Web-based training (WBT) and classroom instruction (CI) constitute two training media that are commonly employed by organizations. Although the effectiveness of one medium relative to the other depends on a number of factors (e.g., Sitzmann, Kraiger, Stewart, & Wisher, 2006) this study aims to address several methodological issues common in the extant media research and investigate the moderating role of training content complexity on the relationship between media and important training outcomes. Utilizing a 2x2 experimental design, one hundred forty-two undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of four training courses. Each training course involved a PowerPoint 2007 training tutorial in which trainees were presented with information about certain PowerPoint functions. The CI training courses included three instructors who presented course material to trainees in a predetermined time frame while the WBT courses gave trainees substantial control over their allocation of time during the training course. Results suggest that trainees in the CI courses spent substantially more time on course-related activities than those in the WBT courses, which led to less knowledge acquisition when trainees in the WBT course were presented with relatively complex training material. These findings suggest that although learner control is generally considered a positive aspect of WBT (e.g., Kinzie & Sullivan, 1989) it can lead to less time-on-task and ultimately less learning and less effective transfer when the training content is complex in nature. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are also discussed.

abstract: Chi and Wylie’s (2014) Interactive Constructive Active Passive Framework (ICAP) was used as the foundation of a teacher led intervention using small group instruction with manipulatives during mathematics instruction to provide developmentally appropriate instruction to kindergarten students in a rigorous academic program. This action research mixed-methods study was conducted in a full-day self-contained kindergarten classroom to ascertain the effects of this mathematics instruction method on students’ levels of engagement and attitudes. Over the course of six months, twenty mathematics lessons were recorded to gather data for the study. Quantitative data included measuring time-on-task, teacher behaviors ICAP level, student behaviors ICAP level, as well as a Student Attitude Survey that was conducted at the conclusion of the study. The Student Attitude Survey was presented in a modified Likert Scale format due to the age and reading ability of the participants. Qualitative data was gathered in the form of lesson transcripts. Twenty-two students and one classroom teacher participated in the study. Students ranged in age from five to six years old, and eleven participants (50%) were male. The results of the study showed that the use of small group hands-on instruction in mathematics had a positive effect on student engagement based on students’ time-on-task during the activity, as well as positive student attitudes toward mathematics as indicated on the Student Attitude Survey. Lesson transcripts and both teacher and student ICAP rubrics provided further support for the innovation. / Dissertation/Thesis / Doctoral Dissertation Leadership and Innovation 2019

This study was designed to collect and evaluate the social networks of 32 study abroad students participating in the 2009 BYU study abroad program in Amman, Jordan. Survey data, language journals, and test scores were analyzed to determine how they successfully built social networks with native speakers, the relationship between students' social networks and time spent using Arabic outside of class, and the relationship between students' social networks and their acquisition of Arabic. The experiment provided a number of insights into how study abroad students meet potential conversation partners, select which relationships to pursue, and develop relationships in order to build social networks. The study also found that the intensity of students' social relationships as well as the number of clusters in their social networks were predictors of language gains. Additionally, the findings show that social network dispersion and the size of the largest cluster in a network predicted time spent using Arabic outside of class.

A cooperative small group facilitated case-based learning method has been used in the medical college at the researchers educational institution since the 2003-2004 academic year. They were designed to be a supplement to a primarily lecture-based curriculum where it was believed that these cooperative cases helped students to develop a better understanding of the material taught in the lectures, although no rigorous investigations had been completed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of these cooperative facilitated small group cases on five specific outcomes which included: 1) achievement, 2) knowledge confidence, 3) student satisfaction, 4) students perceived time on task, and 5) the students perceptions of the degree to which they believed a facilitator helped them to learn the material. These outcomes for cooperative learning (CL) were compared with individual learning (IL) outcomes. Quantitative data on student achievement and knowledge confidence were collected using a pre-test post-test 10 multiple choice question quiz. A brief questionnaire was also distributed to students to collect data regarding student satisfaction, time on task and perceived helpfulness of the facilitator.<p>Fifty-nine medical students were randomly assigned to either the CL or IL cohort (cooperative cohort, n = 32; individual cohort, n = 27). All students were blinded to the purpose of the study until all data were collected at the end of the investigation. Students completed the 10 multiple choice question pre-test. After each question they rated their level of confidence (on a scale from 1 to 10) that they had chosen the correct answer. Immediately after completion of the pre-test, they worked on the case, either cooperatively or individually. One week after the pre-test and case, the students completed the post-test quiz with the same questions, as well as the questionnaire.<p>A repeated-measures MANOVA was used to compare achievement and confidence in the CL (n =19) and IL (n =13) cohorts. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests. Effect sizes (d) were calculated for within-group and between-groups comparisons for achievement and confidence. Descriptive data on student satisfaction, time on task and facilitator helpfulness were gathered from the questionnaire and compared between groups.<p> Within-group results from the study showed that CL had a greater impact on student achievement and confidence than IL (achievement, d = 0.57 vs. 0.16; confidence, d = 0.52 vs. 0.14). The results for the statistical analysis did not reach significance for achievement or confidence. Between-groups effect sizes were calculated for average pre- to post-test change for achievement and confidence (achievement, d = 0.35; confidence, 0.40). Students in the CL cohort reported spending more time on task before and during the case session and less after the session. They also reported greater levels of satisfaction with the learning experience than IL group. The majority of students (90.5%) in the CL cohort felt that the facilitator helped them to learn.<p>The findings from this study showed that this CL method had a greater impact on the five outcomes outlined above compared to the IL method. Students made greater gains in achievement and confidence. They also spent more time on task, and had higher levels of satisfaction with the learning experience. Students in the CL cohort also believed that the facilitator helped them to learn. Implications of the study include possible expanded use of the cases within the curriculum of this medical college although the demands of resources and curriculum content would have to be carefully considered.

