The influence of technology acceptance, academic self-efficacy, and gender on academic achievement through online tutoring

The study focused on variables which were posited to capture undergraduate students' experiences with a large-scale online tutoring service, and relationships with the students’ perceptions of their academic capabilities and academic performance. A theoretical model incorporating variables from research on Technology Acceptance and Social Cognitive Theory was developed and tested. A total of 365 undergraduate students from a university located in Sydney, Australia, completed an online survey. Data were analysed using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and structural equation modeling (SEM), and multi-group analyses (MGA). The measurement model demonstrated configural, metric and scalar invariance. There were differences between males and females regarding latent means, with females scoring higher than males for facilitating conditions. The regression paths were consistent across males and females (i.e., invariant) in the full structural model. Facilitating conditions was positively associated with the perceived usefulness of technology, which in turn was positively associated with academic self-efficacy. Surprisingly, perceived ease of use did not have a statistically significant association with perceived usefulness. Academic self-efficacy was positively associated with academic achievement. Implications, particularly for online tutoring service providers, are discussed

Integrating cognitive load theory with other theories, within and beyond educational psychology

Background and Aims: The long-standing aim of cognitive load theory (CLT) has been to generate instructional design principles that show teachers how to instruct students effectively, based on knowledge of the intricacies of human cognitive architecture. Historically, the focus of CLT has been on identifying cognitive processes related to learning and instruction. However, the theory has become more multidisciplinary over time, drawing on theoretical perspectives both within, and beyond, educational psychology. Results: This Editorial presents a brief historical overview of key developments in CLT and seven key themes that are pertinent to research on CLT. These themes are as follows: Level of Expertise, Cognitive Load Measurement, Embodied Cognition, Self-Regulated Learning, Emotion Induction, Replenishment of Working Memory, and Two Subprocessors of Working Memory. Summaries of the nine empirical contributions to the special issue are presented and discussed in relation to how they provide insight into one or more of these themes. Conclusions: Understanding the variables that impact student learning and instruction has always represented the core aim of CLT. The growing multidisciplinary features of CLT should provide researchers and practitioners with more holistic perspectives of the factors that predict student learning and, in turn, guide instructional design

Exploring user experience of digital pen and tablet technology for learning chemistry : applying an activity theory lens

Mobile learning technologies are spreading rapidly in educational institutions throughout the world. Although research findings concerning the efficacy of mobile technologies for improving student outcomes are generally promising, there are still significant gaps in the research literature, particularly data from direct observational studies. This empirical investigation focused on how students made use of tablet devices and digital pens for learning Chemistry in an undergraduate university course. Observational data in the form of videos and static images, as well as, interview responses, were the main sources of data collected for the study. Activity theory was employed as the guiding theoretical framework to analyse and interpret the data. Several themes emerged from the data analyses, including the affordances of digital pen technology for facilitating reflective thinking, flexibility, peer collaboration, emerging learning and focused learning. It was also found that the use of these mobile technologies was contextualized, dependent on individual differences, and had challenges, for example, there was limited synchronicity between the operational design of the mobile devices and natural human movement. One of the main implications of the research is that when higher education institutions consider the potential benefits and challenges associated with mobile technologies they should take account of the interactions that occur between components within a system including, students, technological devices, and emerging learning processes

Matjarr Djuyal : how using gesture in teaching Gathang helps preschoolers learn nouns

There are important efforts being made to revitalise Aboriginal languages in Australia, which are both pedagogically and culturally appropriate. This research seeks to expand the current knowledge of the effectiveness of gesturing as a teaching strategy for young children learning the Gathang language. An experimental method was used to investigate the effectiveness of gesture by employing a context in which other variables (e.g., other teaching pedagogies) could be held constant. Participants, age range 4–5.2 years, were taught Gathang nouns with gesture and without gesture, alongside verbal and pictorial instruction. After the teaching sessions, each child was assessed for their receptive and expressive knowledge of the Gathang nouns, at two time points, two days after instruction (post-test 1) and one week after (post-test 2). At post-test 2, children had stronger receptive knowledge for words they had learned with gesture than without. These findings contribute to a growing body of research attesting to the effectiveness of gesture for improving knowledge acquisition amongst learners. In the context of Aboriginal language revitalisation, gesture also aligns with traditional teaching practices and offers a relatively low-cost strategy for helping teachers assist their students in acquiring Aboriginal languages

I believe I am capable in my role, but what do my fellow team members believe? : self-efficacy and proxy-efficacy beliefs in small groups

The research reported here was part of a larger, multilevel research project. A longitudinal design was employed to investigate relationships between the proxy efficacy and self-efficacy beliefs of students working on a group assignment. The sample comprised 186 undergraduate students (70.7% female), ranged in age from 17 to 50 years (M = 21.20 years), and randomly assigned to 62 groups in a teacher preparation course at a Sydney university. Data collection was by a survey administered at three intervals (weeks 4, 8 and 12) during a semester of study. Path analysis was used to test relationships between the variables of interest. Results suggested that relationships between proxy efficacy and self-efficacy varied over time, depending upon the role. This study provides novel insights into how efficacy beliefs may impact groups

Friendship and the development of schools students' collaborative learning skills

This chapter focuses specifically on friendship and acquaintance groups and the development of school students' collaborative learning skills

Relationships between self-processes and group processes with friends and acquaintances

This preliminary study explored relationships between key self-processes, specifically, independent vs. interdependent self-construal and self-efficacy, with students' attitudes toward group work with friends and acquaintances. The sample comprised 188 students from two Independent high schools in metropolitan Sydney, Australia. Data were collected using a self-report questionnaire, and analysed using exploratory factor analysis and multiple regression analysis. Of the two sets of self-beliefs, self-construal and selfefficacy, the latter was more strongly related to students' attitudes toward cooperation. Furthermore, there was support for a "flow-on" effect in which self-efficacy developed in the friendship context generalised to the acquaintance context

Instructing in generalized knowledge structures to develop flexible problem solving skills

In contrast to routine knowledge and skills, flexible problem solving is associated with the ability to apply one’s knowledge structures in relatively new situations. In the absence of specific knowledge-based guidance, such processes could be very cognitively demanding. This paper suggests that learning flexible problem solving skills could be enhanced by explicitly instructing learners in generalized forms of schematic knowledge structures that are applicable to a greater variety of problems. The paper presents results of an experimental study that has investigated this approach in learning the operation of a technical device, and discusses implications of these results for the design of computer-based instruction

Motivational processes of school friendship and acquaintance groups

This study investigated school-based group work with groups comprising close friends and groups comprising acquaintances. In particular, we focused on how key self-processes, namely self-efficacy and self-construal, were related to group behaviour and group performance. Both quantitative and qualitative data revealed some notable differences in how students approach working in groups in these two contexts

Group work in schools with close friends and acquaintances : linking self-processes with group processes

The present study investigated the relationships between key self-processes, namely independent vs. interdependent self-construal and self efficacy, with students’ attitudes toward working in groups comprised friends and groups comprised acquaintances. The sample consisted of 563 students (280 of Year 10 and 283 of Year 11). Data were collected using questionnaires and analysed using confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling. Interdependent self-construal was found to be both directly and indirectly predictive of students’ attitudes toward cooperating with their friends and acquaintances. There was evidence to suggest a ‘‘flow on’’ effect from being self-efficacious for working with friends to being self-efficacious for working with acquaintances