Levels Of Cognitive Engagement Research Articles

Analysing students’ cognitive engagement in e-learning discussion forums through content analysis

Discussion forums provide students with accessible platforms for group discussions in e-learning environments. They also help lecturers to track and check student discussions. To improve student learning, it is important for lecturers to identify students’ cognitive engagement in discussion forums. Therefore, this study aims to investigate students’ cognitive engagement in e-learning through content analysis of forum posts. A total of 267 forum posts created by students during one semester were collected for analysis. Inferential statistics were applied to explore the relationship between students’ cognitive engagement and their gender and the number of posts in forums. The results revealed that about half of the students gave their posts without any explanations, which reflected a low level of cognitive engagement. A large number of posts made little contribution to a high level of cognitive engagement. The results also showed no relationship between gender and the level of cognitive engagement. The limitations and implications of this study are also discussed.

How to Interact with a Fully Autonomous Vehicle: Naturalistic Ways for Drivers to Intervene in the Vehicle System While Performing Non-Driving Related Tasks.

Autonomous vehicle technology increasingly allows drivers to turn their primary attention to secondary tasks (e.g., eating or working). This dramatic behavior change thus requires new input modalities to support driver–vehicle interaction, which must match the driver’s in-vehicle activities and the interaction situation. Prior studies that addressed this question did not consider how acceptance for inputs was affected by the physical and cognitive levels experienced by drivers engaged in Non-driving Related Tasks (NDRTs) or how their acceptance varies according to the interaction situation. This study investigates naturalistic interactions with a fully autonomous vehicle system in different intervention scenarios while drivers perform NDRTs. We presented an online methodology to 360 participants showing four NDRTs with different physical and cognitive engagement levels, and tested the six most common intervention scenarios (24 cases). Participants evaluated our proposed seven natural input interactions for each case: touch, voice, hand gesture, and their combinations. Results show that NDRTs influence the driver’s input interaction more than intervention scenario categories. In contrast, variation of physical load has more influence on input selection than variation of cognitive load. We also present a decision-making model of driver preferences to determine the most natural inputs and help User Experience designers better meet drivers’ needs.

MOOC discussion forums: The interplay of the cognitive and the social

Massive Open Online Course (MOOC) platforms capture the digital traces of millions of learners and generate an avalanche of “numbers” on learner behavior in MOOCs. Yet little is known about the dynamics through which MOOCs can support individual learning as the cognitive and social constituents of this complex process and their interplay within this process do not clearly surface in this large mass of “numbers”. This study analyzed the content generated by learners in a MOOC discussion forum with a particular focus on the still under-explored cognitive dimension of learning in MOOCs and demonstrated how certain levels of cognitive engagement relate to learning. It further examined the interplay between the cognitive and social aspects, revealing the moderating role of the social aspect in the association between the lowest level of cognitive engagement and learning in a MOOC environment. The study concludes with discussing the theoretical and practical implications of the findings and with highlighting the need to consider the interdependencies between the cognitive and social variables and learning when designing and evaluating MOOCs.

Automated detection of cognitive engagement to inform the art of staying engaged in problem-solving

In the present paper, we used supervised machine learning algorithms to predict students' cognitive engagement states from their facial behaviors as 61 students solved a clinical reasoning problem in an intelligent tutoring system. We also examined how high and low performers differed in cognitive engagement levels when performing surface and deep learning behaviors. We found that students' facial behaviors were powerful predictors of their cognitive engagement states. In particular, we found that the SVM (Support Vector Machine) model demonstrated excellent capacity for distinguishing engaged and less engaged states when 17 informative facial features were added into the model. In addition, the results suggested that high performers did not differ significantly in the general level of cognitive engagement with low performers. There was also no difference in cognitive engagement levels between high and low performers when they performed shallow learning behaviors. However, high performers showed a significantly higher level of cognitive engagement than low performers when conducting deep learning behaviors. This study advances our understanding of how students regulate their engagement to succeed in problem-solving. This study also has significant methodological implications for the automated measurement of cognitive engagement.

