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Cognitive Efficiency of Animated Pedagogical Agent for Learning Second Language
A Proposal Presented to the
Faculty of the Graduate School
University of Southern California
Sunhee Choi
University of Southern California
to
Dr. Richard E. Clark (Chair)
Dr. Edward Kazlauskas
Dr. Harold F. O’Neil, Jr.
Dr. Robert Rueda
Dr. Nam-kil Kim (Outside Member)
5424 Newcastel Ave. #229
Encino, CA 91316
(213)407-3378
Table of Contents
ABSTRACT 3
CHAPTER I: REVIEW OF LITERATURE 5
Introduction 5
Learning Second Language Grammar 8
Attention and Awareness in Second Language Learning 8
Instructional Methods to Focus Learner Attention 11
Studies on the Effects of Implicit and Explicit Methods 12
Summary 17
Cognitive Efficiency of Multimedia Learning 20
Theoretical Constructs Relevant to Cognitive Efficiency 21
Mental Effort Measurement 22
Self-Report Measures 22
Dual-Task Measures 23
Building Cognitive Efficiency in Multimedia Learning 25
Instructional Strategies to Reduce Cognitive Load 26
Avoiding split attention effects and Utilizing modality effects 28
Leaving out redundancy effects 29
Integrating Leaner Prior Knowledge and Expertise 31
Summary 32
Animated Pedagogical Agents 34
Benefits of Animated Pedagogical Agents 35
Motivating Learners 36
Focusing Learner Attention 41
Summary 44
Research Hypotheses 46
CHAPTER II: Methodology 53
Target English Grammar for Instruction 53
Participants 53
Research Design 53
Measures 54
Data Analysis 55
References 59
ABSTRACT
An animated pedagogical agent is a lifelike animated character that inhabits a computer-based learning environment, and provides learners with pedagogical assistance such as directing attention and giving contextualized advice. Recent studies that compare animated pedagogical agents with alternative media have resulted in ambiguous findings. Clark has claimed that animated pedagogical agents do not provide instructional benefits unless they deliver essential instructional methods and that any method can be implemented in a variety of media with equal learning impact (1983, 1994a, 1994b, 2001, In Press). He further argues that while animated pedagogical agents are able to present essential instructional methods, other less expensive and less distracting implementations of instructional methods are equally effective for learning.
The present study explores the use of APA’s as well as other delivery systems in a multimedia environment in which college level students learn English as a Second Language (ESL). Experiments will be conducted to assess the effects of two different instructional methods (metalinguistic rule presentation and visual enhancement) on the acquisition of English relative clauses which is measured through the comprehension and production tests.
The study also examines the cognitive efficiency of different delivery media including animated pedagogical agents and a simple flashing arrow used to deliver one of the instructional methods - visual enhancement. Cognitive efficiency refers to “one medium being more or less effortful than another, more or less likely to succeed with a particular learner, or interacting more or less usefully with a particular prior knowledge set” (Cobb, 1997, p. 25), leading to faster learning, or requiring less conscious effort from learners for processing learning material. The underlying premise of cognitive efficiency is that a specific medium used to present instruction may not produce different cognitive outcomes compared to another medium, but it still can have direct impact on cognitive processes.
The main argument of this study is that what causes learning is an instructional method, not a delivering medium such as animated pedagogical agents or flashing arrows. Therefore, the study hypothesizes that there will be no significant difference in learner performance on the target L2 grammar among participants who receive the same instructional methods that are delivered through different media. In addition, the present study argues that different media employed to deliver the same instructional method will have significant, different effect on levels of cognitive efficiency.
The design of the study is a true experimental with pre- and post test involving five treatment groups and one control group. The treatment groups will be different with regard to provision of explicit explanations on the target form and the provision of visual enhancement technique to focus learners’ attention on the target form. The participants will be randomly assigned in equal proportion to one of the six conditions. There are total five dependent variables in the present study which include mental effort measures, time measures, interest measures, attention measures, and performance measures. Descriptive statistics will be used throughout the study to estimate all measures. Additionally, Multiple Regression and MANOVA will be used to investigate the relationship among mediating (i.e., learner prior knowledge), process (i.e., time required to acquire the form, the amount of attention paid to the form), and outcome measures (i.e., scores for comprehension and production tests).
