Different types of redundancy and their effect on learning and cognitive load.

BACKGROUND: What is redundancy? While most studies confirm that redundancy is harmful to learning, there are two theoretical approaches to redundancy. The first understands redundancy as a contentual overlap that puts demand on the limited cognitive capacities of the learner. The second understands redundancy as an ineffective combination of sources leading to an overload of the limited working memory modalities. AIMS: Since these theoretical differences are rarely acknowledged in operation, this study proposes a classification of two distinct types of redundancy to compare these experimentally to investigate their possible main and interaction effects. The first type, content redundancy, is concerned with the contentual overlap of information. The second type, modal redundancy, is concerned with the modalities in which the information is displayed. METHODS: We used these two types of redundancy as factors in a 2 × 2 within-subject design, in which we experimentally compared their effects. SAMPLE: University students (N = 46) learned from specifically designed domain-general material which aimed to observe redundancy effects without interference from confounding variables. RESULTS: The results show that content redundancy increases learning outcomes and decreases cognitive load, while modal redundancy decreases learning outcomes and increases cognitive load. CONCLUSION: On the theoretical level, these findings confirm the usefulness to distinguish content redundancy from modal redundancy. On the practical level, the empirical findings of the different effects of the two types of redundancy provide educators with important insights that can improve the design of multimedia learning materials.

Language, ambiguity, and executive functions in adolescents' theory of mind.

Executive functions' (EF) role in adolescents' advanced theory of mind (aToM) was examined. In Study 1, adolescents (N = 189 in 2017, Mage  = 13.1 years, 55.6% female from racially/ethnically diverse schools) completed the Flexibility and Automaticity of Social Cognition task (FASC), and shifting and inhibition measures. Study 2 (N = 289 in 2018 and 2019, Mage  = 15.7 years, 59.9% female, 56.4% Hispanic/Latino) replicated Study 1 in older adolescents using automated scoring of FASC flexibility. Flexibility of social cognition varied based on ambiguity and language use; automaticity of social cognition varied by ambiguity. The role of EF was less conclusive; shifting and inhibition predicted some flexibility and automaticity measures. Ambiguity, language, and EF, particularly shifting, influence aToM into adolescence.

Targeting versus Tailoring Educational Videos for Encouraging Deceased Organ Donor Registration in Black-Owned Barbershops.

In the U.S., black men are at highest risk for requiring kidney transplants but are among those least likely to register for organ donation. Prior outreach used videos culturally targeted for Black communities, yet registration rates remain insufficient to meet demand. Therefore, we assessed whether generic versus videos culturally targeted or personally tailored based on prior organ donation beliefs differentially increase organ donor registration. In a randomized controlled trial, 1,353 participants in Black-owned barbershops viewed generic, targeted, or tailored videos about organ donation. Logistic regression models assessed the relative impact of videos on: 1) immediate organ donor registration, 2) taking brochures, and 3) change in organ donation willingness stage of change from baseline. Randomization yielded approximately equal groups related to demographics and baseline willingness and beliefs. Neither targeted nor tailored videos differentially affected registration compared with the generic video, but participants in targeted and tailored groups were more likely to take brochures. Targeted (OR = 1.74) and tailored (OR = 1.57) videos were associated with incremental increases in organ donation willingness stage of change compared to the generic video. Distributing culturally targeted and individually tailored videos increased organ donor willingness stage of change among Black men in Black-owned barbershops but was insufficient for encouraging registration.Abbreviations: CI - confidence interval; DMV - Department of Motor Vehicles; BOBs - Black-owned barbershops; ODBI - organ donation belief index; ODWS - organ donation willingness stage of change; OR - odds ratio.

Including Medical Footage and Emotional Content in Organ Donation Educational Videos for Latinx Viewers.

We assessed whether videos with medical footage of organ preservation and transplantation plus sad, unresolved, or uplifting stories differentially affect deceased organ donor registration among clients in Latinx-owned barbershops and beauty salons. In a 2 × 3 randomized controlled trial, participants (N = 1,696, mean age 33 years, 67% female) viewed one of six videos. The control portrayed a mother who received a kidney (uplifting), excluding medical footage. Experimental videos included medical footage and/or showed a mother waiting (unresolved) or sisters mourning their brother's death (sad). Regression models assessed relative impact of medical footage and storylines on: (1) registry enrollment, (2) donation willingness stage of change, and (3) emotions. Randomization yielded approximately equal groups relative to age, sex, education, religion, nativity, baseline organ donation willingness, beliefs, and emotions. Overall, 14.8% of participants registered. Neither medical footage, sad, nor unresolved stories differentially affected registration and changes in organ donation willingness. Sad and unresolved stories increased sadness and decreased positive affect by ~0.1 logits compared with the uplifting story. Educational videos about organ donation which excluded or included medical footage and varying emotional valence of stories induced emotions marginally but did not affect viewers' registration decisions differently. Heterogeneity of responses within video groups might explain the attenuated impact of including medical footage and varying emotional content. In future work, we will report qualitative reasons for participants' registration decisions by analyzing the free text responses from the randomized trial and data from semistructured interviews that were conducted with a subset of participants.