Augmented reality enhanced cognitive engagement: designing classroom-based collaborative learning activities for young language learners

Augmented Reality (AR) has been applied to education in a variety of subjects, but in comparison to AR in STEM education, research on integrating pedagogical designs with AR in language learning is less mature. This study presents an AR-supported Chinese character learning game designed for young learners and investigates its effects on learners’ cognitive engagement in classroom learning. A total of 53 grade 2 students and two teachers from a Singapore government primary school participated in the study. The findings indicate an obvious improvement of students’ levels of cognitive engagement in the AR-supported activities. Furthermore, compared with acquiring expert-created content knowledge, students are more continuously engaged in the learning activities designed for enabling self-generated contexts. Suggestions for future system design and pedagogical strategies of leveraging AR to engage young learners in language learning are proposed from this study. The study also provides some insight into how to investigate cognitive outcomes of AR-enabled learning design through analysing learning process.

The effect of media multitasking on ad memory: the moderating role of program-induced engagement and brand familiarity

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effect of program-induced engagement on the amount of media multitasking (MM) and its subsequent impact on ad memory. It explored how brand familiarity attenuates or aggravates the detrimental effects of MM on cognitive evaluation of ads. Two lab-based experiments were conducted. The findings of the experiment were three-fold. First, the findings indicate that when the programs were affectively engaging, programs with a high level of cognitive engagement led to a lower level of overall media multitasking than programs with a low level of cognitive engagement. This occurred not only during the programs, but also during the commercial breaks. Second, the findings indicate that even in the same media multitasking situation, people who watched a program with high cognitive engagement reported a higher level of ad memory than people who watched a program with low cognitive engagement suggesting an attention spillover effect. Third, the findings suggest the possible moderating role of brand familiarity. Brands with a high level of familiarity seem to have reduced the memory deficit effect of media multitasking.

Teachers as Orchestrators of Neuronal Plasticity: Effects of Teaching Practices on the Brain

ABSTRACTStudents' behavioral outcomes are often used by both researchers and teachers to evaluate the effectiveness of pedagogical interventions. Extensive research using behavioral metrics has found that some interventions are more effective than others in certain contexts. However, there has been less focus on how different interventions impact the processing of academic skills at a neural level. To explore this question, we conducted a narrative review of literature examining two or more interventions related to the same subject of learning. We discuss five main themes that encompass different pedagogical practices: (1) orienting attention toward particular features; (2) teaching a particular strategy; (3) changing the level of cognitive engagement; (4) setting an educational context; and (5) interacting with the learner. We provide examples of how these pedagogical practices lead to changes in both brain and behavior. This review provides insights into how teachers orchestrate neural plasticity through different pedagogical choices.

Examining the engagement of career academy and comprehensive high school students in the United States

The purpose of this study was to compare the levels of student engagement of career academy students to those at a traditional comprehensive high school using propensity score matching and structural equation modeling. We found that academy students had significantly higher levels of emotional engagement and significantly lower levels of behavioral engagement than those at comprehensive schools. We also found no statistically significant differences in the levels of cognitive engagement of academy students compared to comprehensive school students. We believe the academy model has the promise of transforming the high school experience for students as it relates to their attachment to the school, their relationships with peers and teachers, and their sense of belonging and safety. However, academies need to work with students to create and develop co-curricular and extracurricular activities of interest to engage students in their schools at a higher level.

The Influence of Different Levels of Cognitive Engagement on the Seated Postural Sway

In this paper, we introduced and tested a new system based on a sensorized seat, to evaluate the sitting dynamics and sway alterations caused by different cognitive engagement conditions. An office chair was equipped with load cells, and a digital and software interface was developed to extract the Center of Pressure (COP). A population of volunteers was recruited to evaluate alterations to their seated posture when undergoing a test specifically designed to increase the cognitive engagement and the level of stress. Relevant parameters of postural sway were extracted from the COP data, and significant alterations were found in all of them, highlighting the ability of the system to capture the emergence of a different dynamic behavior in postural control when increasing the complexity of the cognitive engagement. The presented system can thus be used as a valid and reliable instrument to monitor the postural patterns of subjects involved in tasks performed in a seated posture, and this may prove useful for a variety of applications, including those associated with improving the quality of working conditions.

