Impact du mode d’organisation de la tâche en résolution de problèmes sur la réussite et l’apprentissage. Résolution de problèmes et apprentissage

This research studies the impact of the instructional design in problems solving. Across several studies, Sweller, 1988, Sweller, 2003, Sweller, 2004 develop the Cognitive Load Theory. In this theory, the interrelationships between instructional variable, problem solving and learning are supported. But, these researches are concentrated on the aspect of problem itself. Others studies, in instructional design, wonder about the organization of a complete task (Paas et al., 2003). It seems of these researches that the mode of organization of a task influences the success of the task and more widely the quality of the knowledge, which can be elaborated during the realization of this task. The objective of our work is to bring to light all the importance of the design in a task with several problems. For that purpose, we compared a design based on a hierarchical organization of the difficulty of the problems (from the easiest to the most difficult) and a random presentation of the same problems. We present here three experiments using logical problems stemming from the minesweeper game. The results of the first experiment suggest that an organized mode of presentation compensates for the increase of the difficulty and facilitates a better success of the problems. The second experiment uses the same protocol, as the first one to which are added new problems as well as one paradigm of double task. The results show that the orderly mode of presentation also facilitates the elaboration of transferable knowledge with new problems. However, the distances from performances do not seem to be attributable in the cognitive load of the task. The third experiment brings more qualitative data, which come to support the first results. The verbalization of rules elaborated during the signing shows prevalence of the organized design. The subjective evaluation of the supplied mental effort confirms the insensitivity of the cognitive load in the mode of presentation of the task. So, the impact of the mode of presentation does not seem to ensue from a too important cognitive load during a random presentation but a lot of interest of an organized design.     

The efficiency of multimedia learning into old age

Background: On the basis of a multimodal model of working memory, cognitive load theory predicts that a multimedia‐based instructional format leads to a better acquisition of complex subject matter than a purely visual instructional format. Aims: This study investigated the extent to which age and instructional format had an impact on training efficiency among both young and old adults. It was hypothesised that studying worked examples that are presented as a narrated animation (multimedia condition) is a more efficient means of complex skill training than studying visually presented worked examples (unimodal condition) and solving conventional problems. Furthermore, it was hypothesised that multimedia‐based worked examples are especially helpful for elderly learners, who have to deal with a general decline of working‐memory resources, because they address both mode‐specific working‐memory stores. Sample: The sample consisted of 60 young (mean age = 15.98 years) and 60 old adults (mean age = 64.48 years). Methods: Participants of both age groups were trained in either a conventional, a unimodal, or a multimedia condition. Subsequently, they had to solve a series of test problems. Dependent variables were perceived cognitive load during the training, performance on the test, and efficiency in terms of the ratio between these two variables. Results: Results showed that for both age groups multimedia‐based worked examples were more efficient than the other training formats in that less cognitive load led to at least an equal performance level. Conclusion: Although no difference in the beneficial effect of multimedia learning was found between the age groups, multimedia‐based instructions seem promising for the elderly.     

多媒体学习的图文整合:空间邻近效应的元分析

多媒体学习中的空间邻近效应认为,当书页或屏幕上的对应的图像和文本邻近呈现时,要比图文远离呈现更加有利于学习者的学习。本元分析针对Ginns（2006）的不足,增加了近10年最新的研究,以保持测验、迁移测验和主观认知负荷作为结果变量,考察多媒体学习中空间邻近效应的稳定性,以及学习材料特征、学习及测验环境和学习者教育水平等的调节作用。经文献搜索与筛选,有53项研究符合元分析要求,在保持测验、迁移测验、主观认知负荷上分别生成了45个（2000人）、43个（1935人）、11个（645人）独立效应量。主效应检验发现：空间邻近组在保持测验（d_保持=0.48）和迁移测验（d_迁移=0.39）成绩上均显著高于空间远离组,在主观认知负荷上显著低于空间远离组（d_认知负荷=-0.24）。调节效应检验发现：在高交互性材料（d_高交互=0.42）、系统步调（d_系统步调=0.52）、短时学习（d_短时=0.55）等条件下,空间邻近效应对学习的深层理解（迁移测验）能发挥更大的作用;对中小学生学习者（d_中小学=0.71）,空间邻近效应促进学习识记（保持测验）的效果更好;相对于电子环境,纸质学习环境下（d_保持=0.66,d_迁移=0.52）的空间邻近效应对保持和迁移测验的促进都更加显著;在主观认知负荷上,学习材料特征、学习及测验环境以及学习者教育水平对空间邻近效应均不存在调节作用。     

