Improving English language skills through learning Mathematic contents: From the expertise reversal effect perspective.

BACKGROUND: Previous research in the field of content and language integrated learning (CLIL) has not yet comprehensively investigated the interaction between learners' expertise and the instructional effectiveness. AIMS: Taking cognitive load theory as the theoretical framework, a study was conducted to investigate the expertise reversal effect on learning English and mathematics simultaneously: whether an integrated approach (i.e. learning both English and mathematics simultaneously) could facilitate the acquisition of mathematic skills and English linguistic skills as a foreign language more effectively and efficiently than a separated learning approach (i.e. learning Mathematics and English separately). MATERIALS: The materials for the integrated learning approach were in English-only, and the materials for the separated learning approach were in English-and-Chinese. Both sets of materials were given as reading content for teaching mathematic skills and English as a foreign language. METHODS: The study adopted a 2 (language expertise: low vs. high) × 2 (instruction: integrated vs. separated) between-subject factorial design with instructional approaches and learners' expertise in English as independent variables, the learning performance in Mathematics and English with the cognitive load ratings as the dependent variables. Sixty-five Year-10 students with lower expertise in English and 56 Year-2 college students with higher expertise in English in China were recruited and allocated to two instructional conditions respectively. RESULTS: An expertise reversal effect was confirmed: the English and mathematics integrated learning approach was more effective for higher expertise learners while the English and mathematics separated learning condition was more beneficial for lower expertise learners.

Expertise reversal effect in a pen-tablet-based learning environment: The role of learningcentered emotions in the interplay between learner expertise and task complexity.

The study investigated interactions between learner expertise and task complexity evaluated from both cognitive and affective perspectives. One hundred and seventy-three students, both novices and advanced learners, were asked to learn Japanese writing in a pen-tablet-based digital learning environment with varying task complexity levels. Cognitive load and learning-centred emotions were measured at intervals during learning, while writing performance was monitored by runtime tracking. Results indicated that while advanced learners performed better than novices across the range of task complexity, the moderate task complexity was shown to be superior in enhancing performance for both levels of expertise. Results for learning-centred emotions showed that advanced learners reported lower enjoyment and higher frustration when completing the low complexity task, whereas the moderately complex task was reported to be the most enjoyable and less frustrating for these learners. No significant difference in emotions was found across levels of task complexity for novices. Finally, a constructed composite indicator of cognitive-affective efficiency of instructional conditions showed a significant interaction between levels of learner expertise and task complexity primarily caused by affective factors.

Strategies for facilitating processing of transient information in instructional videos by using learner control mechanisms.

Learner control of video presentations by using pause buttons or timeline scrollbars was suggested as helpful for learning from sources of transient information such as dynamic visualizations and spoken words. However, effective learner control could be difficult to attain without sufficient instructional support. This study developed strategies for facilitating processing and integration of transient information based on cognitive load theory by providing learners with explicit guidance in when and how to use pausing and timeline scrollbars while watching instructional videos. A single-factor between-subjects experiment was conducted to examine the effects of the proposed strategies. Ninety undergraduates were randomly assigned to one of three groups - strategy guidance group (learners were provided with guidance in strategies), learner control group (learners were allowed to control the video but without any guidance in strategies), and continuous presentation group (without any learner control mechanism). The results revealed that compared to the learner control group, the strategy guidance group had a greater number of pauses and scrollbacks on the timeline, demonstrated significantly better performance in the immediate comprehension test and higher performance efficiency in the immediate recall and comprehension tests. Compared to the continuous presentation group, the strategy guidance group demonstrated significantly better performance in the immediate recall and comprehension tests and higher performance efficiency in both these tests, as well as better performance in the delayed recall test and higher performance efficiency in the delayed recall test.

Learning English as a Foreign Language Writing Skills in Collaborative Settings: A Cognitive Load Perspective.

Learning to write in a foreign language is a complex cognitive process. The process-genre approach is a common instructional practice adopted by language teachers to develop learners' writing abilities. However, the interacting elements of procedural knowledge, linguistic knowledge, and generic knowledge in this approach may exceed the capacity of an individual learner's working memory, thus actually hindering the acquisition of writing skills. According to the collective working memory effect, it was hypothesized that teaching writing skills of English as a foreign language by adopting a process-genre approach in collaborative conditions could lead to better writing performance, lower cognitive load, and higher instructional efficiency. The reported experiment compared learning writing skills of English as a foreign language in individual and collaborative instructional conditions from a cognitive load perspective, a rarely adopted approach in this field. The results indicated that the collaborative instructional condition was more effective and efficient than the individual instructional condition in improving the quality of written products as well as in optimizing the cognitive (working memory) load experienced by the learners. Measures of cognitive load were used to support the cognitive load theory's interpretation of the results, which is the unique contribution of this research study to the field.