A cooperative small group facilitated case-based learning method has been used in the medical college at the researchers educational institution since the 2003-2004 academic year. They were designed to be a supplement to a primarily lecture-based curriculum where it was believed that these cooperative cases helped students to develop a better understanding of the material taught in the lectures, although no rigorous investigations had been completed. The purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of these cooperative facilitated small group cases on five specific outcomes which included: 1) achievement, 2) knowledge confidence, 3) student satisfaction, 4) students perceived time on task, and 5) the students perceptions of the degree to which they believed a facilitator helped them to learn the material. These outcomes for cooperative learning (CL) were compared with individual learning (IL) outcomes. Quantitative data on student achievement and knowledge confidence were collected using a pre-test post-test 10 multiple choice question quiz. A brief questionnaire was also distributed to students to collect data regarding student satisfaction, time on task and perceived helpfulness of the facilitator.<p>Fifty-nine medical students were randomly assigned to either the CL or IL cohort (cooperative cohort, n = 32; individual cohort, n = 27). All students were blinded to the purpose of the study until all data were collected at the end of the investigation. Students completed the 10 multiple choice question pre-test. After each question they rated their level of confidence (on a scale from 1 to 10) that they had chosen the correct answer. Immediately after completion of the pre-test, they worked on the case, either cooperatively or individually. One week after the pre-test and case, the students completed the post-test quiz with the same questions, as well as the questionnaire.<p>A repeated-measures MANOVA was used to compare achievement and confidence in the CL (n =19) and IL (n =13) cohorts. An alpha level of .05 was used for all statistical tests. Effect sizes (d) were calculated for within-group and between-groups comparisons for achievement and confidence. Descriptive data on student satisfaction, time on task and facilitator helpfulness were gathered from the questionnaire and compared between groups.<p> Within-group results from the study showed that CL had a greater impact on student achievement and confidence than IL (achievement, d = 0.57 vs. 0.16; confidence, d = 0.52 vs. 0.14). The results for the statistical analysis did not reach significance for achievement or confidence. Between-groups effect sizes were calculated for average pre- to post-test change for achievement and confidence (achievement, d = 0.35; confidence, 0.40). Students in the CL cohort reported spending more time on task before and during the case session and less after the session. They also reported greater levels of satisfaction with the learning experience than IL group. The majority of students (90.5%) in the CL cohort felt that the facilitator helped them to learn.<p>The findings from this study showed that this CL method had a greater impact on the five outcomes outlined above compared to the IL method. Students made greater gains in achievement and confidence. They also spent more time on task, and had higher levels of satisfaction with the learning experience. Students in the CL cohort also believed that the facilitator helped them to learn. Implications of the study include possible expanded use of the cases within the curriculum of this medical college although the demands of resources and curriculum content would have to be carefully considered.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of a computer program for students with emotional behavioral disorder (EBD) on behavior and academics. This concurrent, multiple baseline study investigated the use of Brainology with three upper elementary students diagnosed with EBD. Evaluations across behavior, academics, and behavioral academic indicators resulted in indications of possible effectiveness with one fourth grade student and limited to no effects with the other two students. There was a lack of multiple demonstration of intervention effect in this study across the baseline for behavior. Overall, student effort appeared to increase using this intervention, which is an important finding given the problems with disengagement that students with EBD experience (Wagner et al., 2004. Despite the limited results of this study, Brainology appears to hold some promise for students with EBD and it is hoped that further research will explore this possibility further. The teachers and students indicated that the treatment had strong to moderate validity on validity measures. Implications for Brainology and students with EBD are presented. Study limitations and directions for future research and practice are discussed. / text

The purpose of this study is to evaluate and give suggestions for interaction improvements to a user interface in a Personal Video Recorder. The study will focus on user learnability, user satisfaction, usability problems from the user interaction with the product and to make a set of interaction improvements. The participants performed a set of predefined tasks involving the recorder functionality and channel lists. The study involved three trials with seven tasks in each trial.   The study showed that the time difference for Learnability – Time-on-Task between all trials were statistical significant for the user interface. The study also revealed a set of usability problems that were classified into different severity ratings. The study also showed that the participants were partly satisfied with the user interface. / Uppsatsen är egentligen på 18hp, var tvungen att fylla i 16hp då rätt alternativ inte fanns att tillgå.

