Differences In Learning Performance Research Articles

Horses can learn to identify joy and sadness against other basic emotions from human facial expressions

Recently, horses and other domestic mammals have been shown to perceive and react to human emotional signals, with most studies focusing on joy and anger. In this study, we tested whether horses can learn to identify human joyful and sad expressions against other emotions. We used a touchscreen-based automated device that presented pairs of human portraits and distributed pellets when the horse touched the rewarded face. Six horses were trained to touch the sad face and 5 the joyful face. By the end of training, horses’ performances at the group level were significantly higher than chance level, with higher scores for horses trained with the sad face. At the individual level, evidence of task learning varied among horses, which could be explained by individual variations in horses’ ability to identify different human facial expressions or attention issues during the tests. In a generalization test, we introduced portraits of different humans than those presented during training. Horses trained with the joyful face performed better than chance, demonstrating generalization. Conversely, horses trained with the sad face did not. Horses also showed differences in learning performance according to the non-rewarded emotion, providing insights into horses’ cognitive processing of facial expressions.

A Study on Teaching Factors Affecting Learning Outcomes in General Education: University A’s Case-based

The purpose of this study is to provide implications for general education by analyzing the factors influencing learning outcomes in general education courses. To achieve this, a survey was conducted with 2,042 enrolled students at A National University located in Chungnam. For this study, correlation analysis and descriptive statistics, analysis of differences in learning performance according to students’ background characteristics, and multiple regression analysis of factors affecting learning performance in general education courses were conducted. The findings are as follows: Firstly, from the results of analyzing the difference in learning outcomes based on students’ background characteristics, we can see that the first-year students were statistically significantly lower in satisfaction than their second and third-year counterparts. Additionally, students from the College of Arts showed statistically significant differences in satisfaction compared to those from the College of Education, College of Humanities and Social Science, and College of Engineering. Secondly, the analysis of factors influencing learning outcomes showed that in the “Course Syllabus Area”, the clarity of learning objectives, in the “Course Content Area” the organization of course content for achieving learning objectives, and in the “Course Operation Area,” factors such as instructors’ adequate preparation, active communication with instructors during lectures, adherence to the weekly course schedule outlines in the syllabus, and appropriate supplementary sessions significantly predicted learning outcomes in general education courses. Additionally, in the “Student Evaluation Area,” the use of appropriate assessment for teaching methods, as well as providing suitable feedback on assignments and evaluation results, were significant predictors of learning outcomes. Furthermore, we found that the clarity of learning objectives in the “Course Syllabus Area” only moderately predicted the understanding of course content. Additionally, factors in the “Course Operation Area” such as active communication with instructors during lectures, adherence to the weekly course schedule, and appropriate supplementary sessions only moderate predicted knowledge and skill improvement. However, we also found the appropriateness of notifying the students of any changes in course content in the “Course Operation Area” not to be statistically significant in predicting knowledge and skill improvement. Based on the above research findings, it is recommended that instructors emphasize the importance of their role in influencing learning outcomes in general education courses. Additionally, it is crucial that instructors carefully structure course content during the planning phase to align with the achievement of learning objectives. Adequate preparation by instructors, active engagement with students during lectures, and the implementation of strategies to enhance interaction should be prioritized. Furthermore, the effective utilization of appropriate assessment methods for teaching and providing constructive feedback on assignments and evaluations is essential. This study also suggested deriving recommendations for assignment criteria, evaluation methods, and feedback mechanisms.

Development of Evaluation Criteria for Training Fire Students to Enable New Rescue Roles in Vietnam

The literature on the appropriate education criteria for training young emergency responders in developing countries is scarce. A gap exists between general education and emergency responder education regarding the criteria used for designing education courses and evaluating students. This study reviewed the criteria used at the University of Fire Prevention and Fighting in Vietnam. Although the university had used Bloom’s taxonomy, one of the well-known evaluation criteria for general education programs, in addition to the professional criteria for emergency management, only the bottom three levels of the taxonomy were considered. The authors designed a new training course to prepare and conduct landslide rescue exercises, and applied all six levels of Bloom’s taxonomy to evaluate students’ performance and responses. The course included lectures, an exercise, and a hot debriefing session for 52 third-year students. Consideration of all levels of Bloom’s taxonomy enabled the identification of differences in learning performance between exercise participants and observers among the students. The evaluation results based on the general and professional education criteria differed regarding the performance of students with work experience. This study showed that the full use of Bloom’s taxonomy could help improve firefighters’ training courses. Assessing students from different perspectives using both general and professional education evaluation criteria is important for measuring students’ diverse abilities.

