The guiding process in discovery hypertext learning environments for the Internet

Hypertext is the dominant method to navigate the Internet, providing user freedom and control over navigational behaviour. There has been an increase in converting existing educational material into Internet web pages but weaknesses have been identified in current WWW learning systems. There is a lack of conceptual support for learning from hypertext, navigational disorientation and cognitive overload. This implies the need for an established pedagogical approach to developing the web as a teaching and learning medium. Guided Discovery Learning is proposed as an educational pedagogy suitable for supporting WWW learning. The hypothesis is that a guided discovery environment will produce greater gains in learning and satisfaction, than a non-adaptive hypertext environment. A second hypothesis is that combining concept maps with this specific educational paradigm will provide cognitive support. The third hypothesis is that student learning styles will not influence learning outcome or user satisfaction. Thus, providing evidence that the guided discovery learning paradigm can be used for many types of learning styles. This was investigated by the building of a guided discovery system and a framework devised for assessing teaching styles. The system provided varying discovery steps, guided advice, individualistic system instruction and navigational control. An 84 subject experiment compared a Guided discovery condition, a Map-only condition and an Unguided condition. Subjects were subdivided according to learning styles, with measures for learning outcome and user satisfaction. The results indicate that providing guidance will result in a significant increase in level of learning. Guided discovery condition subjects, regardless of learning styles, experienced levels of satisfaction comparable to those in the other conditions. The concept mapping tool did not appear to affect learning outcome or user satisfaction. The conclusion was that using a particular approach to guidance would result in a more supportive environment for learning. This research contributes to the need for a better understanding of the pedagogic design that should be incorporated into WWW learning environments, with a recommendation for a guided discovery approach to alleviate major hypertext and WWW issues for distance learning

An evaluation of constructivism for learners with ADHD: Development of a constructivist pedagogy for special needs

We examine whether constructivist eLearning tools can be used to help learners cope with special educational needs, such as difficulties with attention and concentration. Preliminary work is reported here, in which we seek to determine the reasons why a constructivist approach is difficult for learners with ADHD. This work is intended to lead to recommendations of how learners with ADHD could benefit from constructivist eLearning systems, e.g. through the managed use of multimedia technology. A preliminary model has been developed that illustrates the areas in which constructivist pedagogies need to address the limitations of ADHD learners. Further work will expand this model and eventually test it in a real environment (e.g. in a school with ADHD learners). The outcome will encourage a reconsideration of existing multimedia theories as they relate to learners with special needs, and provide new directions in order to support learners with ADHD

Tangible user interfaces and social interaction in children with autism

Tangible User Interfaces (TUIs) offer the potential for new modes of social interaction for children with Autism Spectrum Conditions (ASC). Familiar objects that are embedded with digital technology may help children with autism understand the actions of others by providing feedback that is logical and predictable. Objects that move, playback sound or create sound – thus repeating programmed effects – offer an exciting way for children to investigate objects and their effects. This thesis presents three studies of children with autism interacting with objects augmented with digital technology. Study one looked at Topobo, a construction toy augmented with kinetic memory. Children played with Topobo in groups of three of either Typically Developing (TD) or ASC children. The children were given a construction task, and were also allowed to play with the construction sets with no task. Topobo in the task condition showed an overall significant effect for more onlooker, cooperative, parallel, and less solitary behaviour. For ASC children significantly less solitary and more parallel behaviour was recorded than other play states. In study two, an Augmented Knights Castle (AKC) playset was presented to children with ASC. The task condition was extended to allow children to configure the playset with sound. A significant effect in a small sample was found for configuration of the AKC, leading to less solitary behaviour, and more cooperative behaviour. Compared to non-digital play, the AKC showed reduction of solitary behaviour because of augmentation. Qualitative analysis showed further differences in learning phase, user content, behaviour oriented to other children, and system responsiveness. Tangible musical blocks (‘d-touch’) in study three focused on the task. TD and ASC children were presented with a guided/non-guided task in pairs, to isolate effects of augmentation. Significant effects were found for an increase in cooperative symbolic play in the guided condition, and more solitary functional play was found in the unguided condition. Qualitative analysis highlighted differences in understanding blocks and block representation, exploratory and expressive play, understanding of shared space and understanding of the system. These studies suggest that the structure of the task conducted with TUIs may be an important factor for children’s use. When the task is undefined, play tends to lose structure and the benefits of TUIs decline. Tangible technology needs to be used in an appropriately structured manner with close coupling (the distance between digital housing and digital effect), and works best when objects are presented in familiar form

