Sascha Schneider

From duels to classroom competition: Social competition and learning in educational videogames within different group sizes

Abstract Competition with other players or with the game itself is one of the basic elements of videogames, but the fine balance between increased mental effort and potential motivational benefits has to be addressed. A quantitative experiment was conducted to verify if social competition increases cognitive load, engagement, interest, and subsequently learning. The 115 students played an educational videogame, specifically designed for this experiment using Minecraf t, in single, one-versus-one, small group, or classroom settings. The results show significantly higher cognitive load induced through social competition; lowered focused attention, instructional efficiency; and no higher situational interest. Additionally, increased learning in the solo condition could be observed. In contrast to these results, analysis of the actual perceived challenge resulted in positive correlations with engagement, situational interest, and retention knowledge. After the analysis, a detailed discussion of the impacts of social competition and various implications and future directions are provided. For example, it is argued that it is important to distinguish between the added gameplay mechanic of social competition and the perceived intrapersonal challenge this induces. Whereas the first might increase cognitive load due to the monitoring of additional game states, the latter might foster motivation and interest.

Anthropomorphism in Decorative Pictures: Benefit or Harm for Learning?.

When people attribute human characteristics to nonhuman objects they are amenable to anthropomorphism. For example, human faces or the insertion of personalized labels are found to trigger anthropomorphism. Two studies examine the effects of these features when included in decorative pictures in multimedia learning materials. In a first experiment, 81 university students were randomly assigned to 1 cell of a 2 (human faces vs. no faces in pictures) × 2 (personalized vs. nonpersonalized labels of pictures) between-subjects, factorial design. In addition to learning performance, cognitive, motivational, and emotional impacts of anthropomorphism are examined. Results show that both human faces and anthropomorphic labels were able to increase the learning performance on cognitive assessments. However, only human faces were able to influence motivational and emotional ratings significantly. In a second experiment, 108 secondary school students were randomly assigned to 3 groups (anthropomorphized pictures, nonanthropomorphized pictures, and no pictures) in order to evaluate possible advantages of anthropomorphism in decorative pictures in learning materials. Results show again that anthropomorphized pictures are better for learning than nonanthropomorphized pictures and also better than a control group. Results are discussed in the light of a debate on the inclusion or exclusion of decorative pictures.

Introducing the familiarity mechanism

Establishing a new mechanism integrating when socials cues are triggered.Examining youth slang as a new personalization factor for secondary school students.Designing learning material with youth slang increases transfer performance.Familiarity mechanism serves as a new explanatory approach for the personalization effect. Several approaches have been used to explain how the personalization effect operates in multimedia messages. This paper aims at unifying these statements in a core concept of familiarity and its influence on social cues. By amplifying the scope of possible forms of personalization, the study explores additionally how youth slang as a new factor of conversation influences learning. Secondary school children (N=166) were randomly assigned to experimental groups and provided with materials about photosynthesis in two different experiments (audio vs. text message). Each experiment consisted of performance tests and a questionnaire concerning the newly found mechanism of familiarity. The results of each single factor between-subject design show that youth slang fosters learning. Strong effects among transfer task performance (d1=1.19; d2=1.26) confirm the personalization effect. Moreover, the outcomes deliver valid empirical evidence for the proposed familiarity mechanism. These findings are discussed as well as the confirmation of all presumptions for the familiarity mechanism as incorporated in the explanatory approach, resulting in clear theoretical implications and future directions for the field of multimedia learning research.

Goal-Setting in Educational Video Games

Background. The increased usage of educational video games with their strong graphical and technical potential raises the question of how to optimize the instructional elements of gameplay. In this article, the instructional goal was analyzed with the theoretical background of both motivational psychology (goal-setting theory) and cognitive psychology (goal-free effect). Aim. We compared different goal types within an educational video game specifically produced for this context, using MINECRAFT as a content creation tool. Method. Within a quantitative, empirical experiment, 87 students divided into three goal groups (specific learning goal, specific performance goal, goal-free condition) played the video game for nearly three hours per test session to gain knowledge about basic elements of computer science and basic electric engineering. Results. The results show effects of goal-setting on cognitive load and affective measures. Having specific learning goals lowered extraneous and intrinsic cognitive load. Additionally, players following a specific learning goal reported having significantly more fun, indicating the affective impacts of goal-setting. Conclusions. The outcomes of this study have practical implications for the creation of educational video games and theoretical implications for further work within the field of instructional psychology.

