Importance of interaction for multimedia learning

Arum Han, Purdue University

Abstract

This thesis examines how differing types of training can improve children's learning from a video. Using the Preferential Looking Paradigm, we tested the effects of social (i.e., eye gaze and an animated character) versus attentional (i.e., audio-visual synchrony without a social interaction) components in the importance of remembering story elements. Specifically, children learned associations between shapes and containers (e.g., star in a house) from a video and were then tested on remembering these pairings immediately following the training phase and after a short break. Younger children (30-month-olds) showed better memory for pairings from the social training condition both before and after a break, while older children (36-month-olds) were inconsistent in their performance, despite better knowledge for the names for the shapes. Overall, these findings suggest that social cues play an important role in children's learning, especially at 30-months.

Degree

M.S.

Advisors

Hollich, Purdue University.

Subject Area

Developmental psychology

COinS