Matching Items (28)
Description
Multimodal presentations have been found to facilitate learning, however, may be a disadvantage for low spatial ability students if they require spatial visualization. This disadvantage stems from their limited capacity to spatially visualize and retain information from both text and diagrams for integration. Similarly, working memory capacity (WMC) likely plays a key role in a learner's ability to retain information presented to them via both modalities. The present study investigated whether or not the act of self-explaining helps resolve deficits in learning caused by individual differences in spatial ability, working memory capacity, and prior knowledge when learning with text, or text and diagrams. No interactions were found, but prior knowledge consistently predicted performance on like posttests. The author presents methodological and theoretical explanations as to the null results of the present study.
ContributorsGutierrez, Pedro J (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Sanchez, Cristopher (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Observational tutoring has been found to be an effective method for teaching a variety of subjects by reusing dialogue from previous successful tutoring sessions. While it has been shown content can be learned through observational tutoring it has yet to been examined if a secondary behavior such as goal-setting can be influenced. The present study investigated if observing virtual humans engaging in a tutoring session on rotational kinematics with embedded positive goal oriented dialogue would increase knowledge of the material and perpetuate a shift an observer's goal-orientation from performance avoidance goal orientation (PAVGO) to learning goal orientation (LGO). Learning gains were observed in pre to post test knowledge retention tests. Significant changes from pretest to posttest occurred across conditions for LGO. Additionally, significant changes from PAVGO pretest to posttest were observed in the control condition however PAVGO did not significantly change in the experimental condition.
ContributorsTwyford, Jessica (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Niemczyk, Mary (Committee member) / Kuzel, Michael (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2014
Description
Assemblers and compilers provide feedback to a programmer in the form of error messages. These error messages become input to the debugging model of the programmer. For the programmer to fix an error, they should first locate the error in the program, understand what is causing that error, and finally resolve that error. Error messages play an important role in all three stages of fixing of errors. This thesis studies the effects of error messages in the context of teaching programming. Given an error message, this work investigates how it effects student’s way of 1) understanding the error, and 2) fixing the error. As part of the study, three error message types were developed – Default, Link and Example, to better understand the effects of error messages. The Default type provides an assembler-centric single line error message, the Link type provides a program-centric detailed error description with a hyperlink for more information, and the Example type provides a program centric detailed error description with a relevant example. All these error message types were developed for assembly language programming. A think aloud programming exercise was conducted as part of the study to capture the student programmer’s knowledge model. Different codes were developed to analyze the data collected as part of think aloud exercise. After transcribing, coding, and analyzing the data, it was found that the Link type of error message helped to fix the error in less time and with fewer steps. Among the three types, the Link type of error message also resulted in a significantly higher ratio of correct to incorrect steps taken by the programmer to fix the error.
ContributorsBeejady Murthy Kadekar, Harsha Kadekar (Author) / Sohoni, Sohum (Thesis advisor) / Craig, Scotty D. (Committee member) / Jordan, Shawn S (Committee member) / Gary, Kevin A (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2017
Description
Each programming language has a compiler associated with it which helps to identify logical or syntactical errors in the program. These compiler error messages play important part in the form of formative feedback for the programmer. Thus, the error messages should be constructed carefully, considering the affective and cognitive needs of programmers. This is especially true for systems that are used in educational settings, as the messages are typically seen by students who are novice programmers. If the error messages are hard to understand then they might discourage students from understanding or learning the programming language. The primary goal of this research is to identify methods to make the error messages more effective so that students can understand them better and simultaneously learn from their mistakes. This study is focused on understanding how the error message affects the understanding of the error and the approach students take to solve the error. In this study, three types of error messages were provided to the students. The first type is Default type error message which is an assembler centric error message. The second type is Link type error message which is a descriptive error message along with a link to the appropriate section of the PLP manual. The third type is Example type error message which is again a descriptive error message with an example of the similar type of error along with correction step. All these error types were developed for the PLP assembly language. A think-aloud experiment was designed and conducted on the students. The experiment was later transcribed and coded to understand different approach students take to solve different type of error message. After analyzing the result of the think-aloud experiment it was found that student read the Link type error message completely and they understood and learned from the error message to solve the error. The results also indicated that Link type was more helpful compare to other types of error message. The Link type made error solving process more effective compared to other error types.