The Effects of Temporal Contiguity and Expertise on Acquisition of Tactical Movements.

Various studies demonstrated that multimedia learning improves when text and pictures are presented contiguously in time rather than separately - the temporal contiguity effect. The present study investigated whether this advantage is restricted to only novice learners (novices) or also extends to more knowledgeable learners (expert), and whether it depends on the length of instructional segments. Learners with varied levels of expertise (experts vs. novices) learned about basketball game system in five different experimental conditions. In the first three conditions, an entire video clip and audio text were presented either at the same time or the video clip was presented before or after the entire audio (macro-step presentations). In the remaining two conditions, short segments of the video clip were presented before or after corresponding short segments of the audio (micro-step presentations). Overall, novice learners benefited more from the concurrent presentation (combination of learning and mental effort scores); in addition, and in the case of macro-step presentations novices performed better when the audio segment preceded the video clip segment. However, experts benefited more from the micro-step presentations, demonstrating an expertise reversal effect.

Element interactivity as a factor influencing the effectiveness of worked example-problem solving and problem solving-worked example sequences.

BACKGROUND: The worked example effect in cognitive load theory suggests that providing worked examples first followed by solving similar problems would facilitate students' learning. Using problem solving-worked example sequence is another way of implementing example-based instruction. Although research has demonstrated the superiority of worked example-problem solving sequence on learning materials that presumably are high in element interactivity for novices, none of the previous studies have compared the two sequences with levels of element interactivity experimentally manipulated in a strictly controlled manner. AIM: The reported study aimed to investigate the effects of levels of element interactivity of the learning tasks and levels of learner prior knowledge on the effectiveness of two alternative example-based sequences, worked example-problem solving versus problem solving-worked example. SAMPLE: Fifty-two Year five students, around 10 to 11 years old, from a primary school in Indonesia participated in Experiment 1, and 96 Year eight students, around 13 to 14 years old, from a secondary school in Indonesia participated in Experiment 2. METHODS: 2 (sequences: worked example-problem solving vs. problem solving-worked example) × 2 (levels of element interactivity: low vs. high) experimental design, with the second factor repeatedly measured, was used in the two experiments conducted with learners at different levels of prior knowledge. RESULT: The results showed the advantage of using worked example-problem solving sequence for learning materials high in element interactivity, especially for novice learners, whereas there were no differences between the worked example-problem solving and problem solving-worked example sequences for learning materials low in element interactivity for more knowledgeable learners. CONCLUSION: This study not only replicated the results of previous studies, but also extended their findings by experimentally manipulating levels of element interactivity of learning materials.

Communicating Dynamic Behaviors in Basketball: The Role of Verbal Instructions and Arrow Symbols.

Purpose: Guided by cognitive load theory and cognitive theory of multimedia learning, the purpose of this study was to evaluate players' ability to integrate dynamic information presented under different conditions: a verbal condition, in which instructions were given orally; a visual condition, in which instructions were shown using arrow symbols; and a redundant condition, in which both visual and verbal instructions were presented simultaneously. Method: In a 2 × 3 design, we asked basketball players with varied levels of skill (less-skilled, skilled) to rate their invested mental effort and to perform a recall test after learning from either the verbal, visual or redundant condition. Results: Results demonstrated that the less-skilled players benefited more from the redundant condition, whereas the skilled participants benefited more from the visual condition. Conclusion: Recommendations for improving instructional design techniques aimed at the transmission of tactical instructions in team games are proposed.

Which representation is best for communicating dynamic information?

The aim of this study was to investigate how expert and novice learners integrate dynamic information from two types of representations, namely auditory description and arrow symbols. Participants were required to perform both recognition and recall tests and rate their invested mental effort after studying two representations in four different orders of presentation (audio → audio, arrow → arrow, arrow → audio, or audio → arrow). When the same representation is presented twice, the results demonstrated the superiority of the spatial representation over the verbal representation for novice learners. However, when comparing the representations, it was found that novice learners achieved higher levels of performance when they had received audio first and then arrows, while expert learners showed the same level of performance regardless of the sequence of representations. Implications for improving instructional design techniques aimed at the acquisition of temporal information are discussed.

