The purpose of this experimental research study was to investigate the effects of using academic science-term vodcasts to provide vocabulary instruction, and more specifically, comprehension support in science to middle-school adolescents with and without LD. A total of 105 suburban middle school students, of which 17 presented with LD, were randomly assigned to one of two conditions, with direct instruction occurring over a one-week period. The two experimental conditions; the first which required students to use a traditional “dictionary approach” to learning and studying a list of prescribed science terms, and a second condition which required students to use a vodcast strategy to learn and study the same list of prescribed science terms. The vodcast strategy included the student viewing a researcher-constructed vodcast; a multimedia construction which employs the tenets of CTML, focusing on a prescribed grade-level vocabulary list, drawn from current curriculum, and evidence-based practice as presented in a mnemonic graphic organizer, for the recording of fundamental components of vocabulary acquisition; e.g. the term, it’s definition as delivered in the vodcast, its correct usage in a sentence, and an example of the prescribed term. The results indicated all students, with and without LD, performed better using the vodcast strategy, when compared with their peers, who used a dictionary-focused approach, with writing down the same components for term acquisition as the vodcast strategy. Anecdotal information in the form of a student satisfaction survey, completed with each class orally indicated an almost universal preference for the vodcast strategy over the more traditional approach to science-term vocabulary acquisition exercises. / Special Education

In this small-scale qualitative study we examine PowerPoint presentations using cognitive perspectives (such as the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning, Arousal theory, and Dual Channel processing) to compare teacher experience with a theoretical background. By analyzing collected PowerPoint presentations and interviewing the experienced teachers that created them about their didactic choices, we are able to identify and focus on four aspects of multimedia learning: Pacing, Student Stimuli, Signaling and Redundancy. Although the teachers involved in the study do not reference the cognitive perspective explicitly, we find similarities and differences between the teachers' near-practice experience and the underlying cognitive theories, finding pedagogical value in both their complementary and contradictory natures. From this, we suggest that the principles of cognitive theories from a scientific basis are complemented and tempered by the flexibility of experience.

Making video recordings of large classroom lectures and putting them online is increasingly common in distance and blended learning courses. However, the best way to use lecture video is not well understood. Using long streams of one-way communication is not consistent with best practices in online learning. During lectures, students assume a largely passive role. They think faster than instructors speak, so boredom and daydreaming are common. Yet, when complex or novel ideas are presented, students may have inadequate time to encode, organize, and integrate the input with prior experience. Especially for students with low prior knowledge of the subject being discussed, the lecture is a cognitive and affective roller coaster ride that works at cross purposes with learning. Viewing a lecture that was recorded at an earlier time adds the element of temporal distance from the learning event, and changes the student’s role from participant to spectator. The present study investigated whether learning could be increased and perceptions of difficulty reduced when a captured lecture received a “makeover” before being put online. The makeover consisted of 1) editing the lecture video in accordance with the cognitive theory of multimedia learning; 2) processing the video using best practices for audio/video production; and 3) increasing the video playback speed. The research design for the study was quasiexperimental. The independent variable was captured lecture form (edited or unedited). The dependent variables were learning results for recognition and recall, and perceptions of difficulty. Data analysis employed independent-samples t-tests, multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA), and repeated-measures MANOVA. Conclusions were that the editing protocol made no significant difference in learning gains for recognition or recall, and did not significantly affect perceptions of difficulty. However, editing did result in a 39% reduction in the length of the lecture, raising the possibility that such a makeover might allow for faster learning when lecture video is used.

Den här kvalitativa studien syftar till att undersöka hur bildstöd är utformat i tre skönlitterärt uppbyggda läroböcker på ingångsnivå riktade mot årskurs 1 i svenska för att stödja elevers läsinlärning. Studien tar avstamp i Richard E. Mayers (2014) teori om multimodal inlärning: Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning. Teorin bygger på idén att människor lär bättre och djupare från text och bild än från enbart text. Läroböckerna analyseras utifrån Lundh och Limbergs (2012) kategorier när det gäller bildstöd: dekorativ, illustrativ, narrativ och förklarande. I läroböckerna analyseras även förhållandet mellan text och bild samt vilka tidigare kunskaper eleverna behöver för att förstå bildstödet. Resultatet visar att alla de tre läroböckerna använder sig av bildstöd i berättelsen. Det bildstöd som används mest i läroböckerna är narrativt, samtidigt som dekorativt bildstöd saknas helt. Förhållandet mellan bild och text ser genomgående olika ut i läroböckerna men visar sig ha stor betydelse speciellt för elevernas läsförståelse. Precis som med allt annat i vardagen behöver eleverna ha tidigare kunskaper för att kunna “läsa” och förstå bilderna i läroböckerna. Av studiens resultat kan slutsatsen dras att läroböckerna använder sig av bilder avsiktligen för att stödja läsningen, att bilderna ger bäst stöd om de berättar samma sak som texten gör samt att eleverna måste kunna ”läsa” och förstå bilderna för att få full läsförståelse.