Team Meeting 101: An Investigation of Cognitive Engagement and Self-Efficacy in a Unique Active Learning Instructional Technique

Many forms of active learning are popular in the college classroom, including case studies, role-plays, simulations, problem-based learning, and some discussion-based activities. Team Meeting 101 is an active learning technique that draws from each of these with the goal of helping students apply academic content and build transferable skills. The purpose of this paper is to explore the levels of cognitive engagement this instructional activity generates, as well as the impact it has on students’ self-efficacy. Participants (n = 167) generally indicated high levels of cognitive engagement and had positive perceptions of Team Meeting 101. Statistically significant increases in students’ (n = 124) self-efficacy were also reported in a number of transferable skills following participation in Team Meeting 101. These results suggest that Team Meeting 101 can be an effective instructional technique for educators in the recreation and leisure administration discipline, as well as associated fields like sports management and hospitality management.

The Effects of School-based Physical Exercise With Different Cognitive Loads on Executive Functions

Introduction: The present study aimed to compare the effects of 3 school-based physical exercises with different levels of cognitive engagement on executive functions. Materials and Methods: In total, 47 students aged 13-14 years were randomly divided into 3 groups, as follows: the Integrated Physical and Cognitive (IPC) exercise, peer physical exercise group (with the same physical challenge), and control group (the routine physical education program). A Continuous Performance Test (CPT), the N-back test, and the Stroop test were used to evaluate executive functions in pretest and posttest. Results: The obtained results indicated that the IPC group significantly improved more than the other groups on the executive functions. Accordingly, physical exercise with a higher cognitive load benefitted both speed and accuracy on cognitive tasks significantly more than the same physical activity alone. Conclusion: Therefore, in the integrated physical and cognitive exercise, the cognitive and physiological effects of this training style interact with each other; therefore, their beneficial effects can be gradually increased, while interventions that only focus on the physical dimension would be less effective in promoting cognitive functions.

Use of a competency framework to explore the benefits of student-generated multiple-choice questions (MCQs) on student engagement

ABSTRACT Student engagement in large Life Sciences classes can be problematic, especially with the course work done outside formal class contact hours. To enhance student engagement with the content outside class time, we designed an assignment spanning one semester that required students to author MCQs. We used Bloom’s taxonomy to evaluate the MCQs. Additionally, we derived a three-level framework to analyse the demands on the student question-setters by determining the competencies required to construct the MCQs. This two tier analysis of MCQs allowed us to gauge the level of student engagement with course materials. The three-level competency framework referred to students’ foundational domain knowledge at level 1 to application and prediction of cellular functions in normal and abnormal situations, within a topic at level 2 and across different topics at level 3. From 40 sample MCQs, slightly over 50% targeted mid- to high-level Bloom’s taxonomy. Slightly under 50% of the questions required attainment of level 2 and 3 competencies for construction. However, we noted a high level of academic engagement and some level of cognitive engagement among several students which are consistent with self-reports in an anonymous student survey conducted after the semester. We suggest that using a competency framework to analyse student-authored MCQs can make explicit students’ efforts at constructing MCQs.

Exploring Student Preference between Textbook Chapters and Adaptive Learning Lessons in an Introductory Environmental Geology Course

In a Fall 2017 introductory course in Environmental Geology, homework assignments alternated between traditional textbook chapters in an electronic format and adaptive learning platform (ALP) modules on the Smart Sparrow (www.smartsparrow.com) platform to assess student preference for and satisfaction with either modality. Few studies have evaluated the role of ALP technology in a classroom setting, and none have investigated ALPs in a homework setting. To probe student preferences between these assignments, and their engagement with the material through the different modalities, all (n = 17) students in the course were given eight surveys over the Fall 2017 semester. A subset of six students volunteered for qualitative interviews in addition to the quantitative surveys. Analysis of the results shows that students were more satisfied with the ALP modules, except for the longest assigned module. No relationships were found between preference for one module over another and major, engagement, or interest in environmental geology. A majority of the students interviewed identified the interactivity of the adaptive learning modules as a contributing factor to the retention of concepts presented. This suggests students experienced a higher level of cognitive engagement with the ALP material.