Providing worked examples for learning multiple principles

Worked examples support learning. However, if they introduce easy-to-confuse concepts or principles, specific ways of providing worked examples may influence their effectiveness. Multiple worked examples can be introduced blocked (i.e., several for the same principle) or interleaved (i.e., switching between principles), and can be sequentially or simultaneously presented. Crossing these two factors provides four ways of presenting worked examples: blocked/sequential, interleaved/sequential, blocked/simultaneous, and interleaved/simultaneous. In an experiment with university students (N = 174), we investigated how these two factors influence the acquisition of procedural and conceptual knowledge about different, but closely related (thus, easy-to-confuse) stochastic principles. Additionally, we assessed the ability of students to discriminate between principles with verification tasks. Simultaneous presentation benefitted procedural knowledge whereas, interleaved presentation benefitted conceptual knowledge. No significant differences were found for verification tasks. The results suggest that it is worthwhile to adapt the presentation of the worked examples to the learning goals.     

Segmentation of Worked Examples: Effects on Cognitive Load and Learning

Two ways to improve worked examples are investigated: presenting them in a segmented format (i.e., in pieces separated by blank lines) and instructing students to segment them actively (i.e., students must divide the examples in pieces). Segmented examples are expected to support learning because they show which information elements belong together. Learners might also be encouraged to think about which information elements belong together when they are instructed to actively segment, but on the negative side, this is an additional task that might impose extra cognitive load without facilitating learning. Results showed that students in the actively segmenting condition invested more effort in learning than students in the other conditions without performing better. Furthermore, studying segmented examples required less effort to achieve equal learning outcomes than studying nonsegmented ones. So, presenting learners with segmented examples improved the efficiency of the learning process, whereas instructing them to actively segment decreased this efficiency. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Learning By Tracing Worked Examples

Cognitive load theorists have only recently begun to test the role of the body in learning. Tracing the index finger over the surface of instructions while reading, an embodied pedagogy based on Montessori's sandpaper letters, may hold substantial promise for learning by reducing cognitive load. Two experiments tested whether students who traced their index fingers against paper‐based worked example instructions in triangle geometry (Experiment 1; N = 52) and order of operations (Experiment 2; N = 54) would perform better on a subsequent test than students who only studied the materials visually. Students in the tracing condition outperformed the non‐tracing condition on transfer problems in both Experiment 1 (d = .78) and Experiment 1 (d = .50), but hypotheses regarding self‐reports of cognitive load during testing were not supported. Implications for research and practice are discussed. Copyright © 2015 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

概述和音乐对认知负荷和多媒体学习的影响

让学生学习多媒体呈现的有关移动通讯基础知识的材料,采用2(概述:概述vs.无概述)×2(背景音乐:有音乐vs.无音乐)的被试间设计,考察两因素对自评认知负荷、记忆和迁移成绩的影响.结果表明:两因素无交互作用;概述组的认知负荷显著低于无概述组,迁移成绩显著高于无概述组,两组记忆成绩没有显著差异;有背景音乐组的记忆成绩显著低于无音乐组,两组认知负荷和迁移成绩没有显著差异.     

双内容样例学习的研究及重要启示

文章介绍了单内容样例与双内容样例的划分标准以及双内容样例在知识学习、技能和策略习得中应用研究的进展。作者从中获得启示,提出了根据学习域和示例域知识的熟悉程度组合不同学习难度的双内容样例并考察其学习效果、比较单内容与双内容样例学习效果的实验模式,并提出了双内容样例学习的三种认知加工模式。     

类比比较样例对物理综合题学习迁移效果的影响

研究通过三个实验,比较了普通样例和类比比较样例在学习物理综合题中的效果,并在此基础上,进一步分析两种不同类型的类比比较样例对物理综合题学习的迁移效果以及“提示”这一样例设计方法的促进作用。结果发现:(1)通过类比比较样例学习物理综合题的效果优于普通样例;(2)相比于单综概念类比比较样例,综合概念类比比较样例能更好地提高物理综合题学习的近迁移成绩,但未提高其远迁移成绩;(3)提示能明显促进类比比较样例在物理综合题学习中的作用,但不同提示类型的影响无显著差异。该结果表明:类比比较样例是学习物理综合题的有效样例形式,而其中综合概念类比比较样例效果最佳;开放式提示和支架式提示均能较好地促进类比比较样例的学习。     

A Borderline Psychopath: "I was basically maladjusted..."