Interactive Robot Task Learning: Human Teaching Proficiency With Different Feedback Approaches

The deployment of versatile robot systems in diverse environments requires intuitive approaches for humans to flexibly teach them new skills. In our present work, we investigate different user feedback types to teach a real robot a new movement skill. We compare feedback as star ratings on an absolute scale for single roll-outs versus preference-based feedback for pairwise comparisons with respective optimization algorithms (i.e., a variation of co-variance matrix adaptation -evolution strategy (CMA-ES) and random optimization) to teach the robot the game of skill cup-and-ball. In an experimental investigation with users, we investigated the influence of the feedback type on the user experience of interacting with the different interfaces and the performance of the learning systems. While there is no significant difference for the subjective user experience between the conditions, there is a significant difference in learning performance. The preference-based system learned the task quicker, but this did not influence the users’ evaluation of it. In a follow-up study, we confirmed that the difference in learning performance indeed can be attributed to the human users’ performance.

Overcoming age differences in memory retrieval by reducing stereotype threat.

Very little is known about whether and how socioemotional factors influence age differences in associative memory. Here, we tested the hypothesis that reducing the threat induced by age-based stereotypes can reduce age differences in learning performance and strategy. Using an associative learning task, we replicated the classic finding of age differences under a high-threat condition: older adults had longer reaction times than younger adults and were much more reluctant to use memory retrieval. However, age differences were greatly diminished under a low-threat condition. These findings demonstrate that memory retrieval is an ability not entirely lost as individuals age because merely reducing stereotype threat helped restoring it. We conclude that socioemotional factors, such as stereotype threat, should be considered when evaluating younger and older adults' memory performance.

Effect of Learning Media on Science Learning Achievement In Elementary School Students Class IV

Because by using learning media effectively, it is hoped that students will be able to understand well the theory lessons being taught. The purpose of this research is (a) to determine the level of science learning performance of class IV students who were taught using and not using learning media (on the science learning performance of class IV A students in the previous control group and B) to find out whether there is a positive influence on the use of learning media on the science learning performance of class IV students. This research uses an experimental approach with a comparative design. The population and sample were 80 class IV students. Data collection uses documentation and test techniques, while the data analysis techniques used are descriptive statistical analysis and inferential statistical analysis with the t-test formula. The results of research conducted in class IV of SD Negeri Mangkura III Makassar which consisted of the top 2 groups, namely the control group (class IV.A) and the experimental group (class IV.B) showed that there were differences in learning performance, especially after learning was carried out, where the group The controls were taught science learning in 4 meetings without using the same learning media once, while the experimental group was taught using learning media even though the characteristics were still very simple. There is also a positive impact of using learning media on student performance, where groups of students who are taught using media are more likely to show increased learning performance compared to groups of students who are taught not using learning media.

Analysis of participation and performance of MOOC learners via latent class analysis: A retrospective study based on the data of a nursing MOOC from 2018 to 2022

BackgroundAlthough massive open online courses have been widely used in nurse education, few studies have evaluated MOOC learner behavioral characteristics. Understanding MOOC learners' participation and performance parameters is helpful for further development and administration of this educational approach. ObjectivesTo categorize nursing MOOC learners according to their different learning participation and to compare the differences in learning performance of different types of MOOC learners. DesignRetrospective. Settings and participantsParticipants evaluated in this study were learners of the Health Assessment MOOC on a Chinese MOOC platform for nine semesters from 2018 to 2022. MethodsVia latent class analysis, MOOC learners were categorized according to the number of times they participated in each topic test and the final exam. Differences in scores of each topic test and the final exam, case discussion number, and total evaluation score among different learners were compared. ResultsUsing latent class analysis, MOOC learners were categorized as committed (28.96 %), negative (16.08 %), mid-term dropout (12.78 %) and early dropout (42.18 %) learners. Committed learners performed best and no significant difference were found among other learner types on most topic tests and the final exam. Committed learners participated in case discussions most actively. According to total evaluations, committed, mid-term dropout, early dropout, and negative learners performed from best to worst. ConclusionHealth Assessment MOOC learners were categorized using five-years of data. Committed learners performed best. No significant difference in performance was found for other learners on most topic tests and the final exam. Understanding learner characteristics and educational behavior is critical for effective design and administration of future MOOC learning approaches.

