Matching Items (5)
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- All Subjects: Education, Technology
- All Subjects: Online Education
- Creators: Savenye, Wilhelmina
Description
This study aims to uncover whether English Central, an online English as a Second Language tool, improves speaking proficiency for undergraduate students with developing English skills. Eighty-three advanced English language learners from the American English and Culture Program at Arizona State University were randomly assigned to one of three conditions: the use of English Central with a learner-control, shared-control, and a no-treatment condition. The two treatment groups were assigned approximately 14.7 hours of online instruction. The relative impact of each of the three conditions was assessed using two measures. First, the Pearson Versant Test (www.versanttest.com), a well-established English-as-a-second-language speaking test, was administered to all of the participants as a pre- and post-test measure. Second, students were given a post-treatment questionnaire that measured their motivation in using online instruction in general, and English Central specifically. Since a significant teacher effect was found, teachers involved in this study were also interviewed in order to ascertain their attitude toward English Central as a homework tool. Learner outcomes were significantly different between the shared and learner conditions. Student motivation was predictive of learning outcomes. Subjects in the shared condition outperformed those in the learner condition. Furthermore, those in the shared condition scored higher than the control condition; however, this result did not reach statistical significance. Results of the follow-up teacher survey revealed that while a teacher's view of the tool (positive or negative), was not a predictor of student success, teacher presentation of the tool may lead to a significant impact on student learning outcomes.
ContributorsDixon, Shane Y. (Shane Yahlu) (Author) / Atkinson, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015
Description
This dissertation study quantitatively measured the performance of 345 students who received public speaking instruction through an online platform presented in one of six experimental conditions in order to explore the ability of online lectures to replicate the characteristics of instructor presence and learner interaction traditionally associated with face-to-face public speaking courses. The study investigated the following research questions:
RQ1: How does the visibility of an instructor in a public speaking video lesson affect students' perception of presence?
RQ2: How does the visibility of an instructor in a public speaking video lesson affect student learning?
RQ3: How do self-explanation (Constructive) and note-taking (Active) types of learning activities affect students' perception of presence compared to passive lessons when presented in a video lesson?
RQ4: How do self-explanation (Constructive) and note-taking (Active) types of learning activities affect student learning compared to passive lessons when presented in a video lesson?
Additionally, the study collected qualitative feedback from participants on their experience in order to improve understanding of how to effectively design lectures for public speaking courses.
Results of the study were unable to statistically distinguish between students assigned to treatments that varied in both modality and level of activity. However, a significant finding of this study is that learning gains and students' perception of instructor presence were positive across all conditions.
The lack of significant differences by treatment indicates that the design attributes at the center of the study may be unnecessary considerations for developing content for online learning. Consequently, the improved performance of participants regardless of their assigned treatment in this study identifies a limitation to the application of Media Equation Theory and the Interactive-Constructive-Active-Passive (ICAP) Framework for designing online learning content for public speaking students as well as identifies two key implications: 1) exposure to an online lesson can increase learning; and 2) exposure to an online lesson can serve as a cost-effective alternative for producing lessons in public speaking courses.
RQ1: How does the visibility of an instructor in a public speaking video lesson affect students' perception of presence?
RQ2: How does the visibility of an instructor in a public speaking video lesson affect student learning?
RQ3: How do self-explanation (Constructive) and note-taking (Active) types of learning activities affect students' perception of presence compared to passive lessons when presented in a video lesson?
RQ4: How do self-explanation (Constructive) and note-taking (Active) types of learning activities affect student learning compared to passive lessons when presented in a video lesson?
Additionally, the study collected qualitative feedback from participants on their experience in order to improve understanding of how to effectively design lectures for public speaking courses.
Results of the study were unable to statistically distinguish between students assigned to treatments that varied in both modality and level of activity. However, a significant finding of this study is that learning gains and students' perception of instructor presence were positive across all conditions.
The lack of significant differences by treatment indicates that the design attributes at the center of the study may be unnecessary considerations for developing content for online learning. Consequently, the improved performance of participants regardless of their assigned treatment in this study identifies a limitation to the application of Media Equation Theory and the Interactive-Constructive-Active-Passive (ICAP) Framework for designing online learning content for public speaking students as well as identifies two key implications: 1) exposure to an online lesson can increase learning; and 2) exposure to an online lesson can serve as a cost-effective alternative for producing lessons in public speaking courses.
