Training Program with Positive Psychology Techniques for Underachieving University Students’ Learned Helplessness and Psychological Flow

This study aims to investigate the effectiveness of a positive thinking training program in reducing learned helplessness and improving the psychological flow of academically underachieving university students. The experimental research involved an 11-member training group, with learned helplessness and psychological flow scales used to assess the participants. Wilcoxon tests were used for data analysis. The results showed that the training program had a significant positive effect on both learned helplessness and psychological flow immediately after the training. Additionally, the positive effects were sustained a month later during the follow-up period. The study provides valuable insights for stakeholders and researchers

The development of a model for assessing quality learning experiences in elementary physical education : an inquiry

A theoretical, movement learning model with major emphasis geared toward assessing quality in movement learning experiences in the entirety of elementary school physical education was developed for use in professional preparation. The completed model exhibited the reflective and reflexive knowledges in the nature of the thought processes involved in the creative process of model designing. Professional leaders in a number of disciplines, but particularly curriculum leaders, have indicated a need for models concerned with the processes of model designing. The development of the model was based on a conceptualization of a quality, movement learning experience. Model components and subcomponents accrued primarily from curriculum literature in education and physical education. Thrusts from philosophy, psychology, and art were evident as well. New data or emerging knowledges which dealt with assessment and movement learning theory evolved through the functioning of personal meanings of the writer in relation to the distinctive philosophical stance of movement education (AAHPER:1975). The emerging knowledges within the study represented the capacity of the model to be extended

Teaching Metacognitive strategies on Metacognitive Behavior and Internet Self-Efficacy of Female Students at Risk of Internet Addiction during the COVID-19

Background: Adolescents, for whom the Internet is an indispensable part of their daily life, are the most significant group at risk of Internet addiction. The objective of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of metacognitive strategies on metacognitive behavior and internet self-efficacy of female students at risk of Internet addiction during the COVID-19.   Methods:    The present research was quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest design with a control group. The statistics population for the academic year 2020-2021 comprised all secondary schools' females in Tehran's 15 district. In this study, purposeful sampling process was applied. Primarily, one school (Ebne Sina) was randomly selected from the secondary schools of region 15 in Tehran, in the second grade. Three classes were chosen from each grade in the form of Lottery and among 360 students, 30 students who were most at risk for internet addiction were randomly selected and assigned in the experimental (n=15) and control (n=15) groups via shad application. The experimental group received metacognitive strategies training for 8 treatment sessions (90 minutes for each session). The data were analyzed with SPSS-23 and  analysis of covariance (ANCOVA).    Results: Mean and SD of age in the Transactional Analysis and the control groups were 15.87 ± 0.734 and 16±0.816, respectively. Moreover, our findings showed that the experimental and control groups differ significantly in their metacognitive behavior (p =0.01and F=55.349) and internet use self-efficacy during pretest control (p =0.01 and F=43.573).   Conclusions: The result of our study showed that metacognitive strategies had significant effects on Metacognitive Behavior and Internet self-efficacy of female students at risk of Internet addiction during the COVID-19.  Therefore, psychological group therapy could be suggested to improve metacognitive behavior and increase internet self-efficacy and thus reduce behavioral and social damages. keywords: Teaching metacognitive strategies, Metacognitive Behavior, Internet Self-Efficacy, Female students, Internet addictio

Exploring the Effects of Dynamic Avatar on Performance and Engagement in Educational Games