Analysis of the Innovation of University Students’ Education Management Based on the APT Model

Abstract To solve a series of problems such as unchanging teaching forms, boring teaching resources, and lack of effective ways to combine teaching and research in traditional classrooms that hinder students’ personalized development and creativity enhancement, an analysis of the innovation of university students’ education management based on the APT model is proposed. This study mainly adopts research methods such as quasi-experimental research method and survey research method and adopts research tools such as test papers, questionnaires and interview outlines to conduct a comprehensive and in-depth analysis and investigation of research data, student research programs, and other works. This study is based on the project “APT Teaching in Smart Classrooms to Promote Deep Learning among University Students”, in which 78 second-year university students majoring in educational technology at University A were selected as research subjects to design a semester-long APT model based on a Rubric and carry out a variety of innovative teaching in smart classrooms. In addition, a quasi-experimental study was conducted to compare the differences in learning performance, research ability, motivation, and attitudes towards the use of the Rubrics between pre- and post-announcement of the Rubrics, providing a new perspective on the differences in the functions and effects of the different types of Rubrics. The results show that APT based on Rubrics improves the academic performance of university students and that the effect of posting Rubrics on activity tasks is better. The Rubric-based APT instruction improves students’ research skills and is more effective when the Rubrics are presented before the activity task.

Effects of different cardiopulmonary resuscitation education interventions among university students: A randomized controlled trial.

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) education for the public may improve bystander intention to perform CPR on cardiac arrest patients. Studies have shown that different CPR education intervention methods can improve learning performance, with key indicators including attitude toward to CPR, intention to perform CPR, and degree of CPR knowledge and skills. The present study compared the traditional face-to-face method to hybrid and virtual reality (VR) methods to observe difference in learning performance and length of performance retention. This study adopted randomized controlled trial to compare CPR learning performance between traditional face-to-face, hybrid, and VR methods. Participants from each intervention group completed a pretest and 2 posttests. The measurement tools included an attitude and intention questionnaire, knowledge examination, and skill examination with a RESUSCI ANNE QCPR ® manikin. The performance among all participants in pretest showed no significant difference between the intervention groups, indicating no difference in their background attitude, knowledge, and skill level. Significant differences were observed in the average degree of intention to perform CPR between the hybrid and traditional groups in 1st and 2nd posttest. Compared to the pretest results, the posttests revealed significantly higher attitude toward CPR, intention to perform CPR, knowledge examination results, accuracy of overall chest compression, accuracy of CPR procedure, accuracy of AED usage, accuracy of chest compression rate, and accuracy of chest compression depth. The average time to reattending CPR learning and practice session was 11-12 weeks reported by participants. The hybrid and VR methods to CPR education resulted in the same level of improvement in learning performance as traditional face-to-face teaching. The suggested frequency for renewing CPR knowledge and skills is 12 weeks which may be considered in new strategies aimed at promoting CPR education and exposure to the public.

비대면 교양영어 학습자의 자기주도학습능력과 학습성과 간 관계에서 학업적 자기효능감의 조절효과

Objectives This study aimed to examine the structural relationships among self-directed learning, self-directed English learning ability, learning satisfaction and academic achievement, and to analyze the differences in learning performance according to academic self-efficacy in online college English classes. Methods A web-based survey was conducted on 172 students who took English classes in the first and second semesters of 2021 at N University. The data were analyzed with SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 21.0. For the moderating effect of students' academic self-efficacy, a multi-group analysis of structural equations was used. Results The results were as follows: First, self-directed learning had a positive effect on the self-directed English learning ability. Second, the two factors, self-directed learning ability and self-directed English learning ability, had a positive effect on learning satisfaction, but only self-directed English learning ability had a significant effect on academic achievement. Third, a multi-group analysis for the moderating effect verified that students with high academic efficacy showed a significant effect on academic achievement. Conclusions It is meaningful that the effect of autonomous learning of college students on self-directed learning ability of English subjects was statistically verified. Based on the results of the study, it is suggested that the method to improve the self-directedness and academic self-efficacy of learners should be sought properly.

