Immersive virtual reality (IVR) applications that support student learning have gained increasing interest. However, empirical studies exploring the educational potential of using IVR in primary school science classrooms are lacking. This study developed a series of IVR science lessons for primary school students and examined the effects of these lessons on learning outcomes. Our mixed-method approach employed pre-and post-tests to measure academic achievement, questionnaires to measure motivation and cognitive load, and semi-structured interviews to further explore students’ feelings and attitudes about IVR science lessons. Participants included 362 Grade 4 students randomly assigned to either the experimental (IVR-based classroom) or control (traditional classroom) groups. The experimental group engaged in IVR science lessons using head-mounted displays; the control group learned the same material through traditional methods. The results showed that the IVR-based classroom significantly improved primary students’ academic achievement and science motivation and decreased their cognitive load. Moreover, the experimental group reported positive experiences with the IVR science lessons. These findings help unpack the relationships between IVR and academic achievement, science motivation, and cognitive load in primary school science lessons, thus providing insight on integrating IVR into existing classrooms.

Outbreak of COVID-19, online examination, and e-proctoring have caused more exam anxiety and affected exam performance among students’ studying in International Baccalaureate (IB) Diploma Programme (DP). Therefore, the present research aimed to find effect of online test anxiety on academic performance of IBDP students in the subjects related to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM). Study employed quantitative descriptive survey research design and administered survey questionnaire to 200 IB DP students who took online test during COVID-19 through convenient sampling technique. Sample included both first and final year DP students with due representation to boys and girls. Results of the study revealed a moderate negative correlation between online test anxiety and academic performance of IBDP students in STEM subjects. Regression analysis explained 14.1% variation in the STEM subject performance because of online exam anxiety under e-proctored condition. There exists a statistically significant difference between first and final year students’ online exam anxiety and STEM subject average grades. Future research may focus on conducting comfortable online examination methods with no additional exam anxieties.

Asynchronous online discussions (AODs) can fail to benefit student learning in online classes if they are not designed to promote higher-order thinking. AODs can be designed as collaborative learning events that prompt students to go beyond the reproduction of basic content. The purpose of this study was to describe student participation, interaction, and levels of learning in AODs following pre-work activities. The pre-work in this study was conceptualized as socio-cognitive scaffolding. It engaged students in common activities where everyone experienced the same content preparation prior to the AOD. During the AOD students were prompted to share, discuss, and validate their understanding of the content. The study was conducted with 49 students in a graduate-level project management course. Results revealed that students were engaged in discussions of content-related material and showed evidence of deep learning during the AODs. Specifically, students analyzed, evaluated, and synthesized information during the collaboration. Results suggested that pre-work activities can be a promising strategy in the design of AODs.

The increased availability and development of immersive technologies have given students growing opportunities to engage in different educational subjects. However, there is a lack of empirical research exploring the educational influence of using Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) in science classrooms. To address this gap, this study developed a series of IVR-based science lessons for middle-school students and further examined these lessons’ effects on learning performance. Our quasi-experimental approach employed a pretest and posttest to measure academic achievement and questionnaires to measure engagement and technology acceptance. A total of 90 sixth-grade students from two classes were randomly assigned to the experimental and control groups. The experimental group engaged with the science lessons using Head-Mounted Displays, whereas the control group learned the same material through traditional teaching methods. The results revealed that the experimental group obtained significantly higher academic achievement and engagement scores (cognitive, behavioral, emotional and social) than the control group. Moreover, the experimental group had a high level of technology acceptance for IVR usage in classrooms. Our study provides empirical evidence for IVR’s use in science education. Furthermore, it also sheds light on how to develop and implement an IVR-based classroom for formal educational purposes.

This study focused on student-content interactions and engagement in an online graduate course. Student descriptions of their experiences and learning processes in relation to digital course resources were examined to understand how and why resources were used. Fourteen students provided detailed explanations of their use and perceived value of resources in gaining content knowledge. Results were mapped by whole group to examine patterns of behavior in use of course e-text, video tutorials, and self-check quizzes. Interactions with course e-text and video tutorials – reported as the primary sources for learning content – were also mapped on an individual level. Student explanations were then examined through the lens of Generative Learning Theory to further describe students process for learning content. Continued study of connections between learning resources and student-content interaction and engagement may inform effective and efficient design of online educational experiences.

This study investigated how community college students in an online introductory-level language course self-regulated their learning while using digital learning resources. An analysis of reflective journals revealed that learners reported engaging with resources in ways consistent with the six dimensions of self-regulated learning. Only learners who demonstrated higher levels of oral proficiency reported monitoring performance. There were also differences in use of time and methods of learning used by learners at different performance levels. All participants struggled to remain motivated throughout the course. These findings offer evidence that providing scaffolding for monitoring performance, methods of learning, use of time, and motivation may be helpful to online language learners.

