Abstract
Motivation. Despite the widespread use of video lectures in online and blended learning environments, there is still debate whether the presence of an instructor in the video helps or hinders learning. According to social agency theory , seeing the instructor makes learners believe that s/he is personally teaching them, which leads to deeper cognitive processing and, in turn, better learning outcomes. Conversely, according to cognitive load theory , adding an image of the instructor may hinder attention engagement with lecture content due to split-attention effect. Not only are theoretical propositions conflicting, but so is the empirical evidence as well. Objective. This study investigates the effects of the presence of the instructor’s face in the corner of an educational video on learning outcomes, perceived cognitive load, and perceived social presence in the context of foreign language vocabulary learning. Method. In an online quasi-controlled experiment with between-subject design, 112 participants were randomly assigned to view a 10-min-long educational video in one of two conditions: instructor-present or instructor-absent. As for the latter condition, the face was shown only at the introduction of the presentation. Afterwards, participants completed a retention test as well as a cognitive load and social presence questionnaire. Results. No significant differences were found for any dependent variable. Conclusion. Individuals differ so much in their language aptitude as well as motivation to perform well that random assignment is probably not enough to ensure balanced groups in this particular study context. Besides, the approach that we used to measure cognitive load as well as social presence is not suited for between-subject design, even though it was previously used in such settings.
Highlights
Some of the findings show that students who had learnt from a multimedia lesson with a pedagogical agent performed slightly better on a subsequent transfer test, the median effect size is small [20]
Descriptive statistics for learning outcomes, cognitive load and social presence are presented in Table 3, while the
This study explored how instructor presence in a foreign language learning video influences learning outcomes, perceived cognitive load, the sense of social presence and students’ affective reactions towards seeing the instructor
Summary
Video lectures had been widely used in blended and online learning environments (e.g., Coursera, EdX, Udacity, and Khan Academy) even before the COVID-19 outbreak [8]–[12], specific guidelines for designing such videos have been scarce [11], [13].
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