Learner Control Aids Learning from Instructional Videos with a Virtual Human
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Learner Control Aids Learning from Instructional Videos with a Virtual Human Noah L. Schroeder1 · Joshua Chin2 · Scotty D. Craig2
© Springer Nature B.V. 2019
Abstract Experimental research around virtual humans acting as pedagogical agents has often taken place in learner-paced learning environments. However, virtual humans are increasingly embedded in educational materials such as instructional videos, where the pacing of the environment can be fundamentally different than a stand-alone learner-controlled software package. This study examined the influence of three types of pacing with varying levels of learner control when learning from an instructional video with an embedded virtual human. The results of our three-group randomized study indicate that increased learner control led to the strongest learning outcomes, although moderate learner control was the most instructionally efficient. The results suggest that some aspects of learner control can be beneficial when learning from instructional videos with embedded virtual humans. Keywords Pedagogical agent · Virtual human · Pacing · Learner control · Instructional video
1 Introduction The use of instructional videos to convey content to students outside of the classroom is becoming increasingly common as many educators move towards the “flipped classroom” approach (Herreid and Schiller 2013) and fully online learning classrooms (Szpunar et al. 2014; Moore and Kearsley 2011). However, a critical question remains: How should we design and implement instructional videos to most effectively facilitate learning? There are many important aspects to this question, such as how the content is displayed within the video, the duration of the video, and the design aspects of how the video is implemented (among other areas of research). While there are a variety of design and implementation choices that can be made, the choice of how the video is implemented in a multimedia environment is the focus of this study.
* Scotty D. Craig [email protected] 1
Wright State University, Dayton, OH, USA
2
Arizona State University, 7271 E Sonoran Arroyo Mall, Santa Catalina Hall, Ste. 150, Mesa, AZ 85212, USA
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In this study, we are interested in the amount of control the learner has over the pacing and sequencing of instructional videos rather than specific ways the content within the video can be designed. In essence, we question how aspects of the computer-based learning environment itself can influence learning rather than the display of the content within the environment. Researchers have indicated that the learning environment is an important factor in the learning process, particularly in relation to pedagogical agent-based learning environments (Heidig and Clarebout 2011). Pedagogical agents are human-like characters within learning environments designed to help learners understand material (Johnson and Lester 2016; Moreno et al. 2001), and are also known as virtual characters or virtual humans (Craig and Schroeder 20
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