Search

This study examined the relationship between grade and the ability of text-picture integration in terms of task completion and the pattern of using textual and pictorial information. Children (N = 144) from secondary schools were recruited from grade 5 and grade 8. Analyzing the time spent with the multimedia unit prior to an incorrect response, this study suggests that 5th graders tend to give up relatively early compared to 8th graders. Furthermore, early incorrect responses were more prevalent among students of the non-academic track and were predicted by a low proportion of fixations on the text in mental model construction and on the picture in adaptive mental model specification. An inappropriate approach of integrating text and picture can thus be the reason for giving up early. The work provides a basis for (1) automated feedback during the course of working on a multimedia unit. (2) Instructional design should be adapted to the characteristics of student groups to support text-picture integration and to avoid giving up early.

Regulation of distance to the screen (i.e., head-to-screen distance, fluctuation of head-to-screen distance) has been proved to reflect the cognitive engagement of the reader. However, it is still not clear (a) whether regulation of distance to the screen can be a potential parameter to infer high cognitive load and (b) whether it can predict the upcoming answer accuracy. Configuring tablets or other learning devices in a way that distance to the screen can be analyzed by the learning software is in close reach. The software might use the measure as a person-specific indicator of need for extra scaffolding. In order to better gauge this potential, we analyzed eye-tracking data of children (N = 144, M[subscript age] = 13 years, SD = 3.2 years) engaging in multimedia learning, as distance to the screen is estimated as a by-product of eye tracking. Children were told to maintain a still seated posture while reading and answering questions at three difficulty levels (i.e., easy vs. medium vs. difficult). Results yielded that task difficulty influences how well the distance to the screen can be regulated, supporting that regulation of distance to the screen is a promising measure. Closer head-to-screen distance and larger fluctuation of head-to-screen distance can reflect that participants are engaging in a challenging task. Only large fluctuation of head-to-screen distance can predict the future incorrect answers. The link between distance to the screen and processing of cognitive task can obtrusively embody reader's cognitive states during system usage, which can support adaptive learning and testing.

The German school system employs centrally organized performance assessments (some of which are called "VERA") as a way of promoting lesson development. In recent years, several German federal states introduced a computer-based performance testing system which will replace the paper-pencil testing system in the future. Scores from computer-based testing are required to be equivalent to paper-pencil testing scores so that the new testing medium does not lead to disadvantages for students. Therefore, the current study aimed at investigating the size of the mode effect and the moderating impact of students' gender, academic achievement and mainly spoken language in everyday life. In addition, the variance of the mode effect across tasks was investigated. The study was conducted in four German federal states in 2019 using a field experimental design. The test scores of 5140 eighth-graders from 165 schools in the subject German were analysed. The results of multi-level modelling revealed that students' test scores in the computerized version of the VERA test were significantly lower than in the paper-pencil version. Students with a lower academic achievement were more disadvantaged by the VERA computerized test. The results were inconsistent regarding the interactions between testing mode and students' gender and mainly spoken language in everyday life. The variance of the mode effect across tasks was high. Research into different subjects and in other federal states and countries under different testing conditions might yield further evidence about the generalizability of these results.

Despite numerous studies on reading and multimedia comprehension, the usage of text and picture with different reading strategies has rarely become a focus of research. The current study aims to explore whether the usage of text differs from the usage of picture when readers follow different strategies of knowledge acquisition. In a within-subjects design using eye tracking, seventeen secondary school students comprehended blended text and picture materials with three different strategies. (1) Initial coherence-formation strategy, which requires students to process text and picture unguidedly. (2) Consecutive task-oriented strategy, which requires them to gather information to answer the question (which explains the task) provided after prior experience with text and picture. (3) Initial task-oriented strategy, which requires them to comprehend text and picture to solve the task equipped with the prior information about the question from the beginning. Eye tracking data showed that text and picture play different roles in these processing conditions. (1) The results are in line with the assumption that text (rather than picture) is more likely used to construct mental models in initial coherence-formation processing of text and picture. (2) Students seem to primarily rely on the picture to answer the question after the prior experience with the material with consecutive task-oriented strategy. (3) Text and picture are both used heavily when the question is presented first, enabling students to selectively process question-relevant aspects of the material at first contact.

