Effects of students’ emotions on cognitive load and performance while using pen-tablets for learning Japanese writing: An investigation based on individual pen pressure parameters
Final Report Abstract
The overall aim of the project was to investigate the effectiveness of a pen tablet based educational technology and task complexity within for learning how to write Japanese letters from a cognitive and affective perspective. On a cognitive perspective, cognitive load and writing performance were the focus of the investigation. Besides, learner expertise as cognitive trait characteristic and its interaction with task complexity was examined as an extension of the planned project. On an affective perspective, learning-centred emotions and their development while learning was assessed. Thereby, a closer look was especially done on the impact of learner expertise (i.e. novices vs. advanced learners) and its interaction with task complexity (low, moderate, high) on learningcentred emotions, how these are related to cognitive load and learning performance, and whether these could be measured in a dynamic, unobtrusive way by using pen pressure parameters tracked while writing with the pen tablet. The focus on learning-centred emotions is insofar important as they are proposed to alter cognitive processes and performance, but have been investigated only marginal in the context of educational technologies for foreign-language writing. Furthermore, with focus on learner expertise and its interaction with task-based and instructional characteristics, previous research is predominantly based on the mentioned cognitive factors, which, however, could not explain alone the sometimes-mixed findings. Learning-centred emotions are assumed to play an important role for explanation, too. According to the cognitive perspective, the results indicate that cognitive load increased with increased task complexity for both novices and advanced learners. Advanced learners performed better than novices across the range of task complexity, but the moderate task complexity was shown to be superior in enhancing performance for both levels of expertise. On an affective perspective, advanced learners reported lower enjoyment and higher frustration when completing the low complexity task when learning to write Japanese letters, whereas the moderately complex task was reported to be the most enjoyable and less frustrating for these learners. No significant difference in emotions was found across levels of task complexity for novices. Finally, a composite indicator of cognitive-affective efficiency of instructional conditions, showed a significant interaction between levels of learner expertise and task complexity primarily caused by learning-centred emotions. Therefore, it can be argued that educational technologies, which are not adapted to emotional aspects of learning (even if they are adequate from a purely cognitive perspective), may run the risk of inhibiting rather than facilitating learning. Concerning the question of the measurement of learning-centred emotions, the results show that the minimum, maximum and average pen pressure all serve at least as indicators of enjoyment and frustration. More research, however, is needed to validate these findings and to further use these with the goal to develop a micro-adaptive educational technology.
Publications
- (2020). Linking students’ emotions to engagement and writing performance when learning Japanese letters with a penbased tablet: An investigation based on individual pen-pressure parameters. International Journal of Human-Computer Studies, 135, 1-11
Schrader, C. & Kalyuga, S.
(See online at https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijhcs.2019.102374)