Students’ reflection on their gameplay is necessary for a meaningful game-based learning experience, especially in science education. This study reviewed the literature on the design and effects of students’ reflection support in game-based science learning. Fourteen empirical and theoretical articles out of 131 identified articles from four databases were included after the searching and screening process. Findings revealed that reflection support varied in the support type (e.g., in-game prompts or instructor guidance), support triggered time (e.g., during or after gameplay), and response type (e.g., no response, written or spoken). Both in-game reflection prompts and instructor guided-reflection are promising in facilitating students’ science learning, and the effects varied based on the design and implementation of the support. Implications on future studies and design of reflection support in game-based science learning are discussed.

Deep content learning requires learners to think about content. Interacting with digital resources and interactive technology-based instructional environments does not guarantee engagement in content thinking. Formal and informal instructional activities and environments are being inundated with opportunities for learners to interact in multiple ways with content through emerging interactive technologies. Questions are being raised as to whether these interactions are leading to critical thinking and deeper content learning. It is not enough to merely interact or “play with” technology resources, rather learners must cognitively manipulate, think about, and reflect on content purposefully, in multiple and flexible ways, throughout these interactions to reach deeper knowledge. This chapter provides a conceptual description of learning and argues for a set of common guidelines to design learning resources and learning environments that integrate interactive technologies in ways that support learners in making meaningful content connections. This set of guidelines was drawn from a synthesis of overlapping tenets defined in generative learning, cognitive-flexibility, and reflection theories and is supported by a multitude of research investigations. Examples of these guidelines in-use, directly integrated into resources or through supporting instructional resources, show how learners can benefit from physical interactions that prompt thinking to achieve deeper content knowledge.

Knowledge of the types of literary conflicts embedded in audiovisual materials helps translators find more accurate lexical equivalents in the target language. Conflicts generate certain emotions in fictional characters. The translator’s objective is to make the audience perceive the translation similarly to how the audience perceives it in the original. However, expression of emotions is different in different languages. Therefore, when the translator knows which type of conflict and what emotions are dominant in a scene, the translator is freer to forgo word-for-word translation in order to preserve the holistic nature of the story and attain the effect on the audience commensurate with that of the original.

Students construct knowledge during asynchronous online discussions (AODs). Discussion postings show students’ cognitive presence (CP) patterns and levels of content learning (CL). The purpose of this longitudinal field observation study was to investigate the patterns of, and relationships among, a same cohort of graduate students’ cognitive presence and content knowledge level demonstrated within and across the AODs in two consecutive courses, over two semesters. Content analysis of online discussion postings, descriptive and correlational statistics were used to analyze data. The results indicated that the exploration was the most active phase emerged in AODs, followed by the integration, triggering event, and resolution. There was a significant change in integration phase of CP and content knowledge levels over time. Moreover, the results yielded significant relationships among CP patterns and content knowledge levels. The findings have important implications theoretically in terms of confirming the CP patterns emerged in AODs and practically by identifying the dynamics of each of the CP phases and their associations with content learning.

Students construct knowledge during asynchronous online discussions (AODs). Discussion postings show students’ cognitive presence (CP) patterns and levels of content learning (CL). The purpose of this longitudinal field observation study was to investigate the patterns of, and relationships among, a same cohort of graduate students’ cognitive presence and content knowledge level demonstrated within and across the AODs in two consecutive courses, over two semesters. Content analysis of online discussion postings, descriptive and correlational statistics were used to analyze data. The results indicated that the exploration was the most active phase emerged in AODs, followed by the integration, triggering event, and resolution. There was a significant change in integration phase of CP and content knowledge levels over time. Moreover, the results yielded significant relationships among CP patterns and content knowledge levels. The findings have important implications theoretically in terms of confirming the CP patterns emerged in AODs and practically by identifying the dynamics of each of the CP phases and their associations with content learning.

The task on direct or reverse subtitling of a video fragment — an element of audiovisual translation — has shown positive results in foreign language learners. This task can be adapted in the training of future translators. It stimulates students’ complex cognitive processes and facilitates their deep learning. Students learn to apply translation principles and use the mother tongue more flexibly through reflection, reasoning, analysis of the original’s purpose, use of relevant prior knowledge in new contexts, synthesis of ideas, and justification of translation solutions. A preliminary task can be used in support of the subtitling task whereby students compare and contrast their own translations of video fragments with the existing official translation.

Research shows that doctoral students are more likely to graduate if they have a support group (Hill & Conceição, 2020; Jairam & Kahl, 2012). At Syracuse University, two doctoral students and a professor emeritus started a Dissertation Working Group (DWG) in 2018. Doctoral and sometimes master's students met voluntarily every semester 10 times and shared common concerns, gave feedback on each other’s work, and gave opportunities for students to practice their conference presentation deliveries and dissertation defenses. Informality of the gathering and a sense of shared experience glued the group and helped work with affective struggles that so often accompany doctoral students during their doctoral journeys.