Effects of real-time analytics-based personalized scaffolds on students’ self-regulated learning

Self-Regulated Learning (SRL) is related to increased learning performance. Scaffolding learners in their SRL activities in a computer-based learning environment can help to improve learning outcomes, because students do not always regulate their learning spontaneously. Based on theoretical assumptions, scaffolds should be continuously adaptive and personalized to students' ongoing learning progress in order to promote SRL. The present study aimed to investigate the effects of analytics-based personalized scaffolds, facilitated by a rule-based artificial intelligence (AI) system, on students' learning process and outcomes by real-time measurement and support of SRL using trace data. Using a pre-post experimental design, students received personalized scaffolds (n = 36), generalized scaffolds (n = 32), or no scaffolds (n = 30) during learning. Findings indicated that personalized scaffolds induced more SRL activities, but no effects were found on learning outcomes. Process models indicated large similarities in the temporal structure of learning activities between groups which may explain why no group differences in learning performance were observed. In conclusion, analytics-based personalized scaffolds informed by students’ real-time SRL measured and supported with AI are a first step towards adaptive SRL supports incorporating artificial intelligence that has to be further developed in future research.

Instructors' expressive nonverbal behavior hinders learning when learners' prior knowledge is low.

This study investigated the influence of instructors’ expressive nonverbal behavior and nonexpressive nonverbal behavior in video lectures on students’ learning performance and affective experience. We conducted two rounds of experiments using the same materials and procedures, the only difference being the participants. In each round of experiments, participants were randomly assigned to expressive condition or nonexpressive condition. 227 rural primary school sixth-graders took part in experiment 1, participants in expressive condition had better affective experiences and perceived tasks as less difficult, but had lower learning performance than participants in nonexpressive condition. 175 sixth-graders from urban primary schools participated in experiment 2. The results showed that instructors’ expressive nonverbal behavior also improved students’ affective experience and reduced students’ perception of task difficulty, but there was no significant difference in learning performance between the two groups. Comparing the pretest scores of students in the two experiments, it was found that the pretest scores of participants in experiment 2 were higher than those in experiment 1. Overall, instructors’ expressive nonverbal behavior can improve students’ affective experience and reduce their perception of task difficulty. However, when students’ prior knowledge is relatively low, instructors’ expressive nonverbal behavior hinders students’ learning performance. We suggest that teachers adopt expressive nonverbal behavior when lecturing because it is beneficial to maintain students’ long-term interest in learning. However, it should be noted that the difficulty of learning material should be determined by students’ prior knowledge.

Comparison between two asynchronous teaching methods in an undergraduate dental course: a pilot study

BackgroundProperly designed and implemented eLearning can lead to improvement of dental teaching quality. Various strategies have been proposed to increase the effectiveness of eLearning in dental education, however, there is a lack of research to assess the effectiveness of these strategies.ObjectiveTo investigate dental students’ learning performance and perception of a virtual flipped learning format compared to a virtual traditional learning method.MethodsA crossover pilot study was conducted at the College of Dentistry, Princes Sattam Bin Abdulaziz University, Saudi Arabia. Computer-generated randomization, blinded from researchers who analyzed the results, was performed to allocate 32 participants (aged 23.27 ± 0.86 years) to one of two groups. Participants in the control group were taught through the virtual traditional learning method (VTL) using live video lectures. In contrast, participants in the intervention group were taught through the virtual flipped learning method (VFL) using recorded online lectures and post-lecture virtual discussions. Learning gain and preference were measured by pre- and post-test average score differences and a modified validated survey, respectively.ResultsThere was no significant difference in learning performance between VFL and VTL groups (P > 0.05). However, students preferred VFL over VTL and the differences were significant among all survey items, except for the opportunity to ask questions.ConclusionHealth professions educators are encouraged to carefully design online curricula with efficient learning strategies that help students improve learning performance and foster self-directed learning skills while valuing active learning in an online environment.Trial registrationNCT04692142, 31/12/2020.

