Effects of an Animated Pedagogical Agent with Instructional Strategies in Mutlimedia Learning Yung, H. I. (2009). Effects of an animated pedagogical agent with instructional strategies in mutlimedia learning. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 18(1), Presenter: Wan-Ning Chen Professor: Ming-Puu Chen Date: March 9, 2009

Instruction (1/2)  Scaffolding as an instructional strategy for improving instruction has been explored across a range of disciplines in support of learning within the multimedia environment. The notion of scaffolding has been linked to technology with embedding animated agents (Chee, 1994; Mayer, Moreno, Spires, & Lester, 2001; Moreno & Valdez, 2005).  The specific objective of this research was to contribute to the development of scaffolding for the effective use of animated pedagogical agents to facilitate constructivist learning in a computer-based environment.  Two particular functions of scaffolding: coaching and supported practice.  From the cognitive perspective, the aim of scaffolding is to provide pedagogical support, (e.g., illustrative examples) (Cairncross & Mannion, 2001).

Instruction (2/2)  In recent years, researchers have emphasized the possible embedding of animated agents in the multimedia environment because the design of an animated agent provides feedback, advice, and practice through interactions (Chee, 1994; Mayer, Moreno, Spires, & Lester, 2001; Moreno & Valdez, 2005).  Recent studies have integrated scaffolding within interactive learning environments and found that extending scaffolding with animated agents can advance learning as well as facilitate the building of mental models (Hogan, Nastasi, & Pressley, 1999; Merrill, Resier, Merrill, & Landes, 1995).  Multimedia learning enables students to obtain better understanding through the receipt of verbal and visual explanations (Mayer, 2003).  A series of research studies were conducted to examine the assumptions of the multimedia environment for enhancing learning. However, the findings failed to reveal significant differences with regard to the dynamic examples employed to attract learner attention––these did not serve to enhance deeper levels of information processing (Rogers & Scaif, 1997).

Research Questions Do students perform better when the animated agent is presented with visual prompts than in the no agent condition? 2 Do students perform better when the animated agent is presented with verbal prompts than in the no agent condition? 1

Instructional Materials (1/2)  The computer-based instruction that was transformed and adopted in this study came from a paper on instructional materials by Dwyer and Lamberski (1977). The instruction consisted of 20 web-screens with an 1,800 word narrative on the human heart and its functions.  The independent variables were the agent properties (the agent with verbal prompts, agent with visual prompts) for the control group.  A pretest consisting of 36 items was administered to assess participants’ prior knowledge of the content.  After completing the instruction, three groups received two criterion measures to evaluate their learning outcomes. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was administered to analyze the data.  Terminology Test  The terminology test consisted of 20 multiple-choice items designed to measure knowledge of facts, terms, and definitions.  Comprehension Test  The comprehensive test consisted of 20 multiple-choice items and measured understanding of interrelationships of heart functions.

Instructional Materials (2/2)  Treatment 1: Instructional unit with static graphic (Control group)  Only 1,800 word text and static graphics, no animated agents or cognitive strategies.  Treatment 2: Verbal prompts  Participants were asked to review the main idea after completing the unit. Verbal prompts were presented by animated agent via the “Tell me” button. Upon clicking the button, a dialogue box was presented that contained explanations of the main concepts presented.  Verbal prompts were structured to support learner encoding and elaborations (Levin & Pressley, 1985).  Treatment 3: Visual prompts  Participants were asked to review the main idea after completing the unit. Visual prompts were presented with an animated agent via the “Show me” button. Upon clicking the button, a dialogue box was presented that contained pictorial explanations of the main concept.  The visual prompts were designed to emphasize the critical concept presented in the unit.

Click ”Key word” Click ”Show me”

Results (1/2)  ANOVA was used to analyze the pre- and post-test scores for the effects of instructional strategies.  Terminology test:  The visual prompts group (M=11.38, SD=4.14) scored higher than the verbal prompts group (M=9.13, SD=4.64).  Comprehension test:  The visual prompts group (M=11.07, SD=4.61) scored higher than the verbal prompts group (M=8.13, SD=4.00) and the control group.

Results (2/2)  The ANOVA result for the two criterion measures are shown in Table 2.  Terminology test:  No main effects were found (F (2, 63) =1.94, p>.05).  Comprehension test:  The average across the three groups yielded a significant difference (F (2,63) = 4.79, p<.05).

Discussion (1/2)  The findings :  Students performed better when they accessed the visual prompts on the comprehension test.  Pictures have higher probability than text to facilitate conceptual understanding and retention.  No significant differences were found between the control and the verbal prompts groups on both criterion measures. This suggested that students may have used their own learning strategies rather than employing embedded instructional strategies in constructing knowledge (Carlson, Kincaid, Lance & Hodgson, 1976).  Students in the visual prompts group outperformed the verbal prompts group on the comprehension and terminology tests. The theoretical implication of this finding is the former group extracted meanings from both the pictures and text in a manner that enabled them to better comprehend the instruction (Carney & Levin, 2002).

Discussion (2/2)  The findings showed that visual prompts  reinforce the text and serve as mental scaffolds that support learners in recalling information.  support learners’ understanding of complex processes.  Limitation:  The level of learners’ prior knowledge and the interaction with prompts.

Conclusion  Theoretical perspective:  This study confirmed multimedia learning design principles, such as the interactivity principle and multimedia principle (Mayer, 2003).  Animated agent is not necessary effective for supporting low levels of learning objectives.  The animated agent may be most effective for facilitate critical thinking and problem solving process.  Practical perspective:  It is critical to consider multimedia design from the perspectives of cognitive psychology and instructional design while embedding the animated agent.  The design of interactive activities to promote learning as well as scaffold learners toward expert performance will be critical for further study.