Onscreen presence of instructors in video lectures affects learners' neural synchrony and visual attention during multimedia learning

• 成果类型: Article
• 署名作者: Gu, Chanyuan; Peng, Yingying; Nastase, Samuel A.; Mayer, Richard E.; Li, Ping
• 署名单位: Hong Kong Polytechnic University; Princeton University; University of California System; University of California Santa Barbara; Hong Kong Polytechnic University
• 刊物名称: PROCEEDINGS OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMY OF SCIENCES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
• ISSN/ISSBN: 0027-9821
• DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2309054121
• 发表日期: 2024-03-19
• 关键词: modeling examples; functional architecture; brain; cortex; face; ORGANIZATION; metaanalysis; cognition; gaze

摘要

COVID-19 forced students to rely on online learning using multimedia tools, and multimedia learning continues to impact education beyond the pandemic. In this study, we combined behavioral, eye- tracking, and neuroimaging paradigms to identify multimedia learning processes and outcomes. College students viewed four video lectures including slides with either an onscreen human instructor, an animated instructor, or no onscreen instructor. Brain activity was recorded via fMRI, visual attention was recorded via eye - tracking, and learning outcome was assessed via post- tests. Onscreen presence of instructor, compared with no instructor presence, resulted in superior post - test performance, less visual attention on the slide, more synchronized eye movements during learning, and higher neural synchronization in cortical networks associated with socio- emotional processing and working memory. Individual variation in cognitive and socio- emotional abilities and intersubject neural synchronization revealed different levels of cognitive and socio- emotional processing in different learning conditions. The instructor- present condition evoked increased synchronization, likely reflecting extra processing demands in attentional control, working memory engagement, and socio- emotional processing. Although human instructors and animated instructors led to comparable learning outcomes, the effects were due to the dynamic interplay of information processing vs. attentional distraction. These findings reflect a benefit-cost trade - off where multimedia learning outcome is enhanced only when the cognitive benefits motivated by the social presence of onscreen instructor outweigh the cognitive costs brought about by concurrent attentional distraction unrelated to learning. Significance COVID- 19 forced students to rely on online learning. Although the pandemic has subsided, online learning through multimedia instructional videos continues to shape education. This study evaluates the key principles associated with students' processing of socio- emotional cues in multimedia learning. Our findings support the learning benefits of the social presence of both human and virtual instructors in online videos, with benefits varying across individuals. The data suggest a trade - off mechanism where socio- emotional processing must outweigh concurrent visual distractions to improve learning outcomes. Our findings hold significant implications for today's education in a digital era, where online video learning is prevalent.