The influence of social network prestige on in-service teachers’ learning outcomes in online peer assessment

• Social network prestige is used to measure the participation gap, a detailed description and impact analysis was conducted. • Prestige has a significant effect on learning performance, social network structure and learning behavior. • Differences in social network structure and learning behavior were important reasons for the differences in learning performance. • Effective suggestions for reducing the participation gap are proposed. Online peer assessment has been widely applied in online teacher training. However, not all learners participate equally, detailed characterization and impact analysis of peer assessment is required. This study draws on a sociological term, social network prestige, to evaluate the participation gap of learners in online peer assessment. A teacher training course was offered to in-service primary and secondary school teachers, and 457 participants were ranked according to their prestige. Then, the top 30% of learners were considered the high-prestige group (142 participants) and the bottom 30% as the low-prestige group (128 participants). Social network analysis and behavioral sequence analysis were used to explore the differences in the learning outcomes of these two groups. The results showed significant differences in learning performance, social network structure and learning behaviors among learners with different prestige. High-prestige learners have better learning performance and are affected by their prior knowledge. Learners with different levels of prestige differ in social network structure and learning behavior. Based on these findings, this study suggests improvements to reduce the participation gap.

Idiosyncratic learning performance in flies.

Individuals vary in their innate behaviours, even when they have the same genome and have been reared in the same environment. The extent of individuality in plastic behaviours, like learning, is less well characterized. Also unknown is the extent to which intragenotypic differences in learning generalize: if an individual performs well in one assay, will it perform well in other assays? We investigated this using the fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster, an organism long-used to study the mechanistic basis of learning and memory. We found that isogenic flies, reared in identical laboratory conditions, and subject to classical conditioning that associated odorants with electric shock, exhibit clear individuality in their learning responses. Flies that performed well when an odour was paired with shock tended to perform well when the odour was paired with bitter taste or when other odours were paired with shock. Thus, individuality in learning performance appears to be prominent in isogenic animals reared identically, and individual differences in learning performance generalize across some aversive sensory modalities. Establishing these results in flies opens up the possibility of studying the genetic and neural circuit basis of individual differences in learning in a highly suitable model organism.

How the design and complexity of concept maps influence cognitive learning processes

Concept maps are assumed to enhance learning as their inherent structure makes relations between information more salient. Nevertheless, research on how to design concept maps as conducive to learning as possible is still rare. In particular, the salience of spatial arrangement of thematically related concepts within the map as well as the complexity of the map were found to be central design elements that influence learning. This study aimed to examine how the structure (i.e., the salience of the spatial relationship between individual concepts) and the complexity (i.e., number of nodes per sub concept) influence learning. Accordingly, a 2 (low vs. high salience of map structure) × 2 (few vs. many nodes) between-subject design was used (N = 122) to examine cognitive processes while learning with a concept map. No significant learning performance differences were found. Concepts maps with a low salience of map structure increased perceptions of disorientation. A serial mediation with learning performances as dependent variable revealed that the salience of the map structure is significantly associated with disorientation and extraneous cognitive load perceptions. By this, current attempts to measure extraneous cognitive load are questioned.

Human Variation in Error-Based and Reinforcement Motor Learning Is Associated With Entorhinal Volume.

Error-based and reward-based processes are critical for motor learning and are thought to be mediated via distinct neural pathways. However, recent behavioral work in humans suggests that both learning processes can be bolstered by the use of cognitive strategies, which may mediate individual differences in motor learning ability. It has been speculated that medial temporal lobe regions, which have been shown to support motor sequence learning, also support the use of cognitive strategies in error-based and reinforcement motor learning. However, direct evidence in support of this idea remains sparse. Here we first show that better overall learning during error-based visuomotor adaptation is associated with better overall learning during the reward-based shaping of reaching movements. Given the cognitive contribution to learning in both of these tasks, these results support the notion that strategic processes, associated with better performance, drive intersubject variation in both error-based and reinforcement motor learning. Furthermore, we show that entorhinal cortex volume is larger in better learning individuals-characterized across both motor learning tasks-compared with their poorer learning counterparts. These results suggest that individual differences in learning performance during error and reinforcement learning are related to neuroanatomical differences in entorhinal cortex.

