Enhance Student-Centered Learning

• The move to online classrooms has introduced new technologies, new methods of teaching, new complexities in course design

• Seeing an increase in anxiety among learners, particularly college students (Olson, 2023 )

• A negative correlation between anxiety and learner achievement (Numan & Hasan, 2017; Roy & Ghosh, 2013)

• Very little research around anxiety specific to the design of a course or course materials

• Mayer’s Multimedia Principles (MMP) can help manage cognitive load and improve performance (Cheon et al., 2014)

• MMP have been used to impact motivation, engagement, satisfaction (Mayer, 2022 and our previous study)

• Segmenting Principle

• Generative Activities Principle

• Feedback Principle 

• Emotional Design Principle

See examples below

• One digital textbook (Pressbook) with six scenarios

• Each of the six scenarios offers two, side-by-side versions of the same content

  • • one version with one of four multimedia principles applied using H5P and images

    • one version without multimedia principles applied

Links to each scenario:

Scenario 1

Scenario 2

Scenario 3

Scenario 4

Scenario 5

Scenario 6

Integrated Model of Cognitive-Affective Learning with Media (ICALM)

Assumes cognitive (auditory and visual) as well as affective (motivation, anxiety) factors affect a learner's working memory, and that all three need to be considered when designing instruction.

• Used Prolific recruitment tool

• U.S. online college students

• ages 18-65

• 50 participants

Instruments 

• • All participants given the same Google surveys that included

    • Short demographic survey

    • Links to the six scenarios, one at a time in Pressbooks

    • Two follow-up questions after each scenario

Participant read and interacted with each scenario

• • • After each scenario answered:

      • Which scenario (A or B) made you feel less overwhelmed, anxious, or uneasy?

        • Possible answers: A, B, neither, or both

      • If you experienced feelings of being overwhelmed, anxious, or uneasy, what was it specifically that caused or relieved that feeling?

        • Open-ended answers

For each of the four applied multimedia principles, results will include:

• descriptive statistics of the answers to the first question

• themes that emerged from the second question

• sample feedback from participants

Additionally, results of the overarching themes that emerged from all qualitative answers will be shared.

What  specifically caused or relieved your anxiety in these scenarios?

1. Amount of text - the amount of text on the page caused or relieved anxiety

   • "Looking at all the text made it more stressful." 

   • "Having the clickable sections helped so I didn't have to see as much information on the screen as text at once." 

2. Perceived time to read - the perception of the time involved to complete instruction caused or relieved anxiety

   • "I felt overwhelmed by the amount of text I saw on the page, because it would take a long time to read and remember all of it."

   • "How the text with interactivity was portrayed made me feel I was going to finish reading in no time."

3. Control - the amount of control the learner had caused or relieved their anxiety

   • "The option to view extra text at my own discretion and pace made me less overwhelmed."

   • "I liked the interactive text, because it let me absorb information in bits and pieces at a time. Not all at once."

What  specifically caused or relieved your anxiety in these scenarios?

1. Interrupted - interruptions to attention caused anxiety

   • "I wasn't a fan of how 3B interrupted the video to ask me questions."

   • "Only discomfort was not being clear on what and where the pop up questions were."

2. Assessment Anxiety - questions caused feelings of test anxiety

   • "Quizzes just generally inspire anxiety."

   • "I was scared to get a question wrong."

3. Self-Assessment - the ability to self-assess knowledge relieved anxiety

   • "The questions allowed me to determine if I was absorbing the information correctly, overall reducing the anxiety that comes from learning."

   • "I like answering a question which helps with recall and remembering content."

What  specifically caused or relieved your anxiety in these scenarios?

1. Aids Confidence - Feedback grew participants confidence, reducing anxiety

   • "Scenario A makes me feel overwhelmed because I do not feel confident in correctly answering the questions in the text. Scenario B is better because I can check my answers."

   • "I like the constant validation that I get from answering the questions, because it definitely eases my mind during a stressful quiz."

2. Aids Comprehension - Feedback helped participants understand concepts, reducing anxiety

   • "The scenario 5A was hard to follow and overwhelming, there was also no way to learn from the questions since there was no answer key."