The case of a 21-year-old White man who committed a robbery and homicide is presented. His Rorschach is analyzed and interpreted using both psychostructural (Exner, 1986a) and psychodynamic (Cooper, Perry, & Arnow, 1988; Gacono & Meloy, 1992; Kwawer, 1980) methodologies. Findings are used to understand the presence and interaction of both psychopathic character and borderline personality organization in this explosive and sadistic young man.     

Cognitive Load While Learning to Use a Computer Program

There is a growing body of evidence suggesting that many traditional instructional techniques may unnecessarily overload limited working memory and impede learning. Based on cognitive load theory, it was hypothesised that instructional design only takes on a crucial role when there is a high level of interaction between learning elements resulting in those elements having to be simultaneously held in working memory. When there is little, if any, interaction between individual learning elements, then the format of presentation should be inconsequential. These hypotheses were tested using a computer-aided design/computer-aided manufacture (CAD/CAM) package with trainees from a Sydney company. Results showed that when instructions involved high element interactivity, a self-contained manual that physically integrated disparate information and did not require the use of the computer hardware was vastly superior to instructional formats that involved continual interaction with the computer. No differences were found between instructional formats when the learning material entailed low element interactivity. Evidence that these findings were due to cognitive load rather than other factors came from secondary task analysis. In light of these and previous results, suggestions are made for cognitively guided instructional packages.     

小学生代数运算规则的样例学习

采用完整或不完整样例,对180名六年级小学生用样例学习两种代数运算规则进行了实验研究。结果显示：多数被试难以学会“平方差”运算规则,只有少数被试学会了“完全平方和”运算规则;反馈对不完整样例的学习效果有促进作用;用不完整样例学习难度不同的规则,其效果不同;在无反馈条件下,完整样例的学习效果都好于不完整样例;在有反馈的情况下,只有删除一步运算步骤样例的学习效果比完整样例的学习效果好     

Thinking Styles and Cognitive Development

Using R. J. Sternberg's (1988, 1997) theory of thinking styles and W. G. Perry's (1970) theory of cognitive development, the author investigated the nature of thinking styles as they relate to cognitive development. Eighty-two Hong Kong university students (44 male, 38 female) responded to the Thinking Styles Inventory (R. J. Sternberg & R. K. Wagner, 1992) and the Zhang Cognitive Development Inventory (L. F. Zhang, 1997). Statistical analyses provided varying degrees of support for the prediction of an overlap between the thinking style and cognitive development constructs. In general, students who reasoned at a higher cognitive developmental level tended to use a wider range of thinking styles than students who reasoned at a lower cognitive developmental level. Implications of results are discussed in relation to education and research.     

The Rhythm Method: A New Method for Measuring Cognitive Load—An Experimental Dual‐Task Study

The present study joins a series of studies that used the dual‐task paradigm to measure cognitive load while learning with multimedia instruction. The goal of the current work was to develop a secondary task, to measure cognitive load in a direct and continuous way using intra‐individual, behavioral measures. The new task is achieved by utilizing internalized cues. More specifically, a previously practiced rhythm is executed continuously by foot tapping (secondary task) while learning (primary task). Precision of the executed rhythm was used as indicator for cognitive load—the higher the precision, the lower cognitive load. The suitability of this method was examined by two multimedia experiments (n₁ = 30; n₂ = 50). Cognitive load was manipulated by seductive details (Experiment 1: with vs. without) and modality (Experiment 2: on‐screen text vs. narration). Learners who learned under low cognitive load conditions (Experiment 1: without seductive details; Experiment 2: narration) showed significantly higher rhythm precision. These results provide evidence that rhythm precision allows for a precise and continuous measurement of cognitive load during learning. Copyright © 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Occupational stress in clinical nurses

The present study was based on an integrative work stress model proposed by Cooper and his associates (Cooper et al., 1988), which focused on stress perception and outcomes, as well as potential moderating variables such as personality and coping efforts. Specifically, this article examines occupational stress in clinical nurses who worked in various hospitals in southern Taiwan. When compared with Chinese industrial white and blue-collar workers, nurses experienced higher work stress, more physical and mental ill-health, lower job satisfaction, and also made more efforts to cope with work stress. There were also some interesting differences in types of stressors experienced by nurses and industrial workers.     

How fast small things become large: Dynamic change in judgment

Judgments are context bound. Moreover, in most situations, context is changing; hence judgments often reflect a dynamic adaptation to these changes. This study is on working memory load as a factor that potentially moderates speed of adaptation to new context. Two specific stimulus formats used in generalization tests, simultaneous vs successive presentation, were intended to reflect substantial differences in memory load. Conditions that place a higher memory load on the respondent (successive presentation) should show slower changing effects than do conditions that entail a lower memory load (simultaneous presentation). Sixty participants were trained in two stimulus two forced-choice visual discriminations of size. Later generalization tests included more extreme visual stimuli. The stimulus that was seen as neither “small” nor “large” (50% ratings each) changed in the direction of the central stimuli within the stimulus series, with both successive and simultaneous stimulus presentation (adaptation). Multilevel regression analyses showed that change increased gradually in successive stimulus presentation, whereas change was immediate in simultaneous presentation. A significant three-way interaction indicated that generalization was faster with simultaneous presentation of generalization test stimuli than with successive presentation. The results showed that the speed of Point of Subjective Indifference (PSI) shift depends on the mental representation of experience that is strongly related to working memory. The study therefore makes a contribution to the understanding the speed of behavioural change during transition, e.g., the transition from school to work. On a macro-level, model application may assist rapid learning and behavioural adaptation, for instance when individuals change from one cultural context to another.     

Competitive conflict regulation and informational dependence in peer learning

The present set of studies investigates the role of competitive conflict regulation and informational dependence in peer learning. Previous studies have shown that peer work on identical information produces not only confrontation of viewpoints but also competitive conflict regulation, the latter of which is detrimental for learning. Conversely, working on complementary information produces positive interactions but also informational dependence, and good quality information transmission is needed to foster learning. The present research shows that discussion aids (note‐taking and access to the study materials during discussion), a variable related to the quality of informational input, moderated the relationship between information interdependence and learning. This moderation was mediated by competitive conflict regulation: Students who worked on identical information with discussion aids reported more competitive conflict regulation than those without discussion aids, which in turn reduced learning, a pattern that did not appear for students working on complementary information. Moreover, when students worked on complementary information, the good quality of information transmission elicited by discussion aids led to high levels of learning for all students. Contributions to research on resource interdependence, socio‐cognitive conflict, and peer learning are discussed. Copyright © 2009 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Development of an instrument for measuring different types of cognitive load

According to cognitive load theory, instructions can impose three types of cognitive load on the learner: intrinsic load, extraneous load, and germane load. Proper measurement of the different types of cognitive load can help us understand why the effectiveness and efficiency of learning environments may differ as a function of instructional formats and learner characteristics. In this article, we present a ten-item instrument for the measurement of the three types of cognitive load. Principal component analysis on data from a lecture in statistics for PhD students (n = 56) in psychology and health sciences revealed a three-component solution, consistent with the types of load that the different items were intended to measure. This solution was confirmed by a confirmatory factor analysis of data from three lectures in statistics for different cohorts of bachelor students in the social and health sciences (ns = 171, 136, and 148), and received further support from a randomized experiment with university freshmen in the health sciences (n = 58).     

Learning by imagining

Five experiments were conducted to investigate the relative effectiveness of 2 alternative instructional strategies. Students who were engaged in studying worked examples that emphasized understanding and remembering procedures and concepts were compared with students who were engaged in imagining worked examples that emphasized imagining procedures and concepts. It was hypothesized that students who held prerequisite schemas would find imagining to have a beneficial effect on learning, compared with studying the material, whereas students who were less knowledgeable would find imagining to have a negative effect on learning, compared with studying. Experimental results were in accord with our hypotheses. It was concluded that, under specific circumstances, encouraging students to imagine procedures and concepts can substantially facilitate learning.