Avatar research has almost exclusively explored avatars that remain the same regardless of context. However, there may be advantages to avatars that change during use. A plethora of work has shown that avatars personalized in one’s likeness increases identification, while object-like avatars increase detachment. We posit that in certain situations within a game it may be more advantageous to have increased identification, while in other situations increased detachment. We present a study on dynamic avatars, or avatars that change types based on game context. In particular, we investigate what we term the successful likeness avatar. The successful likeness is an avatar that is only a likeness when the player is in a win state and at all other times an object. Our goal is to determine if this type of avatar can foster an increase in user performance and engagement. Our experiment (N=997) compares four avatars: 1) Shape, 2) Likeness, 3) Likeness to Shape, and 4) Shape to Likeness (successful likeness). We found that players using a successful likeness avatar had significantly better performance (levels completed) than all other conditions. Players using a successful likeness avatar had significantly higher play time (minutes played) than all other conditions. We propose a theoretical model in which identification facilitates vicarious outcomes and in which detachment facilitates outcome dissociation. As performance and engagement are correlated to learning (Harteveld, 2015), successful likeness avatars may be crucial in educational games.National Science Foundation (U.S.) (STEM+C Grant 1542970)Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (Fellowship

A Longitudinal Study on Boosting Students’ Performance with a Learning Companion

This study examines the impact of a coded virtual learning companion (LC) that interacts with students of an introductory information systems class throughout the semester. The LC is designed to motivate, advise on time management strategies, and study collaboratively. We conducted a between-subject longitudinal field experiment to investigate the LC’s impact on student motivation, time management, and learning outcomes. Statistical analysis, including a PLS-SEM model, shows that the LC significantly (p \u3c 0.05) improves extrinsic motivation, challenge, short-term planning, and time attitudes. A multiple mediator analysis confirms the role of motivation and time management as mediators between LC use and learning outcomes (subjective knowledge and exam scores). In addition, we conducted a qualitative workshop with the target group to identify barriers to LC adoption and derive mitigation strategies. Overall, our study reveals great potential to facilitate learning with LCs in higher education

A Framework for Delivering Contextually Appropriate Opportunities for Warfighter Practice

Computer-based modeling and simulation has been a training staple in the military domain since the first aircraft simulators were adopted. More recently, virtual environments based on modeling, simulation and serious games, have introduced relatively low-cost, yet high value additions to the learning environment. As these virtual environments have proliferated, many researchers have investigated the relationship between theoretical foundations of learning, learner development and content delivery, and applied their findings in an attempt to bolster learning, yet performance deficiencies continue to exist. This study asserts that performance deficiencies exist in part because of insufficient contextually appropriate opportunities to practice. This work is multi-disciplinary in nature. Its foundation is modeling and simulation engineering; the use of technology to deliver training. Educational psychology and human factors concepts explain the theoretical basis for modeling and simulation as an effective training delivery agent. The study\u27s thesis is that a framework for delivering contextually appropriate opportunities for warfighter practice can be applied to discover whether modeling, simulation and game-based virtual environments have the potential to improve individual performance for learners beyond the Novice Stage (e.g., Competent Stage) of skills acquisition. Furthermore, this conceptually appropriate practice (CAP) framework can be used to assess the potential of low fidelity virtual environments to provide targeted practice and to improve individual performance, not only during training in high-fidelity virtual environments (near transfer) but also in the live environment (far transfer). To evaluate the thesis, this study investigates the relationship of technology and learning science, and features an empirical evaluation of training effectiveness afforded by delivering additional training repetitions using both low-fidelity virtual environment simulator systems and high-fidelity aircraft simulators

Digital Game Based Learning in Business Management Education: A Step from Entertainment to Digital Literacy

Recent years have seen an escalating interest in the use of digital games in pursuit of educational goals. The present research also examined the impact of using digital games on learning in higher education. Female participants (N=46) from a women university in Pakistan were assigned to an experimental condition. The effect of game design with moderating effect of 3D dimension modelling, game contents and social context was examined on learning effectiveness. Results found significant impact of game design with moderating effect of 3D dimension modelling and game contents on learning satisfaction. However, results did not show a significant impact of collaboration on learning satisfaction during the experimental play session. Results are discussed in terms of the potential for higher education learning games and technology to increase students’ perceived learning effectiveness. This study reinforces the use of digital games in higher education. It also emphasize the necessity of further research to evaluate the academic value of digital games in students’ learning and knowledge retention. Keywords: Higher Education, games, learning, Game Design, Game content