Research on the role of attention in improving video-based learning

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Education is moving online. During the global pandemic, this ongoing process accelerated and educators increasingly leveraged existing online video content to supplement synchronous remote instruction. One problem with this approach is that passive viewing of video content is not a particularly effective form of instruction. Many students struggle to sustain their attention to online video, and this is reflected in poor performance in subsequent tests of learning. This project will explore a variety of interventions that aim to engage the students with such video material. These interventions include such characteristics as interleaving questions and feedback, prompting constructive thinking and facilitating discussion with other students. The premise is that active viewing enhances attention and leads to better learning outcomes. This laboratory research aims to refine the concept of “student engagement”, which at present does not distinguish between active participation and attention to the learning material, two important but potentially differing factors that contribute to learning. This fundamental research on learning is made possible by measuring attentional engagement directly using brain and eye activity. From a practical point of view, the goal of this project is to identify simple interventions teachers can use to better leverage the vast trove of educational videos available online. The overall objective of this project is to improve the efficacy of video in remote instruction. The basic hypothesis is that attentional engagement with educational video mediates learning and that attentional engagement can be enhanced with interventions that promote active viewing. This hypothesis motivates the following aims. Aim 1: Test interventions that convert passive viewing into active viewing to improve learning: Specifically, identify interventions that improve attention and learning with existing short STEM education videos. Interventions will be tested prospectively on an online platform while recruiting participants online and among STEM college students. Aim 2: Explain the effects of attentional engagement with video on learning: Specifically, test the basic hypothesis by determining whether the effect of successful active viewing interventions prospectively affect attentional engagement and performance. Attention will be measured with eye tracking in remote experiments and with EEG in the lab, while recruiting among STEM college students. The project will also test the effect of cognitive traits and the learning environment. Aim 3: Include students from groups underrepresented in STEM fields in the research. Specifically, students will assist in research with eye tracking and EEG, as well as the selection of video material and design of test questions. In doing so, these student researchers will provide their unique perspective on the challenges of remote learning.This project is funded by the EHR Core Research (ECR) program, which supports fundamental research on STEM learning and learning environments, broadening participation in STEM, and STEM workforce development.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.