The higher the score, the higher the learning outcome? Heterogeneous impacts of leaderboards and choice within educational videogames

Interactive multimedia environments such as educational videogames offer great potential for learning in groups with multiple players. Multiplayer games might lead to competition among the learners which is frequently used to motivate them to play again. Additionally, competitive outcomes as discrepancies to a desired standard might differ between players and this type of feedback might influence learning. Therefore, the experiment seeks to investigate learning effects of different amounts of standard discrepancy and the choice to repeat levels. Standard discrepancy was operationalized by either showing a high learner score (low standard discrepancy) or a medium learner score (large standard discrepancy) at a leaderboard. Choice to repeat a level (possibility to repeat vs. no possibility to repeat) was manipulated by presenting or hiding a repeat button. An experiment was conducted with 85 students who played a jump-and-run game in order to learn facts about three allegorical paintings. Results revealed an effect of standard discrepancy on retention performance with higher scores for the high standard discrepancy condition. Choice did not influence learning outcomes, but improved motivational and emotional measures. Findings underpin the new role of leaderboards as feedback mechanisms. Investigation of the impact of standard discrepancy on learning.We demonstrate motivational effects of choice within educational videogames.We show functions of leaderboards as a feedback mechanism or competitive element.Stronger integration of the individual learning experience is proposed.

Mind your Ps and Qs! How polite instructions affect learning with multimedia

Research on politeness in learning processes is enhanced by new theories.Polite instructions foster retention and transfer learning performances.The influence of politeness on motivation and cognitive load is investigated.Cultural cues are introduced to explain the politeness effect. The present study examined the role of politeness in instructions during learning with a multimedia web page. By incorporating former studies of the politeness effect, this study provides new insights into a possible operationalization of politeness for instructional messages. Based on a two-sided view (direct vs. polite), one hundred and twenty German upper secondary school students learned all about attribution theories while clicking through a learning web page where only instructional pages differed. The students were randomly assigned to one cell of a 2 (direct vs. polite)i?2 (on-screen vs. auditory) between-subjects factorial design. Results confirm the politeness effect for retention and transfer performances, showing large effect sizes. Students reported significantly higher scores on interest, probability of success, and learning assistance in the polite treatment group while scores on directness, restriction of freedom, extraneous cognitive load, and mental effort are significantly lower, however, no interaction was found for modality and politeness. Additionally, polite variations were not assessed as social cues. For this, a new term of cultural cues in multimedia learning is proposed.

The more human, the higher the performance? Examining the effects of anthropomorphism on learning with media.

The inclusion of human-like shapes like arms or faces in rather abstract pictures triggers the tendency of anthropomorphism, which is defined as the attribution of human characteristics to nonhuman objects. Anthropomorphism-triggering features in digital learning materials were found to enhance the performance of students. However, the probability of how effective such anthropomorphic features are might be dependent on the degree of the elicited anthropomorphism. In this study, 3 experiments were conducted to examine if varying degrees of anthropomorphism (low vs. medium vs. high) differently affect the learning performance of students. Participants were taken from different class levels; ranging from Class 5 and 6 (Experiment 1) to Class 8 and 9 (Experiment 2), and Class 11 to 13 (Experiment 3). The instructional material covered the topic of blood cell types. Subjective measurements of cognitive load, aesthetics, intrinsic motivation, and valence were included. Results show that an increased degree of anthropomorphism led to significant differences in the learning, intrinsic motivation, and aesthetics scores. The learning results of the 3 experiments were additionally checked by a meta-analysis. On a descriptive level, only students in Class 8 and 9 profited the most from a high degree of anthropomorphism. While students in Class 5 and 6 suffered from a high cognitive load in the high anthropomorphism condition, students in Class 11 to 13 were not as strongly affected by anthropomorphism as the other students. Results are partly explained by differences in prior knowledge.