AGING, TASK DIFFICULTY, AND EFFORT: A META-ANALYSIS

Tasks of increasing difficulty require increasing levels of cognitive engagement from participants. The costs associated with cognitive engagement rise with age in response to normative cognitive decline. Additionally, previous studies have shown an interaction between age and task difficulty, with age differences in effort expenditure increasing along with task demands. Motivational accounts of effort allocation predict the opposite relationship, where increased task difficulty in the face of declining cognitive abilities result in disengagement among older adults, comparatively lowering their effort expenditure relative to younger adults that remain committed to the task. The current study quantitatively reviews the available literature on age and effort expenditure across tasks of increasing difficulty. An initial meta-analysis found no age differences in effort across task difficulty, but inspection of the significantly heterogeneous effect sizes indicated that measurement domain might account for some of the variance found between the effect sizes. A second, post-hoc meta-analysis was conducted, recoding effect sizes giving preference to subjective measures. Subsequent moderator variable analyses found that the combined effect of age and domain of effort measurement explained a sufficient portion of the variance across effect sizes. When using physiological measures, effort was not found to differ across task difficulty for either age group. Alternatively, when measured subjectively, effort was reported to greatly increase (>1 standard deviation) with difficulty, with a larger increase in younger adults. Results are discussed in terms of effort mobilization across adulthood and the importance of measurement domain in the interpretation of results.

O impacto de um método cooperativo associado a um programa de ensino de estratégias de escrita no envolvimento dos alunos na escola

Cooperative methods are a powerful tool for improving both student engagement in school and writing competence. This study examined the effects of a cooperative method embedded in a writing strategy instructional program on student engagement in school, namely on their cognitive, affective, behavioral, and personal agency dimensions. Using the Students’ Engagement in School: Four‐dimensional Scale (SES‐4DS), 213 ninth grade students (from 14 to 17 years old) were evaluated before and after the intervention. Two conditions were created: an experimental group where a cooperative method associated with a writing strategy instructional program was implemented and a control group where students were instructed with a writing strategy instructional program. Over a six‐month period, the experimental students participated in a cooperative experience embedded in a writing strategy instructional program, whereas the control students were instructed with writing strategy method. Results indicated that, when compared with the control, the experimental students increased their levels of behavioral and affective engagement but not their levels of cognitive engagement, personal agency, and total engagement. Implications of these results, limitations and directions for future research are analyzed, and discussed.

An Empirical Study on Employee Engagement at National Cement Share Company in Dire Dawa Administration, Ethiopia

Employee engagement is a persistent, positive, affective-motivational state of fulfillment in employees that is characterized by high levels of activation and pleasure. In engagement, people employ and express themselves physically, cognitively, and emotionally during role performances. An “engaged employee” is one who is fully involved in, and enthusiastic about his or her work, and thus will act in a way that furthers their organization’s interests. Engaged employees have much smoother relationship with their superiors compared to the disengaged ones. They are more focused on company’s profitability rather than their own personal goals. These employees show a great degree of organizational citizenship. It is only an engaged employee who is intellectually and emotionally bound with the organization, feels passionately about its goals and is committed towards its values. In times of diminishing loyalty, employee engagement is a powerful retention strategy. This research article focuses on the physical, emotional and cognitive engagement levels of employees. The various contributing factors of higher engagement are also analyzed in this research paper. It also discusses the employee engagement at National Cement Share Company in Dire Dawa Administration, Ethiopia and the relationship between employee engagement and productivity. Further, appropriate strategies are suggested for engaging employees the most. Keywords: Career, Care, Competence, Commitment, Effective Communication, Empowerment, Involvement and Organizational Citizenship, National Cement Share Company Dire Dawa DOI : 10.7176/EJBM/11-10-01 Publication date : April 30 th 2019