Doctor of Philosophy

dissertationThe ability to navigate without getting lost is an important aspect of quality of life. This dissertation evaluated how one mobility-related challenge-the increased demands of keeping oneself safe while walking with degraded vision (risk monitoring)- affects spatial learning. I proposed that spatial learning deficits result from attention competition. In Experiment 1, participants walked through two paths in a real-world indoor environment: one with simulated degraded vision, one with normal vision. Memory was greater when navigating with normal compared to degraded vision. Experiment 2 evaluated the role of risk-monitoring. Participants performed the learning task while guided (low risk- monitoring demands) or independently (high risk-monitoring demands). Access to visual information was equated for each path; half of the participants performed both trials with normal vision and half with simulated low vision. Memory was better when guided versus unguided, only in the low-vision condition, suggesting that mobility-risk demands affect spatial learning. In Experiment 3, participants walked while performing an auditory listening task both with simulated degraded vision and with normal vision. Auditory performance was poorer when navigating with simulated degraded vision, suggesting increased cognitive demands with degraded vision. Experiment 4 tested additional attentional resources that were needed when risk monitoring demands are higher. Participants with simulated low vision walked half the paths guided, half unguided. Auditory task error rates were higher in the unguided condition, suggesting more attention is required to navigate with high compared to low demands of risk monitoring. Experiment 5 used a mediational analysis to test whether attention task errors predicted spatial learning errors when each participant performed both tasks in a single experiment. Results from Experiment 5 replicated Experiments 2 and 4, but the mediational analysis results were not consistent with the hypothesis. These results are likely due to experimental design issues, but the causal role of attentional demands on spatial learning outcomes remains an open question. Together, these studies suggest that more attention is required and spatial learning is impaired when navigating with degraded viewing. This work also suggests that the cognitive process of risk monitoring contributes to both the decrease in attention and memory for the environment

Gender Effects in Directed versus Incidental Learning in a 3D Virtual World Simulation

Virtual worlds have the potential to enable and enhance online learning outcomes. Because learning in three-dimensional (3D) designed learning spaces depends on learners’ spatial processing abilities, we need to understand how these abilities may affect online learning outcomes. Building on the hunter-gatherer theory of gender difference in spatial abilities, we examined how gender interacts with learning type (directed vs. incidental) to affect learning in virtual world (VR) simulations of objects. Specifically, we theorized that men’s and women’s spatial abilities would lead to differential outcomes based on the type of learning that the instructor designed. Using a between-subjects 2 x 2 factorial design (directed vs. incidental learning and male vs. female), we found that incidental learning benefited women and that directed learning benefited men. Our findings counter the traditional view that males outperform females in learning tasks that engage spatial abilities in a virtual world. We urge educators to consider such gender effects on learning when employing VR simulations of objects

The Relationships of Media, Task, Spatial Presence, and Critical Thinking, in an Online Tutorial Designed to Teach Art Criticism

This experimental study analyzed the relationships between media type, task type, the learners’ experience of spatial presence in media and learning outcomes. Spatial presence is believed to represent the users’ focus of attention on and involvement with a media presentation. Some researchers believe that manipulating factors that increase spatial presence will increase learning and performance. Increased interest in media learning presentations raises questions about what types of media can best support learning, and whether design recommendations can be generalized across domains. Undergraduate and graduate college students were assigned to four experimental treatments to test the hypothesis that spatial presence mediates the effects of task type and media type on a learning task that requires critical thinking: writing an art critique. Media types were static and interactive/immersive; task types were guided and unguided. The Witmer and Singer Presence Questionnaire and the Holistic Critical Thinking Scoring Rubric were used to measure spatial presence and critical thinking, respectively. Results showed that Task type and Media type did not significantly influence Spatial Presence or Critical Thinking. Scores on Spatial Presence were significantly related to the Critical Thinking scores. The guided task immersive media treatment group had fewer high scores on Critical Thinking which suggests that the task structure and/or media type may have distracted from the main learning task. The results support contemporary theories of spatial presence as a phenomenon of mental processing that monitors intention and goal completion but is not dependent on specific media characteristics. The results also suggest congruence between contemporary ideas about spatial presence and the cognitive load theory of learning