Leaderboards within educational videogames: The impact of difficulty, effort and gameplay

Abstract Although many of the existing educational videogames rely on leaderboard mechanisms, dedicated research on their effectiveness or how they should be implemented is missing. In this study, competitive effort, perceived difficulty and connected gameplay which are revealed to be core concepts of leaderboards, are manipulated to examine how leaderboards and competitive gameplay has to be designed to facilitate learning. Students had to play an educational videogame where players need to collect and retrieve information chunks about the function of power plants. They were randomly assigned to one cell of a 2 (low vs. high difficulty) x 2 (with or without penalties) between-subjects design. Data on retention knowledge, detail knowledge, learning efficiencies and goal orientations were collected. Results show that players with penalties scored higher on retention tests than players without penalties, whereas detail knowledge is enhanced by a low difficulty in contrast to a high difficulty. In addition, students with penalties learned and recalled the presented knowledge more efficient. An explorative analysis of goal orientations revealed influences of individual dispositions on affective responses and positive correlations with performance goals. The high dependence of learning outcomes on individual traits and gameplay characteristics demonstrates the need for more detailed research.

Theoretischer Beitrag: Soziale Prozesse beim Lernen mit digital präsentierten Lernmaterialien

Die Forschung zu digitalen Lernmaterialien wurde lange Zeit durch rein kognitiv ausgerichtete Theorien dominiert. Dieser Beitrag widmet sich der Fragestellung, inwieweit der individuelle Umgang mit digital prasentierten Lernmaterialien auch sozialen Prozessen unterliegt. Dafur werden Theorien herangezogen, die soziale Einflusse auf Lernprozesse prognostizieren konnen. In Zusammenhang mit diesen Theorien und der Kognitiv-Affektiven Theorie des Lernens mit Medien wird eine um soziale Prozesse erweiterte Theorie vorgeschlagen. Zur Untermauerung dieser Theorie werden konkrete soziale Effekte beschrieben, die beim Einsatz von Text-Bild-Kombinationen (statischen Medien) auftreten. Diese Effekte beziehen sich auf Personalisierungen in Texten (wie z. B. eine personliche Ansprache von Lernenden), kulturelle Hinweiszeichen (wie z. B. die Nutzung von Hoflichkeitsformen in Instruktionen) oder emotionale Einflusse (wie z. B. das Auslosen sozialer Reaktionen durch emotionale Bilder). Daruber hinaus werden Effekte beleuchtet, die vornehmlich in dynamischen Medien (wie z. B. Videos oder Animationen) auftreten. Als Beispiele konnen solche Effekte aus auditiven Informationen (wie z. B. Akzente bei Tonaufnahmen) oder bildhaften Informationen (wie z. B. die Perspektive von Lehrenden in Lernvideos) entstehen. Zusammenfassend soll geklart werden, inwieweit bisherige empirische Befunde die Kognitiv-Affektiv-Soziale Theorie des Lernens mit Medien abdecken und welche Konsequenzen aus diesen Befunden fur das Erstellen digital prasentierter Lernmaterialien entstehen.

Mood-affect congruency. Exploring the relation between learners’ mood and the affective charge of educational videos

Abstract In the educational context, the influences of the emotional charge of audiovisual media are rarely investigated. Additionally, the mood of the learner influences learning with multimedia. This study aims to investigate the influence of both variables on learning with videos. Therefore, 162 school students watched educational videos which were manipulated in terms of emotional charge. The participants were randomly assigned to one cell of a 2 (learners mood: positive vs. negative) × 2 (emotional charge of the educational video: positive vs. negative) between-subjects factorial design. Retention and transfer performance were measured in order to examine learning effects. Furthermore, mental load, mental effort, and affective variables were collected. Results revealed that the mood of the learner did not influence learning outcomes and cognitive assessments. The positive emotional charge of the video fostered retention performance and led to a reduced mental load. Transfer performance was fostered in the conditions with congruence between learners mood and the emotional charge of the video. Results are discussed by considering the emotion-as-facilitator hypothesis and the mood congruency effect.