ContributorsTanpure, Siddhant Bapusaheb (Author) / Sohoni, Sohum (Thesis advisor) / Gary, Kevin A (Committee member) / Craig, Scotty D. (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The current study investigated how multimedia pacing (learner-control versus system-paced) and presentation styles (visual-only versus audio/visual) impact learning physics concept material, mental effort, and self-efficacy. This 2X2 factorial study randomly assigned participants into one of four conditions that manipulated presentation style (visual-only versus audio/visual) and pacing of the content (system-paced versus learning-controlled). Participant's learning was measured by recording their retention of information and ability to transfer information. Measures of perceived difficulty (mental effort) and perceived ability (self-efficacy) were also obtained. No significant effects were observed in this study which doesn’t support the existence of either the modality or reverse modality effect at least in these noisier online learning environments. In addition, the hypothesis that their effects could be an artifact of experimental design could not be proven as the learner control condition did not yield any significant results.
ContributorsKrause, Tyler (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Gray, Robert (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
The current study investigated the task of coloring static images with multimedia learning to determine the impact on retention and transfer scores. After watching a multimedia video on the formation of lightning participants were assigned to either a passive, active, or constructive condition based on the ICAP Framework. Participants colored static images on key concepts from the video, passive condition observed the images, active condition colored the images by applying the concepts, and the constructive condition colored the images by generating new ideas and concepts. The study did not support the hypothesis that the constructive condition would have increased retention and transfer scores over the active and passive conditions. The mental effort measures did not show significance among groups in relation to learning but perception measures did show an increase in participants enjoyment and engagement. Since the coloring craze has become more accepted for adults then could coloring be a way to increase participants learning through engagement.
ContributorsWilliams, Jennifer S (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Roscoe, Rod (Committee member) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Multimedia learning has become increasingly popular as it proceeds to understand how different senses such as the visual and auditory systems work together to present information. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of temporal contiguity, a principle of multimedia learning, while displaying images and narration of fruits and vegetables to increase memorization of content. 21 preschool students between the ages of 4 and 5 from Arizona State University’s Child Study Lab were recruited for the purpose of the study. Students received one of two versions of a short video while inside the classroom. The two videos displayed information either at the same time or successively. Children’s knowledge was assessed with a drag and drop categorization game. The findings show there were no significant differences between the two conditions. Future studies should consider a longer training period when developing multimedia learning technology to ensure content is retained.
ContributorsLang, Destiny Hope (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Roscoe, Rod (Committee member) / Kupfer, Anne (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2019
Description
ELearning, distance learning, has been a fast-developing topic in educational area. In 1999, Mayer put forward “Cognitive Theory of Multimedia learning” (Moreno, & Mayer, 1999). The theory consisted of several principles. One of the principles, Modality Principle describes that when learners are presented with spoken words, their performance are better than that with on-screen texts (Mayer, R., Dow, & Mayer, S. 2003; Moreno, & Mayer, 1999).It gave an implication that learners performance can be affected by modality of learning materials. A very common tool in education in literature and language is narrative. This way of storytelling has received success in practical use. The advantages of using narrative includes (a) inherent format advantage such as simple structure and familiar language and ideas, (b) motivating learners, (c) facilitate listening, (d) oral ability and (e)provide schema for comparison in comprehension.
Although this storytelling method has been widely used in literature, language and even moral education, few studies focused it on science and technology area.
The study aims to test the effect of narrative effect in multimedia setting with science topic. A script-based story was applied. The multimedia settings include a virtual human with synthetic speech, and animation on a solar cell lesson. The experiment design is a randomized alternative- treatments design, in which participants are requested to watch a video with pedagogical agent in story format or not. Participants were collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Result of transfer score and retention score showed that no significant difference between narrative and non-narrative condition. Discussion was put forward for future study.
Although this storytelling method has been widely used in literature, language and even moral education, few studies focused it on science and technology area.
The study aims to test the effect of narrative effect in multimedia setting with science topic. A script-based story was applied. The multimedia settings include a virtual human with synthetic speech, and animation on a solar cell lesson. The experiment design is a randomized alternative- treatments design, in which participants are requested to watch a video with pedagogical agent in story format or not. Participants were collected from Amazon Mechanical Turk.