This thesis aimed to evaluate the user interaction with a Personal Video Recorder software in development by Zenterio. The evaluation focus was on learnability, satisfaction, identification of usability issues and proposing redesign to solve them. A user test with eleven participants was carried out, measuring task success, completion time, lostness, post-task satisfaction and post-session satisfaction across three trials. The seven user tasks concerned mainly channel lists and recording functionality; the former is examined closer in this paper. The results showed that the channel lists were somewhat difficult to manage initially but fairly quickly learned. The satisfaction was lower in the beginning and high after three trials. The results across all tasks followed similar learnability patterns and the overall satisfaction with the interface interaction pointed at the need of improvements. Nine usability issues were discovered concerning channel lists and navigation; they were rated by severity and redesign proposals were given. The issue with the strongest impact on the success of the interaction was the difficulty to find out how to open the submenus.

Denna studie undersöker förbättring och framtida möjligheter för digitala bruksanvisningar genom en analys. Det primära syftet är att utvärdera hur digitalisering kan förbättra tillgängligheten och användbarheten av bruksanvisningar, särskilt för maskinförare som huvudsakligen arbetar utomhus, såsom de som är involverade i vägarbete, anläggning och jordbruk. Dessa användare valdes eftersom de ofta befinner sig i situationer där omedelbar service eller reparationshjälp inte är tillgänglig, vilket kräver att de själva kan lösa problemen. Studien jämför traditionella pappersbruksanvisningar, PDF-format och en nyutvecklad interaktiv digital prototyp. Metoder som Time-on-task och System Usability Scale (SUS) användes för att mäta effektivitet och användarnöjdhet hos dessa format. Resultaten visar att digitala bruksanvisningar avsevärt förbättrar användbarheten samt sökeffektiviteten, och erbjuder funktioner som interaktiva guider, klickbara sektioner och multimediala element. Den sekundära målgruppen består av byggledare och närmaste chefer, valda för att underlätta deltagandet av studieobjekt. Forskningen belyser den viktiga roll som interaktionsdesign spelar i skapandet av intuitiva och effektiva digitala bruksanvisningar, vilket slutligen ger betydande fördelar för både användare och tillverkare genom möjligheten till snabbare uppdateringar, kostnadsbesparingar och global tillgänglighet. / This study explores the enhancement and future potential of digital user manuals through a quantitative analysis. The primary objective is to evaluate how digitalization can improve the accessibility and usability of user manuals, particularly for machine operators working predominantly in outdoor environments, such as those involved in roadwork, construction, and agriculture. These users were chosen because they often face situations where immediate service or repair assistance is unavailable, necessitating self-reliance in problem-solving. The study compares traditional paper manuals, PDF formats, and a newly designed interactive digital prototype. Methods such as "Time-on-task" and "System Usability Scale (SUS)" were employed to measure efficiency and user satisfaction across these formats. Results indicate that digital manuals significantly enhance usability and search efficiency, offering features like interactive guides, clickable sections, and the integration of multimedia elements. The secondary target group includes construction managers and immediate supervisors, selected to facilitate the participation of study subjects. The research highlights the critical role of interaction design in creating intuitive and effective digital manuals, ultimately providing substantial benefits to both users and manufacturers by enabling faster updates, cost savings, and global accessibility.

Technology has provided the means for the creation of many tools to facilitate the teaching and learning of foreign languages. These tools include computer programs designed to aid language learning by providing various levels of control to the language learner. This control allows the learner to make decisions regarding some or all of the elements of a program such as the pace, sequence, and content to name but a few. Because the amount of learner control can be varied, many research efforts have sought to determine the optimal level of control for learning. These efforts have produced mixed results, with some research suggesting that learners perform better with less control while other findings suggest the opposite. The purpose of this research was to investigate the use of remediation, a computer-adaptive control, in Swahili 101 university level courses and its effect on achievement and time. Participants included Swahili language learners from two universities, three colleges, and one student not affiliated with any school. The study required that participants complete a pretest, a background survey, the Swahili 101 online lesson materials, and an opinion survey. “Gate pages," or webpage-based assessments, were used throughout the online course to assess participant progress. The participants were randomly assigned to control and experimental groups. Those in the control group completed the online component at their own discretion, working through assigned tasks with review as desired. Those in the experimental group were required to obtain a minimum score on each lesson's gate page in order to advance in the lesson and thus in the course. If that score was not met, then the software assigned a series of remediation or review pages. Scores from the gate pages and time spent on the gate pages were stored and analyzed for both groups. The results from this study suggest that language learners benefit from computer intervention and guidance (remediation). The participants in the experimental group learned more Swahili than the control group, despite spending the same amount of time on the gate pages as the control group. Therefore, remediation, as defined and implemented in this study, can increase language learning while at the same time not requiring the learners to significantly increase the initial time they spend responding to questions presented on the gate pages.