The role of entertainment in engagement with climate change

The blending of entertainment and education is often used as a mechanism for communicating science to the general public. Key to dissemination of scientific information is cognitive engagement of the audience with the content. The authors describe a study investigating the relationship between entertaining videos and cognitive engagement of the viewer on a topic associated with climate change. Two identical videos discussing the science of climate change were created, with one video containing additional content that was entertaining and based on popular cultural references. Viewers completed an online survey (n = 472) and the data demonstrated that there was no direct link between presentation of the climate change information in an entertaining video and an individual’s level of cognitive engagement with the content. Further, that an indirect link was identified so that perceived entertainment increased cognitive engagement. These findings may be useful for communicators of environmental issues, especially with consideration of the development of the field of edutainment.

A Sitting Posture Monitoring Instrument to Assess Different Levels of Cognitive Engagement

An office chair for analyzing the seated posture variation during the performance of a stress-level test is presented in this work. To meet this aim, we placed a set of textile pressure sensors both on the backrest and on the seat of the chair. The position of the sensors was selected for maximizing the detection of variations of user’s posture. The effectiveness of the designed system was evaluated through an experiment where increasing stress levels were obtained by administering a Stroop test. The collected results had been analyzed by considering three different time intervals based on the difficulty level of the test (low, medium, and high). A transition analysis conducted on postures assumed during the test showed that participants reached a different posture at the end of the test, when the cognitive engagement increased, with respect to the beginning. This evidence highlighted the presence of movement presumably due to the increased cognitive engagement. Overall, the performed analysis showed the proposed monitoring system could be used to identify body posture variations related to different levels of engagement of a seated user while performing cognitive tasks.

The Impact of a Cooperative Method Embedded in a Writing Strategy Instructional Program on Student Engagement in School

Cooperative methods are a powerful tool for improving both student engagement in school and writing competence. This study examined the effects of a cooperative method embedded in a writing strategy instructional program on student engagement in school, namely on their cognitive, affective, behavioral, and personal agency dimensions. Using the Students’ Engagement in School: Four-dimensional Scale (SES-4DS), 213 ninth grade students (from 14 to 17 years old) were evaluated before and after the intervention. Two conditions were created: an experimental group where a cooperative method associated with a writing strategy instructional program was implemented and a control group where students were instructed with a writing strategy instructional program. Over a six-month period, the experimental students participated in a cooperative experience embedded in a writing strategy instructional program, whereas the control students were instructed with writing strategy method. Results indicated that, when compared with the control, the experimental students increased their levels of behavioral and affective engagement but not their levels of cognitive engagement, personal agency, and total engagement. Implications of these results, limitations and directions for future research are analyzed, and discussed.

An active cognitive lifestyle as a potential neuroprotective factor in Huntington's disease

A cognitive stimulating lifestyle has been observed to confer cognitive benefits in multiple neurodegenerative diseases. However, the underlying neurobiological basis of this phenomenon remains unclear. Huntington's disease can provide a suitable model to study the effects and neural mechanisms of cognitive engagement in neurodegeneration. In this study, we investigate the effect of lifestyle factors such as education, occupation and engagement in cognitive activities in Huntington's disease gene carriers on cognitive performance and age of onset as well as the underlying neural changes sustaining these effects, measured by magnetic resonance imaging. Specifically, we analyzed both gray matter volume and the strength of connectivity of the executive control resting-state network. High levels of cognitive engagement were significantly associated with more preserved executive functions, a delay in the appearance of symptoms, reduced volume loss of the left precuneus and the bilateral caudate and a modulation of connectivity strength of anterior cingulate cortex and left angular gyrus with the executive control network. These findings suggest that a cognitively stimulating lifestyle may promote brain maintenance by modulating the executive control resting-state network and conferring protection against neurodegeneration, which results in a delayed onset of symptoms and improved performance in executive functions.