Social effects in video-based online courses: the effects of instructor presence and the influence of language use

• Applicant: Professor Dr. Maik Beege
• Subject Area: General and Domain-Specific Teaching and Learning ; Developmental and Educational Psychology
• Term: since 2024
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 533969718

The use of online tools increased significantly, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. At many educational institutions, all teaching has since been digitized and video formats have been used for instruction. However, many research questions about the design of video-based online courses remain unresolved. For example, there is the question of whether videos should focus on the essential visual information (blackboard image; PowerPoint) or lecturers should be visible in the video. Based on the Cognitive-Affective-Social Theory of Learning in digital Environments (CASTLE), visible lecturers can be defined as social cues, but their influence on learning processes is controversially discussed. Empirical findings exist that show both a learning-promoting effect of a visible lecturer but there are contrary findings as well. Therefore, central hypotheses of CASTLE are formulated in the context of instructional videos. Besides the general influence of the visibility of the lecturer on learning processes, the language use of the lecturer as a moderator variable is investigated. After piloting knowledge tests for the already created learning material, the first study focuses on the Cognitive Influence-Hypothesis of CASTLE. This involves investigating whether visible lecturers also direct the learner's attention to the lecturer's verbal presentation. The first experiment (N1 = 140) involves a single-factor two-tiered design with variation in lecturer visibility (visible vs. not visible) as the independent variable. The learning material is an instructional video which is created in the design of a web conferencing system. Based on the results, it can be specified to what extent the visibility of the lecturer draws attention to verbally presented instructions and away from visually presented information. This differentiation will be implemented at the measurement level. The following experiments aim to investigate the Interaction-Hypothesis and Schema Influence-Hypothesis of CASTLE. Therefore, two additional experiments are conducted, each focusing on one hypothesis. These experiments (N2/3 = 171) are created with 2x2 between-subjects designs, and manipulate other language variables besides lecturer visibility. Experiment 2 (Interaction-Hypothesis) manipulates voice emotionality (enthusiastic vs. neutral) and Experiment 3 (Schema Influence-Hypothesis) manipulates personalization of instruction (personalized vs. formal). The dependent variables will be retention and transfer questions and, depending on the experiment, cognitive load, or motivational, emotional, and social variables. Finally, a framework article will be published that critically discusses the central hypotheses of CASLTE and extends or supports the theory.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants