Age similarity enhances older adults’ learning from co-viewing video lectures

Due to the popularity of video lectures, an increasing number of older adults are engaging with this form of learning. Furthermore, co-viewing has become a common type of social interaction. Despite the popularity of video lectures among older adults, there is limited understanding of how to effectively support their learning through this medium. The present study tested the interaction effects of co-viewer similarity (young vs. older co-viewer) and the type of learning content (declarative vs. procedural knowledge) in video lectures on older adults’ learning performance, motivation, cognitive load, and PFC activation as measured by fNIRS. Our results found that older adults showed better learning performance, greater motivation, and reduced cognitive load when co-viewing with an older viewer compared to a young one, regardless of the type of learning content. Interestingly, for declarative knowledge (i.e., Traditional Chinese Medicine, older adults exhibited greater activation in the FEFs, S1, and SMC regions when co-viewing with an older viewer compared with a young viewer. For procedural knowledge (i.e., digital technology), they exhibited less activation in the dlPFC and SMC regions when co-viewing with an older viewer compared with a young viewer. Our findings suggest that educators should consider the age of co-viewers when designing video lectures for older adults, irrespective of the type of knowledge being taught.<br/

Emotional incongruence enhances English vocabulary acquisition from instructional videos

The current study examined the impact of teacher’s facial expressions in instructional videos on students’ learning process and outcomes for English vocabulary with positive and negative valence. Participants, Chinese learners studying English as a foreign language (EFL) in China, learned 32 words from an instructional video in which a teacher displayed either positive or negative facial expressions. Our findings suggest that learners dwelled longer and fixated more on slides presenting negative vocabulary than on those with positive one. Additionally, learners dwelled longer and fixated more on the teacher when they displayed positive facial expressions compared to negative ones. It was also observed that students’ motivation to learn increased when the teacher displayed positive emotions, irrespective of the emotional valence of words. More importantly, when the teacher exhibited negative emotions while introducing positive words, learners showed improved immediate learning outcomes. When the teacher displayed positive emotions while introducing negative words, learners showed improved delayed learning outcomes. Results suggest that the emotional incongruence between teacher’s facial expressions and the emotional valence of English vocabulary enhanced both immediate and delayed learning outcomes. Therefore, teachers are encouraged to display emotions that not align with the emotional valence of the learning content in their instructional videos, especially when teaching vocabulary in an EFL setting.<br/

IDC theory: habit and the habit loop

Interest-driven creator (IDC) theory is a design theory that intends to inform the design of future education in Asia. It consists of three anchored concepts, namely, interest, creation, and habit. This paper presents the third anchored concept habit as well as the habit loop. IDC theory assumes that learners, when driven by interest, can be engaged in knowledge creation. Furthermore, by repeating such process in their daily learning routines, learners will form interest-driven creation habits. The habit loop, the process of building such a habit, consists of three component concepts— cuing environment, routine, and harmony. The cuing environment is a habit trigger that tells the students’ brain to get prepared and go into an automatic mode, letting learning behavior unfold. Routine refers to the behavioral patterns the students repeat most often, literally etched into their neural pathways. Harmony refers to the affective outcome of the routine activity as well as the integration or stabilization of habits; that is, through the routine behavior and action, students may feel that their needs get fulfilled, feel satisfied, and experience inner peace. It is our hope that such habitual behavior of creating knowledge can be sustained so long that students ultimately become lifelong interest-driven creators. This paper focuses on the description of the three components of the habit loop and discusses how these components are related to the interest loop and the creation loop in supporting learners in developing their interest-driven creation capability

Meaning in life meta-synthesis

This is a pre-registered meta-synthesis aimed on measuring meaning-making in breast cancer patients across the world. The study allows the understanding of women with breast cancer journey from the psychological aspect in an attempt to help in their treatment journey

Meaning in life meta-synthesis

This is a pre-registered meta-synthesis aimed on measuring meaning-making in breast cancer patients across the world. The study allows the understanding of women with breast cancer journey from the psychological aspect in an attempt to help in their treatment journey

Meaning in life meta-synthesis

This is a meta-synthesis aimed on measuring meaning-making in breast cancer patients across the world. The study allows the understanding of women with breast cancer journey from the psychological aspect in an attempt to help in their treatment journey