   • "Being able to interact with the question and see the correct answer helps me feel like I am actually learning something."

What  specifically caused or relieved your anxiety in these scenarios?

Audio

Reinforced Learning - the audio reinforced the text concepts, reducing anxiety

• "I like how there are actual soundbites of the questions being asked, because it really relieves me and helps me visualize the intended purpose to these questions."

• "I liked having the audio visual versus just reading."

Engagement - the audio kept the attention of the learner, reducing anxiety

• "The interaction/voice over made it feel more personable."

• "It had a more interactive feel."

Images

Warm Colors - the warm colors relieved anxiety

• "Scenario 6B had a more warm tone."

• "The pictures for Scenario 6B felt warmer."

Cohesive Style - the consistency of the aesthetic helped organize the information, reducing anxiety

• "6B had really nice artistic representations of the messages trying to be communicated. The theme was more cohesive."

• "The size, shape, color scheme and art were all related and made the information look more organized."

Memory

• • Anxiety increased when they felt they would not be able to remember content

"Scenario 2A [text alone] makes it a little more difficult to remember and focus on the information which can be stressful when trying to remember and pay attention to the content."

• • Relieved when they felt an interaction would help them remember

"I also feel like it [H5P Course Presentation] would help me remember better as well."

Time

• • Anxiety increased if they felt instruction would take a long time to complete

"I felt overwhelmed by the amount of text [text alone]. It would take a long time to read."

• • Relieved when they perceived the interaction was an efficient use of their time

"How the text with interactivity was portrayed [H5P Accordion] made me feel I was going to finish reading in no time."

Attention (Most prominent theme)

• • Anxiety increased if content did not hold their focus

"Scenario 2A [text only] makes it a little more difficult to remember and focus on information, which can be stressful when trying to remember and pay attention to the content."

• • Relieved when instruction included variety, interactivity, and relevant sound, and images that helped them focus

"I was relieved because I felt like I had better focus on the subject [with H5P Audio]."

Segmenting seems to be a good choice for designing anxiety-reducing instruction.

1. Smaller chunks of text lowers visual overwhelm and the perceived time cost

2. Pace and amount of information should be learner-controlled

Generative activities should be applied carefully.

1. Include explicit instructions that state these are ungraded

2. Allow practice without penalty

3. Allow students to self-assess their progress

4. Try not to interrupt the learner:

• Long video: state clear expectations of pop-up practice questions if embedding in a video

• Short video: place the questions at the end to avoid interrupting

Feedback should be included in all generative activities.

1. Should be explanatory (not just “correct” or “incorrect”

2. Adds another layer of review of the instruction’s objectives

3. Grows confidence and comprehension

Emotional Design may reduce anxiety in some learners.

1. Use relevant, not distracting, sound, images, etc.

2. Thoughtfully planned aesthetics help with organization of information, holding the learner’s attention, and aiding comprehension

3. If given a choice, choose warm colors and a cohesive style of images

• What causes and mitigates anxiety experienced by online learners upon first encountering a course or course material versus anxiety experienced while interacting with the instruction? 

• What other multimedia principles could relieve anxiety?

• What other H5P could apply multimedia principles or active learning?

Cheon, J., Chung, S., Crooks, S. M., Song, J., & Kim, J. (2014). An investigation of the effects of different types of activities during pauses in a segmented instructional animation. Journal of Educational Technology & Society, 17(2), 296-306.

Mayer, R. (2022). Multimedia learning (3rd Ed.). Cambridge University Press.

Olson, Mallory. (2023, January 5). Mental health, recession, and mass shootings among college students’ top concerns in 2023. Business Wire. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230105005122/en/Mental-Health-Recession-and-Mass-Shootings-Among-College-Students%E2%80%99-Top-Concerns-in-2023

Numan, A., & Hasan, S. S. (2017). Effect of study habits on test anxiety and academic achievement of undergraduate students. Journal of Research & Reflections in Education (JRRE), 11(1), 1-14.

Roy, B., & Ghosh, S. (2013). Test anxiety and academic performance of school students. International Journal of Scientific Research, 2(1), 211-213.