The cognitive impact of interactive design features for learning complex materials in medical education.

To identify the most effective way for medical students to interact with a browser-based learning module on the symptoms and neurological underpinnings of stroke syndromes, this study manipulated the way in which subjects interacted with a graphical model of the brain and examined the impact of functional changes on learning outcomes. It was hypothesized that behavioral interactions that were behaviorally more engaging and which required deeper consideration of the model would result in heightened cognitive interaction and better learning than those whose manipulation required less deliberate behavioral and cognitive processing. One hundred forty four students were randomly assigned to four conditions whose model controls incorporated features that required different levels of behavioral and cognitive interaction: Movie (low behavioral/low cognitive, n = 40), Slider (high behavioral/low cognitive, n = 36), Click (low behavioral/high cognitive, n = 30), and Drag (high behavioral/high cognitive, n = 38). Analysis of Covariates (ANCOVA) showed that students who received the treatments associated with lower cognitive interactivity (Movie and Slider) performed better on a transfer task than those receiving the module associated with high cognitive interactivity (Click and Drag, partial eta squared = .03). In addition, the students in the high cognitive interactivity conditions spent significantly more time on the stroke locator activity than other conditions (partial eta squared = .36). The results suggest that interaction with controls that were tightly coupled with the model and whose manipulation required deliberate consideration of the model's features may have overtaxed subjects' cognitive resources. Cognitive effort that facilitated manipulation of content, though directed at the model, may have resulted in extraneous cognitive load, impeding subjects in recognizing the deeper, global relationships in the materials. Instructional designers must, therefore, keep in mind that the way in which functional affordances are integrated with the content can shape both behavioral and cognitive processing, and has significant cognitive load implications.

Optimizing educational video through comparative trials in clinical environments.

Although video is increasingly used in public health education, studies generally do not implement randomized trials of multiple video segments in clinical environments. Therefore, the specific configurations of educational videos that will have the greatest impact on outcome measures ranging from increased knowledge of important public health issues, to acceptance of a voluntary HIV test, remain largely unknown. Interventions can be developed to run on affordable handheld computers, including inexpensive tablets or netbooks that each patient can use individually, and to integrate video delivery with automated data collection. These video interventions can then be used not only to educate patients who otherwise might not be reached, but to examine how content can be optimized for greater effectiveness as measured by cognitive and behavioral outcomes. This approach may prove especially valuable in high volume urban facilities, such as hospital emergency departments, that provide points of contact for lower income, lower literacy, and high-risk populations who may not otherwise interact with healthcare providers or researchers. This article describes the development and evaluation of an intervention that educates emergency department patients about HIV prevention and testing while comparatively examining a set of videos, each based upon competing educational theories. The computer-based video intervention and methodology are both highly replicable and can be applied to subject areas and settings far beyond HIV or the emergency department.

Assessing medical students' self-regulation as aptitude in computer-based learning.

We developed a Self-Regulation Measure for Computer-based learning (SRMC) tailored toward medical students, by modifying Zimmerman's Self-Regulated Learning Interview Schedule (SRLIS) for K-12 learners. The SRMC's reliability and validity were examined in 2 studies. In Study 1, 109 first-year medical students were asked to complete the SRMC. Bivariate correlation analysis results indicated that the SRMC scores had a moderate degree of correlation with student achievement in a teacher-developed test. In Study 2, 58 third-year clerkship students completed the SRMC. Regression analysis results indicated that the frequency of medical students' usage of self-regulation strategies was associated with their general clinical knowledge measured by a nationally standardized licensing exam. These two studies provided evidence for the reliability and concurrent validity of the SRMC to assess medical students' self-regulation as aptitude. Future work should provide evidence to guide and improve instructional design as well as inform educational policy.

Assessment of cognitive load in multimedia learning using dual-task methodology.

In two pilot experiments, a new approach for the direct assessment of cognitive load during multimedia learning was tested that uses dual-task methodology. Using this approach, we obtained the same pattern of cognitive load as predicted by cognitive load theory when applied to multimedia learning: The audiovisual presentation of text-based and picture-based learning materials induced less cognitive load than the visual-only presentation of the same material. The findings confirm the utility of dual-task methodology as a promising approach for the assessment of cognitive load induced by complex multimedia learning systems.