Exploring And Training Spatial Reasoning Via Eye Movements: Implications On Performance

This dissertation sought to determine if eye movements could serve as an indicator of success in spatial reasoning, and if eye movements associated with successful completion could be applied to strategically improve spatial reasoning. Using the line images of Shepard and Metzler, an electronic test of mental rotations ability (EMRT) was designed. Two versions of the test were created, allowing for both a timed (6 seconds per question) and untimed testing environment. Four experiments were designed and completed to relate mental rotation ability (MRA) scores from the EMRT, to patterns in chrononumeric and visual salience data. In each experiment, participants completed the EMRT under a different protocol. These protocols included an untimed EMRT, a timed EMRT, a within-participant crossover study where participants completed both the timed, and untimed EMRT in series, and a training crossover study where low MRA participants completed the timed EMRT in both a guided and unguided environment. In the untimed experiment, individuals of high and low MRA were asked to complete the EMRT while their eye movements were observed. As no time limit was imposed, the results allowed for observations based on MRA alone, and served to demonstrate and how individuals of different skill level differ in terms of eye movement. In the following experiment, the addition of a time limit to the EMRT revealed how individuals of high and low MRA perform when under a time restriction. The results of the Timed experiment confirmed differences between the high and low MRA group in terms of eye movements, and attention to salient regions of test images. In the third experiment, the addition of a time limit was further explored through a crossover design. By adding a time limit to an MRT, the ability of individuals to solve spatial problems is impaired, and is manifest in eye movements. Data derived from the Crossover Experiment suggested that salience-based metrics might serve to distinguish between groups of MRA, and that time restrictions may influence both participant accuracy, and identification of visually salient elements. The results from the first three experiments were then applied in the Guidance Experiment to confirm the role that visual salience plays in the context of spatial problem solving. By mapping the apprehension patterns of successful high MRA individuals onto the EMRT, low MRA individuals could be guided to salient areas on the timed EMRT. The results revealed that the application of visual guidance is an effective mechanism for MRA training. This research attends to a previously unaddressed niche in eye-movement and spatial ability training literature. As a result, it may serve as a foundation to cultivate methods of honing and improving spatial skills in the general population

Actualising therapy 2.0: enhancing engagement with computerised cognitive behavioural therapy for common mental health disorders

Computerised cognitive behavioural therapy (CCBT) is a clinically effective method of delivering CBT which may help address the under – treatment of common mental health disorders (CMHDs) in the population. However, concerns regarding acceptability, attrition rates and the therapeutic alliance are obstacles to widespread population dissemination. This thesis aimed to address these implementation issues by applying concepts from human – computer interaction (HCI) and attachment theory to the field of CCBT. Chapter 1 presents a meta – analysis investigating the effectiveness of CCBT for CMHDs and moderators of this effect. Chapter 2 presents a systematic review and analysis conducted to examine predictors of CCBT engagement. A process – based model of engagement with CCBT developed from the findings of this review is also presented. Adult attachment is known to influence engagement and alliance in face to face therapies, but research has not explored whether these relationships are mirrored in CCBT. Four empirical studies intended to address this question. Study 1 used a student population based survey to explore the acceptability of CCBT in a student population and the associations with adult attachment. Results demonstrated adult attachment was not associated with acceptability of CCBT. Study 2a utilised an open trial of a supported CCBT program to investigate whether adult attachment would predict engagement and alliance in vivo. Results showed attachment did not predict these outcomes. Study 2b utilised an open trial with a non – supported online CCBT program. Results indicated attachment security was positively associated with program engagement and alliance. It is proposed a combination of attachment system activation and perceiving computers as social actors account for these findings. Study 3 used a randomised, experimental paradigm to test the benefits of security priming in CCBT. Security priming produced higher levels of program engagement and better working alliance compared to neutral primes. Furthermore these effects were not moderated by dispositional attachment styles. These results demonstrate something so uniquely human, dispositional attachment orientations, founded on the intimate bonds we form in infancy and in adulthood , extend their influence into the experience of unguided CCBT, a solely human – computer interaction. Unguided – CCBT, a highly cost effective intervention with the potential for considerable public health impact, may benefit from incorporating security priming techniques in program designs to maximise engagement and alliance. Engagement and alliance is attainable in CCBT and paying attention to the attachment styles of program users may present a distinctive opportunity to overcome these implementation barriers