In this dissertation I examine the actions of learners while they navigate a new learning context to gain insight into how learning occurs during learning events. Building on Kolb's (2014) experiential learning model and incorporating research from cognitive psychology, I explore discrete patterns of learning activity and tactical emergence to gain insight into how learning evolves and outcomes are achieved. Kolb's conceptual work points to the complexity of most learning experiences. This dissertation offers a framework and language supporting a more detailed analysis of the cognitive processes and knowledge development which occur during learning events, a new perspective to help interpret the dynamics and complexities of in-situ learning. I adopt a refined view of learning which anticipates the interplay between discrete processes and knowledge elements. In the proposed conceptual model, process and content dynamics are managed by executive function through three specific mechanisms; dialectics, goal pursuit, and the scaffolding of knowledge.
Using a new game environment developed for this research, I trace the actions of learners as they interact with a "new-to-them" task. In Study 1 (n=50), I examine the behavior of subjects as they progressively learn and adopt new tactics while playing the game and seek evidence of the three proposed mechanisms that guide decisions during learning, dialectics, goal pursuit, and scaffolding. Study 2 (n=194) builds upon the patterns of learned behavior observed in Study 1, and examines how breaks, or their absence, influence learning under enhanced cognitive load. In this study, I explore how incremental break time contributes to learning outcomes. Cognitive ability and incremental break time were hypothesized to interact; subjects with high cognitive ability were expected to find little benefit from break time, while those with lower ability were expected to positively benefit from time in breaks. Surprisingly, and in contrast to previous research, incremental break time was negatively related to learning and outcomes. No interaction between cognitive ability and break time was observed. I discuss the importance of this finding.
This dissertation contributes to a refined understanding of learning process, knowledge content, and the dynamic nature of their interactions. Learners demonstrate idiosyncratic differences in how they interpret and respond to the environment. This includes how quickly and effectively they recognize problems or opportunities while learning, establish goals to guide their pursuit, and construct and leverage new knowledge to shape more effective behaviors. Contributions to learning theory, explored and developed here, may be transferable to individualized instruction environments, including new insights about the micro-dynamics of learning and knowledge states which are developed in this dissertation. / Ph. D. / In this dissertation I explore how individuals learn from experience by capturing the detailed actions of new learners as they face a new and unfamiliar task. Subjects faced a common, though unfamiliar, online game environment. While the context required demonstration of a common set of learned behaviors, prior empirical research suggests individual learners might exhibit unique patterns of behavior while learning. In a first study, a highly detailed record of individual behavior within game trials revealed highly idiosyncratic behavioral paths for individual learners while higher-level commonalities in techniques and tactics guiding game play and outcomes emerged. I examine factors that guide and help to explain patterns of learning behavior and their influence on learning outcomes.
In a second study, I examine behavior in an online game environment modified to heighten cognitive load and explore the interaction of cognitive ability and the use of breaks in predicting learning outcomes. Individuals with higher cognitive ability generally achieve greater learning outcomes across a wide variety of tasks. Cognitive load speaks to the demands placed on limited cognitive resources during learning (James, 1976). Learner’s limited cognitive resources can be overwhelmed during learning by the data and cognitive processes they must attend to. I hypothesize a benefit to the use of short breaks by subjects with lower cognitive ability. In contrast to previous research, our findings indicate short incremental breaks do not improve learning.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/86194 |
| Date | 29 November 2018 |
| Creators | Flynn, Jerome P. |
| Contributors | Management, Carlson, Kevin D., Beal, Daniel J., Tegarden, Linda F., Zimmerman, Ryan D. |
| Publisher | Virginia Tech |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Dissertation |
| Format | ETD, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
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