Result of transfer score and retention score showed that no significant difference between narrative and non-narrative condition. Discussion was put forward for future study.
ContributorsWu, Mengxuan (Author) / Craig, Scotty D. (Thesis advisor) / Branaghan, Russell (Committee member) / Chiou, Erin (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2018
Description
Parents in STEM careers are more apt to guide their kids towards STEM careers (Sherburne-Michigan, 2017). There are STEM programs and classes for students who are interested in related fields, but the conundrum is that students need to be interested in order to choose to participate. The goal of this creative project was to introduce engineering concepts in a high school class to reveal and investigate the ways in which engineering concepts can be successfully introduced to a larger student populace to increase interest in engineering programs, courses, and degrees. A lesson plan and corresponding materials - including circuit kits and a simulated ball launching station with graphical display - were made to accomplish this goal. Throughout the lesson students were asked to (1) use given materials to accomplish a goal, (2) predict outcomes based on conceptual understanding and mathematical calculations, (3) test predictions, (4) record data, and (5) analyze data to generate results. The students first created a simple circuit to understand the circuit components and learn general electrical engineering concepts. A simple light dimmer circuit let students demonstrate understanding of electrical concepts (e.g., voltage, current resistance) before using the circuit to a simulated motor in order to launch a ball. The students were then asked to predict the time and height of a ball launched with various settings of their control circuit. The students were able to test their theories with the simulated launcher test set up shown in Figure 25 and collect data to create a parabolic height versus time graph. Based on the measured graph, the students were able to record their results and compare calculated values to real-world measured values. The results of the study suggest ways to introduce students to engineering while developing hands-on concept modeling of projectile motion and circuit design in math classrooms. Additionally, this lesson identifies a rich topic for teachers and STEM education researchers to explore lesson plans with interdisciplinary connections to engineering. This report will include the inspiration for the product, related work, iterative design process, and the final design. This information will be followed by user feedback, a project reflection, and lessons learned. The report will conclude with a summary and a discussion of future work.
ContributorsBurgess, Kylee Rae (Author) / Jordan, Shawn (Thesis director) / Sohoni, Sohum (Committee member) / Kinach, Barbara (Committee member) / Engineering Programs (Contributor) / Barrett, The Honors College (Contributor)
Created2018-05
Description
Driving is already a complex task that demands a varying level of cognitive and physical load. With the advancement in technology, the car has become a place for media consumption, a communications center and an interconnected workplace. The number of features in a car has also increased. As a result, the user interaction inside the car has become overcrowded and more complex. This has increased the amount of distraction while driving and has also increased the number of accidents due to distracted driving. This thesis focuses on the critical analysis of today’s in-car environment covering two main aspects, Multi Modal Interaction (MMI), and Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS), to minimize the distraction. It also provides deep market research on future trends in the smart car technology. After careful analysis, it was observed that an infotainment screen cluttered with lots of small icons, a center stack with a plethora of small buttons and a poor Voice Recognition (VR) results in high cognitive load, and these are the reasons for the increased driver distraction. Though the VR has become a standard technology, the current state of technology is focused on features oriented design and a sales driven approach. Most of the automotive manufacturers are focusing on making the VR better but attaining perfection in VR is not the answer as there are inherent challenges and limitations in respect to the in-car environment and cognitive load. Accordingly, the research proposed a novel in-car interaction design solution: Multi-Modal Interaction (MMI). The MMI is a new term when used in the context of vehicles, but it is widely used in human-human interaction. The approach offers a non-intrusive alternative to the driver to interact with the features in the car. With the focus on user-centered design, the MMI and ADAS can potentially help to reduce the distraction. To support the discussion, an experiment was conducted to benchmark a minimalist UI design. An engineering based method was used to test and measure distraction of four different UIs with varying numbers of icons and screen sizes. Lastly, in order to compete with the market, the basic features that are provided by all the other competitors cannot be eliminated, but the hard work can be done to improve the HCaI and to make driving safer.
ContributorsNakrani, Paresh Keshubhai (Author) / Gaffar, Ashraf (Thesis advisor) / Sohoni, Sohum (Committee member) / Ghazarian, Arabi (Committee member) / Arizona State University (Publisher)
Created2015