Conjoint processing of text and pictures is assumed to possess an inherent asymmetry, because text and pictures serve fundamentally different but complementary functions. Conjoint processing is assumed to start with general, coherence-oriented mental model construction. When certain tasks have to be solved, the mental model is adjusted to the task requirements by adaptive mental model elaboration. We hypothesized that, due to different constraints on cognitive processing, initial mental model construction is more text-driven than picture-driven, whereas adaptive mental model elaboration is more picture-driven than text-driven. We also hypothesized that there are more transitions between text and picture during initial model construction than during adaptive model elaboration and more task--picture transitions than task-text transitions during adaptive mental model elaboration. To test these hypotheses, we selected 6 text-picture units from textbooks on biology and geography, each combined with 3 comprehension items of different complexity. The units and corresponding items were presented to 204 students from Grades 5 to 8 from the higher tier and the lower tier of the German school system. The participants were required to answer the presented items 1 by 1. Their eye movements were analyzed in terms of fixations and transitions between texts, pictures, and items as dependent variables. The independent variables were school tier, grade, and order of presentation. The results confirmed our hypotheses. We presume that the benefits of learning from text and pictures are due to the inherent asymmetry, which allows the learner to combine the specific advantages of both forms of representations.

Conjoint processing of text and pictures is assumed to possess an inherent asymmetry, because text and pictures serve fundamentally different but complementary functions. Conjoint processing is assumed to start with general, coherence-oriented mental model construction. When certain tasks have to be solved, the mental model is adjusted to the task requirements by adaptive mental model elaboration. We hypothesized that, due to different constraints on cognitive processing, initial mental model construction is more text-driven than picture-driven, whereas adaptive mental model elaboration is more picturedriven than text-driven. We also hypothesized that there are more transitions between text and picture during initial model construction than during adaptive model elaboration and more task-picture transitions than task-text transitions during adaptive mental model elaboration. To test these hypotheses, we selected 6 text-picture units from textbooks on biology and geography, each combined with 3 comprehension items of different complexity. The units and corresponding items were presented to 204 students from Grades 5 to 8 from the higher tier and the lower tier of the German school system. The participants were required to answer the presented items 1 by 1. Their eye movements were analyzed in terms of fixations and transitions between texts, pictures, and items as dependent variables. The independent variables were school tier, grade, and order of presentation. The results confirmed our hypotheses. We presume that the benefits of learning from text and pictures are due to the inherent asymmetry, which allows the learner to combine the specific advantages of both forms of representations. Educational Impact and Implications Statement When students try to understand coherent texts and pictures, they tend to use the 2 information sources for different purposes. Because texts provide more conceptual guidance for systematic understanding than do pictures, initial comprehension is primarily text-based, although a sketchy picture (i.e., without unnecessary detail) can also have a useful scaffolding function. When specific tasks have to be performed after initial comprehension, students are more likely to use pictures, because the latter allow quick and flexible access to task-relevant information and can be used as external cognitive tools on demand. Instructional design should therefore make sure that learners concentrate 1st on the text as a conceptual guide for initial comprehension, before they attend to detailed studying of pictures for solving specific tasks. Keywords: conjoint processing of text and pictures, initial mental model construction, adaptive mental model elaboration, school grades and school tiers, eye-tracking http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/edu0000246

The current study investigated whether teachers' years of working experience and their initial level of mindfulness, self-care, stress, and emotional exhaustion moderated the effects of a self-care- and mindfulness-based seminar on their stress and emotional exhaustion using a repeated measures design. The analyses of the data from 122 primary, secondary, vocational, and special school teachers (83% female) revealed comparably larger positive effects for teachers with lower initial self-care and mindfulness and higher initial stress and exhaustion levels. However, positive effects were detected across all groups of teachers, indicating mindfulness and self-care to be resources for promoting teachers' mental health. • The self-care and mindfulness seminar had positive effects on teachers' mental health. • Comparably larger effects were found for teachers with initially higher levels of stress and exhaustion. • Comparably larger effects were found for teachers with initially lower levels of mindfulness and self-care. • Teachers with better mindfulness, self-care, stress and exhaustion prerequisites also profited from the seminar. • Teachers' years of working experience had no significant moderating impact on the seminar's effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Unterrichtswissenschaft (Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa) is the property of Julius Beltz GmbH & Co. KG Beltz Juventa and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)