual attention, social presence, and learning performance, using four video lectures: declarative knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance and procedural knowledge with and without the instructor's gaze guidance. The results showed that the instructor's gaze guidance not only guided learners to allocate more visual attention to corresponding learning content but also increased learners' sense of social presence and learning. Furthermore, the link between the instructor's gaze guidance and better learning was especially strong for participants with a high sense of social connection with the instructor when they learned procedural knowledge. The findings lead to a strong recommendation for educational practitioners: Instructors should provide gaze guidance in video lectures for better learning performance.

Video lectures are being widely used in online and blended learning classes worldwide, and their learning effectiveness is becoming a focus of many educators and researchers. This study examined the cognitive load and learning effectiveness of video lectures in terms of the type of knowledge being taught (declarative or procedural) and instructor visibility. Video lectures with and without an instructor were used to teach each type of knowledge. Sixty Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to two of the four lectures. They completed a cognitive load questionnaire and learning tests after viewing the lectures. The results of t-tests revealed that adding the instructor in a video lecture increased learners' cognitive load only when learning procedural knowledge; adding the instructor only facilitated declarative knowledge learning. The results suggest that the learning effectiveness of video lectures varies depending on the type of knowledge being taught and the presence or absence of an instructor.

Recent research on video lectures has indicated that the instructor's pointing gestures facilitate learning performance. This study examined whether the instructor's pointing gestures were superior to nonhuman cues in enhancing video lectures learning, and second, if there was a positive effect, what the underlying mechanisms of the effect might be. There were three kinds of video lectures in the study: one with the instructor's pointing gestures, one with nonhuman cues, and one without any cues. Eighty-four Chinese undergraduates were randomly assigned to view one of the three video lectures in a laboratory. As hypothesized, the results of analyses of variance showed that the instructor's pointing gestures improved learning performance more than the nonhuman cues and no-cues conditions. The pointing gestures directed the learners' visual attention to the relevant learning content of PowerPoint (PPT) slides in the video lecture. This suggests that the instructor's pointing gestures can be a valuable means to improve learning performance in video lectures, in particular PPT slides with much learning information.