A rein tension signal can be reduced by half in a single training session

Rein tension signals are, in essence, pressures applied on the horse’s mouth or nose, via the bit/noseband, by a rider or trainer. These pressures may feel uncomfortable or even painful to the horse and therefore it is important to reduce rein tension magnitude to a minimum. The aim of this study was to investigate the magnitude of a rein tension signal for backing up, using negative reinforcement. We wanted to assess how much the magnitude of rein tension could be reduced over eight trials and if the learning process would differ depending on headstall (bridle/halter). Twenty Warmblood horses were trained to step back from a rein tension signal with the handler standing next to the horse, holding the hands above the horse’s withers. As soon as the horses stepped back, rein tension was released. The horses were either trained with a bridle first (first treatment, eight trials) and then with a halter (second treatment, eight trials), or vice versa in a cross-over design. All horses wore a rein tension meter and behavior was recorded from video. The sum of left and right maximum rein tension from onset of the rein tension signal to onset of backing (signaling rein tension) was determined for each trial. Mixed linear and logistic regression models were used for the data analysis. In both treatments, signaling rein tension was significantly lower in trial 7–8 than the first trial (p < 0.02). Likewise, signaling rein tension was significantly lower (p < 0.01), and the horses responded significantly faster, (p < 0.001) in the second treatment compared to the first, regardless of headstall. The maximum rein tension was reduced from 35 N to 17 N for bridle (sum of left and right rein) and from 25 N to 15 N for halter in the first eight trials. Rein tension was then further reduced to 10 N for both bridle and halter over the eight additional trials in the second treatment, i.e. to approximately 5 N in each rein. There was no significant difference in learning performance depending on headstall, but the bitted bridle was associated with significantly more head/neck/mouth behaviors. These results suggest that it is possible to reduce maximum rein tension by half in just eight trials. The findings demonstrate how quickly the horse can be taught to respond to progressively lower magnitudes of rein tension through the correct application of negative reinforcement, suggesting possibilities for substantial improvement of equine welfare during training.

Age group differences in learning-related activity reflect task stage, not learning stage

Healthy aging is accompanied by declines in the ability to learn associations between events, even when their relationship cannot be described. Previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies have attributed these implicit associative learning (IAL) deficits to differential engagement of the hippocampus and basal ganglia in older relative to younger adults in early and late stages of the task, respectively. However, these task stages have been confounded with age group differences in learning performance that emerge later and to a lesser degree in older adults. To disentangle the effects of task stage from learning stage (i.e., when there is significant evidence of learning) on age group differences in the neural substrates of IAL, we acquired fMRI data while 28 younger (20.8 ± 2.3 years) and 22 older (73.6 ± 6.8 years) healthy adults completed the Triplets Learning Task, in which the location of two cues predicted the location of a target with high (HF) or low (LF) frequency. When matched for task stage, results revealed worse learning performance and increased IAL-related activity in the hippocampus during the early stage and in the globus pallidum during the late stage in older relative to younger adults. However, when matched for learning stage, there were no significant age group differences in learning performance or IAL-related activity. Thus, although learning emerges later for older adults, they are engaging similar brain regions as younger adults when learning the associations, suggesting that previous reports of age group differences reflect effects of age on task stage, but not learning stage.

Overall effects of temperature steps in hot summer on students' subjective perception, physiological response and learning performance

University students are very likely to experience temperature steps before class in hot summer. This study aims to investigate the overall effects of step changes on students' subjective perception, physiological response and learning performance, so as to explore an optimal thermal condition for classrooms in hot summer. Four typical temperature step conditions (S6: 34 °C-28 °C, S8: 34 °C-26 °C, S10: 34 °C-24 °C, S12: 34 °C–22 °C) were developed to conduct experiments on sixteen participants. It has been found that after temperature steps, no more than 62.5% of students consistently found thermally acceptable at 22 °C; students felt the most acceptable and comfortable at 26 °C; the effect of thermal environment on workload was not significant in most cases, especially for memory-related tasks; students' negative mood was less at 26 °C than at 28 °C and 22 °C. When the temperature step was less than S12, blood pressure and blood oxygen saturation were insensitive to temperature steps; core temperature continued to rise during the first 5 min and then decreased significantly when the temperature step exceeded S8. No significant difference in learning performance was found among the four conditions; the differences in relative performance between thermal conditions were <2%, and are not likely to have practical meaning in building management practice. Overall, the optimal thermal condition is 26 °C, and it is recommended to set the indoor temperature between 24 and 28 °C.