Co-learner presence and praise alters the effects of learner-generated explanation on learning from video lectures

• Published in: International Journal of Educational Technology in Higher Education Vol. 19; no. 1; p. 58
• Main Authors: Pi, Zhongling, Liu, Caixia, Meng, Qian, Yang, Jiumin
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Cham Springer International Publishing 01.12.2022; BioMed Central, Ltd; Springer Nature B.V; SpringerOpen
• Subjects: Behavior Patterns; Co-learner presence; Colleges & universities; Computer Appl. in Social and Behavioral Sciences; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Cooperative Learning; Distance learning; Educational Practices; Educational Technology; Explanations; Higher Education; Humanities; Infectious diseases; Information Systems Applications (incl.Internet); Law; Learning; Learning Strategies; Lecture Method; Nonverbal Communication; Online instruction; Positive Reinforcement; Praise; Quality assessment; Research Article; Statistics for Social Sciences; Students; Teachers; Verbal Communication; Video; Video lectures; Video Technology; Video lectures; Co-learner presence; Praise; Explanations
• ISSN: 2365-9440; 2365-9440
• DOI: 10.1186/s41239-022-00363-5

Learning from video lectures is becoming a prevalent learning activity in formal and informal settings. However, relatively little research has been carried out on the interactions of learning strategies and social environment in learning from video lectures. The present study addresses this gap by examining whether learner-generated explanations and co-learner presence with or without nonverbal praise independently and interactively affected learning from a self-paced video lecture about infectious diseases. University students were randomized into viewing either the video with instructor-generated explanations or the same video but generating explanations themselves. Outcomes were assessed by the quality of explanations, learning performance, mental effort, attention allocation, and behavioral patterns. Between-group comparisons showed that, in the absence of a peer co-learner, learning performance was similar in both the instructor-generated and learner-generated explanation groups. However, in the presence of a peer, learner-generated explanation facilitated learning performance. Furthermore, learner-generated explanation in the presence of a co-learner also reduced learners’ mental effort and primed more behaviors related to self-regulation and monitoring. The results lead to the following strong recommendation for educational practice when using video lectures: if students learn by generating their own explanations in the presence of a co-learner, they will show better learning performance even though the learning is not necessarily more demanding, and will engage in more behaviors related to explanation adjustment and self-regulation.