Configured-groups hypothesis: fast comparison of exact large quantities without counting.

Our innate number sense cannot distinguish between two large exact numbers of objects (e.g., 45 dots vs 46). Configured groups (e.g., 10 blocks, 20 frames) are traditionally used in schools to represent large numbers. Previous studies suggest that these external representations make it easier to use symbolic strategies such as counting ten by ten, enabling humans to differentiate exactly two large numbers. The main hypothesis of this work is that configured groups also allow for a differentiation of large exact numbers, even when symbolic strategies become ineffective. In experiment 1, the children from grade 3 were asked to compare two large collections of objects for 5 s. When the objects were organized in configured groups, the success rate was over .90. Without this configured grouping, the children were unable to make a successful comparison. Experiments 2 and 3 controlled for a strategy based on non-numerical parameters (areas delimited by dots or the sum areas of dots, etc.) or use symbolic strategies. These results suggest that configured grouping enables humans to distinguish between two large exact numbers of objects, even when innate number sense and symbolic strategies are ineffective. These results are consistent with what we call "the configured group hypothesis": configured groups play a fundamental role in the acquisition of exact numerical abilities.

The expertise reversal effect for sequential presentation in dynamic soccer visualizations.

Cognitive load perspective was used as a theoretical framework to investigate effects of expertise and type of presentation of interacting elements of information in learning from dynamic visualizations. Soccer players (N = 48) were required to complete a recall reconstruction test and to rate their invested mental effort after studying a concurrent or sequential presentation of the elements of play. The results provided evidence for an expertise reversal effect. For novice players, the sequential presentation produced better learning outcomes. In contrast, expert players performed better after studying the concurrent presentation. The findings suggest that the effectiveness of different visual presentation formats depend on levels of learner expertise.

Levels of knowledge and deliberate practice.

This study examined the influence of deliberate practice, defined as practice specifically aimed at learners' weak areas and only their weak areas, on 8th graders performance in geometry. A control group had a choice over practice problems and their sequencing. Experiment 1 indicated a disordinal practice schedule by knowledge interaction. Simple effects tests indicated that the interaction was primarily caused by less knowledgeable learners benefiting more from a self-selected practice schedule than deliberate practice. Two subsequent experiments explored the cognitive mechanisms behind this effect by using learners with different levels of prior knowledge. Whereas the relatively more knowledgeable learners in Experiment 2 benefited by concentrating only on their weak areas during practice, the less knowledgeable learners in Experiment 3 improved their skills when they practiced on problem sets combining some of their weak and some of their strong areas or by concentrating on only a limited number of weak areas for a given problem area. These findings have important implications for the design of curriculum materials and implementation of deliberate practice techniques in secondary classrooms. Prior to attaining a sufficient level of familiarity with the subject matter, learners should be encouraged to continue practicing in areas in which they have some degree of competence. Only after competence is attained in several related areas should an exclusive emphasis be placed on practice in weak areas only. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2013 APA, all rights reserved).

When redundant on-screen text in multimedia technical instruction can interfere with learning.

It is frequently assumed that presenting the same material in written and spoken form benefits learning and understanding. The present work provides a theoretical justification based on cognitive load theory, and empirical evidence based on controlled experiments, that this assumption can be incorrect. From a theoretical perspective, it is suggested that if learners are required to coordinate and simultaneously process redundant material such as written and spoken text, an excessive working memory load is generated. Three experiments involving a group of 25 technical apprentices compared the effects of simultaneously presenting the same written and auditory textual information as opposed to either temporally separating the two modes or eliminating one of the modes. The first two experiments demonstrated that nonconcurrent presentation of auditory and visual explanations of a diagram proved superior, in terms of ratings of mental load and test scores, to a concurrent presentation of the same explanations when instruction time was constrained. The 3rd experiment demonstrated that a concurrent presentation of identical auditory and visual technical text (without the presence of diagrams) was significantly less efficient in comparison with an auditory-only text. Actual or potential applications of this research include the design and evaluation of multimedia instructional systems and audiovisual displays.