CHAPTER I: REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Introduction
The primary purpose of the present study is to examine the claims that Animated Pedagogical Agents (APA’s), when used in media-based instructional programs, increase learning scores over instructional treatments that do not employ APA’s (Atkinson, 2002; Johnson, Ricke, & Lester, 2000; Lester, Converse, Stone, Kahler, & Barlow, 1997). An APA is a lifelike animated character that inhabits a computer-based learning environment, and provides learners with pedagogical assistance such as directing attention and giving advice about learning strategies. Recent studies that compare APA’s with alternative treatments (Atkinson, 2002; Craig, Gholson, & Driscoll, 2002; Moreno, Mayer, Spires, & Lester, 2001) have resulted in ambiguous findings. Clark has claimed that APA’s (and other media and media attribute treatments) are not instrumental in learning unless they provide essential instructional methods and that any method can be implemented in a variety of ways with equal learning impact (1983, 1994a, 1994b, 2001, In Press). He further argues that while APA’s are able to present essential instructional methods such as instructional plans, examples, and feedback, other less expensive and less distracting implementations of instructional methods are equally effective for learning (i.e., using simple arrows or color coding of key points rather than having an APA “point” to text or parts of instructional graphics). Therefore, Clark concludes, it is the instructional method used, not the specific medium or audio-visual agent used to deliver the method that leads to learning gains.
Nevertheless, this argument is not settled. On the one hand, with the wide availability of multimedia and information technology, an ever increasing number of educational software programs are promoting the inclusion of multimedia elements in instruction as a panacea to learning problems (Kimmel & Deek, 1996; Lowe, 2002). And animated pedagogical agents are simply the latest iteration of recent technological advances in user interface and autonomous software agents that are being developed to aid instruction. On the other hand, a number of researchers and educational economists are concerned that unnecessarily expensive instructional tools are being proposed to solve critical learning and educational access problems when less expensive options would have either equal or greater impact on learning (Erickson, 1997; Levin & McEwan, 2001).
The present study will explore the use of APA’s as well as other delivery systems in a multimedia learning environment in which college level students learn English as a Second Language (ESL). Experiments will be conducted to assess the effects of two different instructional methods (metalinguistic rule presentation and visual enhancement) on the acquisition of English relative clauses which is measured through comprehension and production tests. In order to address the issue, the study will adopt a 2 (metalinguistic rule explanation: rule presentation, no rule presentation) by 3 (visual enhancement: animated pedagogical agent, flashing arrow, no visual enhancement) true experimental design. Other dependent variables will also be measured to estimate the relative effectiveness and efficiency of different methods and media used in the study, which include the mental effort, learning time, learner interest, and attention.
In addition, the study will examine the cognitive efficiency of different delivery media including animated pedagogical agents and a simple flashing arrow used to deliver one of the instructional methods - visual enhancement. According to Cobb (1997), who proposed to include ‘Cognitive Efficiency’ as a variable in media studies, cognitive efficiency refers to “one medium being more or less effortful than another, more or less likely to succeed with a particular learner, or interacting more or less usefully with a particular prior knowledge set” (p. 25), leading to faster learning, or requiring less conscious effort from learner for processing learning materials (Cobb, 1997; Clark, 1998).
The underlying principle of cognitive efficiency is that a specific medium through which instruction is presented to learners may not produce different cognitive outcomes compared to another, such as a superior mental representation, but it still can have direct impact on cognitive processes with different levels of cognitive efficiency. In other words, different media in which an instruction is delivered might end up with the same cognitive product, but they can determine how different learners with different prior knowledge process the information presented to them. Despite its potential for multimedia- and computer-assisted learning, cognitive efficiency is still in the early stage of development and needs to have sound theoretical frameworks and empirical evidence to support its hypothesis.
To lay out the foundation of the present study, the following sections will review relevant theories and research findings and investigate how to build cognitive efficiency of multimedia learning using an animated pedagogical agent and an alternative flashing arrow. First, the review will look at the factors involved in learning second language (L2) grammar, which will be the learning task as well as the dependent variable of the present study. In particular, it will focus on instructional methods that have been found to enhance the acquisition of L2 grammar. Secondly, the review will look at the factors relevant to cognitive efficiency and examine the ways to improve cognitive efficiency in multimedia learning environment. Finally, the review will summarize what and how studies have been conducted in the field of animated pedagogical agent and closely examine APA’s from a cognitive efficiency perspective, and then outline the challenges facing the field including the need for a sound study design to clarify to what factors learning outcomes can be attributed.
