Education Commons^™

Self-Efficacy Change Associated With A Cognitive Load-Based Intervention In An Undergraduate Biology Course, David F. Feldon, Joana Franco, Jie Chao, James Peugh, Cathy Maahs-Fladung

Instructional Technology and Learning Sciences Faculty Publications

Cognitive load theory (CLT) holds that discovery learning and other instructional strategies imposing high levels of extraneous load on novice learners hinder learning. Such learning conditions are also associated with significant drops in persistence, a key measure of motivation. However, research within the CLT framework typically engages motivation as a necessary precursor to learning, rather than as an outcome of instruction. In this study, we examine changes in motivational beliefs as outcomes of learners' cognitive processes through a CLT lens as they engage with instruction. Using a double-blind quasi-experimental design, we manipulate the level of cognitive load imposed on participants …

The Effect Of The Visual Gender Of An Embodied Agent: A Cross-Cultural Comparison, Yanghee Kim, A Guiz, A Silveryarg, M Haake, T Chen, N Kim

Yanghee Kim

This study explored if the visual gender representations (androgynous, male, or female) of an embodied agent would influence students’ perceptions of their agent and their attitudes toward the agent as their conversational partner. The study also explored if students’ gender and cultural background would interact with the agent’s visual gender to influence their perceptions and attitudes. Participants were 208 early-teen students sampled from US and South Korea. The results revealed that student gender was a significant factor for influencing students' perceptions and attitudes and that the students showed positive attitudes toward an androgynous agent more than toward a gendered agent …

Can A Pedagogical Agent Help Reduce Mathematics Anxiety?, Q. Wei, Yanghee Kim

Yanghee Kim

No abstract provided.

The Role Of Student Gender For Determining The Impact Of A Pedagogical Agent, Yanghee Kim, J. Lim

Yanghee Kim

This study was to understand how male and female teenage students reacted differently to the presence of a pedagogical agent (an animated human-like character) in a computer-based algebra-learning environment. The study first examined, in classroom experiments, if learner gender would be a determining factor for the effectiveness of a pedagogical agent on learner attitudes and learning. Next, in-depth interviews inquired into the two groups of students’ perspectives of their agent’s role for their learning and affect.

Toward Creating Computer-Based Math Learning Favoring High-School Females, Yanghee Kim

Yanghee Kim

Research indicates that teenage females prefer to work and perform better at the learning environment that supports frequent interactions and allows them to build relationships with others. This paper will introduce a computer-based algebra-learning environment MathGirls equipped with pedagogical agents (digital life-like characters) that simulate real-world social interactions and relations. The goal of MathGirls is to help young women of high-school age build positive attitudes toward and self-efficacy in math learning through this simulated social context. To investigate the efficacy of MathGirls, a classroom experiment was conducted with 83 high-school females. The experiment examined the effects of agent attributes (female …

Creating Pedagogical Agents As Social Models In An Online Learning Environment Mathgirls, Yanghee Kim, B. Xu, A. Sharif

Yanghee Kim

This paper introduces the learning environment MathGirls for high school girls learning fundamentals of algebra. Grounded in social cognitive theories of learning, MathGirls utilizes pedagogical agents to create a girl-friendly virtual learning environment. The design constituents of pedagogical agents are reviewed. These constituents are likely to influence building agent/learner relations. The agent design and system architecture of the MathGirls environment are developed to integrate some of the design constituents. Empirical findings from MathGirls deployment in classrooms support the efficacy of the presence of pedagogical agents in shaping affective and cognitive characteristics of the learner. The paper concludes with the discussions …

Mathgirls: Toward Developing Girls’ Positive Attitude And Self-Efficacy Through Pedagogical Agents, Yanghee Kim, Q Wei, B Xu, Y Ko, V Ilieva

Yanghee Kim

MathGirls is a pedagogical-agent-based environment designed for high-school girls learning introductory algebra. Since females are in general more interested in interactive computing and more positive about the social presence of pedagogical agents, the environment provides a girl-friendly social learning environment, where pedagogical agents encourage the girls to build constructive views of learning math. This study investigated the impact of agent presence on changes in the girls’ math attitude, their math self-efficacy, and their learning; on the girls’ choice of their agents; and, on their perceptions of agent affability. The results revealed that the girls with an agent developed a more …

Pedagogical Agents As Learning Companions: The Role Of Agent Competency And Type Of Interaction, Yanghee Kim, Amy L. Baylor, Pals Group

Yanghee Kim

This study was designed to examine the effects of the competency (low vs. high) and interaction type (proactive vs. responsive) of pedagogical agents as learning companions (PALs) on learning, self-efficacy, and attitudes. Participants were 72 undergraduates in an introductory computer-literacy course who were randomly assigned to one of four treatments: Low-Proactive, Low-Responsive, High-Proactive, and High-Responsive. Results indicated a main effect for PAL competency. Students who worked with the high-competency PAL in both proactive and responsive conditions achieved higher scores in applying what they had learned and showed more positive attitudes toward the PAL. However, students who worked with the low-competency …

Relationships Between Motivational Orientations And Participants' Perceptions Of An Electronic Distance Education Learning Environment, Charles Wynn Wilkes

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students' motivational orientations and their perceptions of an electronic distance education (EDE) environment. Subjects were 156 participants (81 women, 75 men; 83 undergraduates, 73 graduate students) enrolled in Utah State University's electronic distance education system, Com-Net.

A comparison group was also utilized, that consisted of 85 participants (64 females, 21 males; 34 undergraduates, 51 graduates) from rural Utah enrolled in Utah State University extension programs. These students were from seven classes which were taught by the traditional method with an instructor physically present.

Correlation coefficients were computed to test …