ContributorsButler, Nicholas (Author) / Nelson, Brian (Thesis advisor) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
The purpose of this study was to investigate the impacts of visual cues and different types of self-explanation prompts on learning, cognitive load and intrinsic motivation, as well as the potential interaction between the two factors in a multimedia environment that was designed to deliver a computer-based lesson about the human cardiovascular system. A total of 126 college students were randomly assigned in equal numbers (N = 21) to one of the six experimental conditions in a 2 X 3 factorial design with visual cueing (visual cues vs. no cues) and type of self-explanation prompts (prediction prompts vs. reflection prompts vs. no prompts) as the between-subjects factors. They completed a pretest, subjective cognitive load questions, intrinsic motivation questions, and a posttest during the course of the experience. A subsample (49 out of 126) of the participants' eye movements were tracked by an eye tracker. The results revealed that (a) participants presented with visually cued animations had significantly higher learning outcome scores than their peers who viewed uncued animations; and (b) cognitive load and intrinsic motivation had different impacts on learning in multimedia due to the moderation effect of visual cueing. There were no other significant findings in terms of learning outcomes, cognitive load, intrinsic motivation, and eye movements. Limitations, implications and future directions are discussed within the framework of cognitive load theory, cognitive theory of multimedia learning and cognitive-affective theory of learning with media.
ContributorsLin, Lijia (Author) / Atkinson, Robert (Thesis advisor) / Nelson, Brian (Committee member) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The purpose of this study was to investigate the use of the design characteristics component of the Jeffries/National League for Nursing Framework for Designing, Implementing, and Evaluating Simulations when developing a simulation-based approach to teaching structured communication to new graduate nurses. The setting for the study was a medium sized tertiary care hospital located in the southwestern United States. Participants in the study were an instructional designer (who also served as the researcher), two graduate nursing education specialists, one unit based educator, and 27 new graduate nurses and registered nurses who had been in practice for less than six months. Design and development research was employed to examine the processes used to design the simulation, implementation of the simulation by faculty, and course evaluation data from both students and faculty. Data collected from the designer, faculty and student participants were analyzed for evidence on how the design characteristics informed the design and implementation of the course, student achievement of course goals, as well as student and faculty evaluation of the course. These data were used to identify the strengths and weaknesses of the model in this context as well as suggestions for strengthening the model. Findings revealed that the model generally functioned well in this context. Particular strengths of the model were its emphasis on problem-solving and recommendations for attending to fidelity of clinical scenarios. Weaknesses of the model were inadequate guidance for designing student preparation, student support, and debriefing. Additionally, the model does not address the role of observers or others who are not assigned the role of primary nurse during simulations. Recommendations for strengthening the model include addressing these weaknesses by incorporating existing evidence in the instructional design of experiential learning and by scaffolding students during problem-solving. The results of the study also suggested interrelationships among the design characteristics that were not previously described; further exploration of this finding may strengthen the model. Faculty and instructional designers creating clinical simulations in this context would benefit from using the Jeffries/National League for Nursing Model, adding external resources to supplement in areas where the model does not currently provide adequate guidance.
ContributorsWilson, Rebecca D (Author) / Klein, James D. (Thesis advisor) / Hagler, Debra (Committee member) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2011
Description
The purpose of this experimental study was to investigate the effects of textual and visual annotations on Spanish listening comprehension and vocabulary acquisition in the context of an online multimedia listening activity. 95 students who were enrolled in different sections of first year Spanish classes at a community college and a large southwestern university were randomly assigned to one of four versions of an online multimedia listening activity that contained textual and visual annotations of several key words. Students then took a comprehension and vocabulary posttest and a survey to measure cognitive load and general attitudes towards the program. Results indicated that textual annotations had a significant positive effect on listening comprehension and that visual annotations had a significant positive effect on how successful students felt. No statistically significant differences were found for other variables. Participants also reported positive attitudes towards vocabulary annotations and expressed a desire to see more annotations during multimedia listening activities of this type. These findings provide further evidence of the impact that multimedia may have on language acquisition. These findings have implications for multimedia design and for future research. Language listening activities should include a variety of vocabulary annotations that may help students to understand what they hear and to help them learn new vocabulary. Further research is needed outside of the laboratory, in the online and increasingly-mobile language learning environment in order to align the research with the environment in which many students currently study. The incorporation of motivation into multimedia learning theory and cognitive load should be explored, as well as new measures of cognitive load.
ContributorsCottam, Michael Evan (Author) / Savenye, Wilhelmina (Thesis advisor) / Klein, James D. (Committee member) / Atkinson, Robert (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2010