Learning Second Language Grammar
The status of grammar instruction in second and foreign language (L2) education has changed throughout history as theories about the nature of language and language acquisition have changed (Richards & Rodgers, 1998). Over the last two decades, in particular, the question of the role of grammar instruction in L2 acquisition, whether it facilitates L2 acquisition or not, has been a major topic of debate, and thereby has produced a considerable number of theories and studies (Norris & Ortega, 2000). Yet, the focus of L2 instruction research has gradually moved from whether L2 instruction is necessary to what instructional methods are more effective for L2 grammar acquisition (Norris & Ortega, 2000), since Long (1983) concluded that L2 grammar instruction indeed makes difference in learner performance after comparing the learner achievement of explicit instruction with that of natural exposure or combination of two. Over the last two decades, a number of quasi-experimental and experimental studies have been conducted to examine the effectiveness of various instructional treatments. Despite the variety of the instructional methods, the basic premise of these methods is the same: an instructional treatment should attract learners’ focal attention to the target L2 form, another common term for grammar in the field of Second Language Acquisition (SLA), within a meaningful context so that the form is more likely to be noticed, processed, and acquired (Schmidt, 1995; Spada, 1997). The role of attention in second language learning and measurement issues are discussed in the next section and several instructional methods to draw learner attention in the following section.
Attention and Awareness in Second Language Learning
The role of attention and awareness in learning has been extensively studied both in psychology and second language acquisition (Curran & Keele, 1993; Dulany, 1991; Reber, 1976, 1989, 1993; Schmidt, 1995; Tomlin & Villa, 1994). The general consensus in SLA is that attention to a certain linguistic feature is required for learning to take place. However, it is still controversial how much and what type of subjective awareness of an L2 form is necessary for learning to occur (Izumi, 2002). There are three major positions regarding this question. First, Schmidt (1990, 1995, 2001), based on his Noticing Hypothesis, claims that “what learners notice in input becomes intake for learning” (1995, p. 20), Here, noticing is referred to as cognitive registration of stimuli (e.g., meaning or form of L2 input) in conscious awareness followed by storage in long-term memory, and intake as the portion of input which has been perceived and processed by learners. From Schmidt’s point of view, therefore, learning cannot take place without learners’ subjective awareness at the level of noticing.
On the contrary, Tomlin and Villa (1994) proposed a theoretical model of attention in which attention is divided into three interrelated processes; alertness – “general readiness to deal with incoming stimuli or data” (p. 190), orientation – “the specific aligning of attention on a stimulus” (p. 191), and detection – “the cognitive registration of sensory stimuli” (p. 192). Drawing from this model, they argue that conscious awareness is not necessary for learning even though it might facilitate learning, and what is crucial for learning is the detection which does not require learners’ conscious awareness.
The third position comes from Robinson (1995) who posits himself in the middle of the previous two positions. He contends that learning might happen when a learner detects the form without focal attention or subjective awareness, but the amount of learning would be very limited. Rather, in order to store a stimulus into memory one has to detect and notice the target form, which then should be rehearsed in short-term memory. Despite this controversy, it is now widely agreed that conscious, focal attention is necessary for learning to take place and a higher level of subjective awareness or noticing is correlated with better learning (Rosa & O'Neill, 1999). Therefore, the present study will measure learner attention by examine whether learners have noticed the form. Then, it will be hypothesized that participants’ conscious awareness of the target L2 form will have significant effect on the level of learner performance measured by comprehension and production tests on the target grammar.
There is another issue that has been subject to debate in the field - the ways to measure the amount of learner attention and awareness. Attention measurement is constructed mostly based on Schmidt’s operational definition of noticing (Schmidt, 1995) - the availability for verbalizing what one has experienced during or right after exposure to the input. Accordingly, many measuring methods employ learner self-report or questionnaires that are believed to capture what learners have experienced during the exposure to a grammatical form. Yet, it should be noted that some experiences are not easy to report or verbalize, and hence, the lack of self-report does not necessarily mean the lack of awareness (Schmidt, 1995). Leow (1998) also pointed out that the indirect post-experiment methods may obtain only indirect evidence of learners’ attention to the form. Moreover, retrospective self-report measures are restricted to a certain degree in that that learners might have limited ability to retain in their memory what they have experienced, and they could report what they have inferred instead of what they have actually experienced (Rosa & O’Neill, 1999).