Computers & Education最新文献

{"title":"Using ChatGPT to bring non-player characters to life: Effects on students’ storyline-driven game-based writing learning","authors":"Ya Xiao ,&nbsp;Danling Li ,&nbsp;Kai Guo","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105414","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105414","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study introduces a novel design approach to game-based learning by integrating ChatGPT into the development of non-player characters (NPCs) within storylines. This integration seeks to enhance interactivity with student players and foster an immersive, dynamic learning environment. We applied this approach in English as a Foreign Language (EFL) writing classrooms to examine its impact on both the affective and cognitive aspects of student writing learning, as well as their writing performance. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the study involved two classes of Chinese undergraduate students. One class (n = 42) engaged with ChatGPT-powered NPCs, while the other class (n = 43) interacted with conventional NPCs in a storyline-based game designed to enhance argumentative writing skills. Quantitative data were collected through questionnaires assessing students' intrinsic motivation, situational interest, cognitive load, and effort regulation. Additionally, student essays were evaluated to compare writing performance across the two conditions. Qualitative data, including students' chat histories with ChatGPT-powered NPCs, were gathered to investigate their interactions. The results indicated that engaging with ChatGPT-enhanced NPCs positively influenced students' intrinsic motivation and situational interest, leading them to invest greater effort in completing learning tasks. Notably, interactions with ChatGPT-enhanced NPCs did not increase students’ cognitive load during the learning process. Moreover, students who interacted with ChatGPT-powered NPCs exhibited superior writing performance, producing essays that were significantly clearer, more elaborated, and more persuasive, while also more effectively addressing opposing viewpoints. Additionally, students employed various conversational strategies while interacting with these NPCs. This study not only advances our understanding of the role of generative artificial intelligence in educational contexts but also provides valuable insights for educators seeking to enhance student engagement and learning outcomes through innovative instructional strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105414"},"PeriodicalIF":10.5,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144720865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interactivity and signaling in Immersive Virtual Reality: Effects on EFL learning experiences and outcomes","authors":"Lei Cai ,&nbsp;Zixun Wang ,&nbsp;Chenghao Wang ,&nbsp;Bin Zou ,&nbsp;Xusheng Zhang","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105412","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105412","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) is used in education due to its high level of immersion, interactivity, and engaging learning experience, particularly in situated learning scenarios such as foreign language acquisition. While IVR has been widely used in situated learning, its effectiveness, particularly in second language learning through interactivity and signaling, remains underexplored. According to the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (CTML) and the Cognitive-Affective Model of Immersive Learning (CAMIL), this study investigates how different signaling types (Traditional vs. Anti-Signaling) and levels of interactivity affect learners’ effectiveness in IVR environments. To explore their interrelationship, we conducted a mixed-factor experiment in which both factors served as independent variables, and the dependent variables included learning outcomes, cognitive load, and intrinsic motivation, among others. The results indicate that medium interactivity yields the most favorable learning outcomes, followed by high interactivity, with low interactivity performing worst across all measures. The proposed approach (Anti-Signaling) has been shown to be effective in mitigating the negative effects associated with increased interactivity. With Anti-Signaling, high interactivity can achieve similar learning outcomes to medium interactivity. However, no significant differences were observed between signaling types at medium or low levels of interactivity. These findings point to an interaction between interactivity and signaling, in which the benefits of signaling become more pronounced as interactivity increases. Besides, no significant negative effects were observed when applying Anti-Signaling, suggesting that it serves as a harmless strategy. Our findings offer valuable insights into the effects of varying interactivity and highlight the use of anti-signals in IVR learning, particularly in relation to learning efficiency and user experience.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105412"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144704612","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Inoculating students against misleading data visualizations with perceptual training and informative feedback","authors":"Jihyun Rho ,&nbsp;Martina Angela Rau ,&nbsp;Xiaojin Zhu","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105413","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105413","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Misleading visualizations are a form of misinformation that distort data interpretation, leading to misunderstandings and poor decision-making. Despite their prevalence in both traditional and digital media, there is limited research on effective educational interventions that help students recognize and resist such deceptive visualization techniques. In this study, we developed a perceptual training intervention specifically designed to inoculate students against misleading visualizations. Unlike traditional perceptual trainings that typically involve only correct visuals, trainings for misleading visualizations require the inclusion of erroneous visual examples. While the informative feedback can help students to efficiently recognize such misleading visualizations and extract correct information, it may also disrupt the inductive learning during training, potentially reducing its overall effectiveness. To shed light into these possibilities, we investigated the role of informative feedback in a perceptual training designed for misleading visualizations. We conducted two experiments with large samples of undergraduate students (Experiment 1: N = 252, Experiment 2: N = 244). Experiment 1 tested the short-term effects of different informative feedback types during perceptual training, while Experiment 2 examined both the long-term retention (after one month) and near transfer to novel misleading visualizations. Results showed that informative feedback significantly improved students’ accuracy and efficiency in detecting misleading features within visualizations. Students also transferred these skills to novel misleading visualization types, and critically the benefits of informative feedback were sustained over a month. These results highlight the potential of perceptual trainings with informative feedback to inoculate students against misleading visualizations, offering valuable guidance for the development of educational interventions aimed at mitigating the effects of visual misinformation.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105413"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-19","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144665029","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Why this app: How user ratings and app store rankings impact parents’ choice of educational apps","authors":"Emma Liptrot,&nbsp;Armaghan Montazami,&nbsp;Heather Ann Pearson,&nbsp;Adam Kenneth Dubé","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105410","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105410","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Parents should look for benchmarks of educational quality (curriculum, feedback, scaffolding, learning theory, and development team) to distinguish good apps from the abundance of poor-quality apps available in mobile app stores. If parents instead base their choices on user ratings or the app's ranking in the top charts of the education category, they risk selecting apps that do not offer quality educational experiences for their children. Thus, the present study investigates how ratings, rankings, and educational benchmarks impact parents' choices of educational apps. One-hundred and forty-nine parents of children in kindergarten to grade 6 viewed and evaluated 18 researcher-created educational math app pages. Results from a repeated-measures MANOVA and non-parametric tests revealed that parents were more likely to download, pay more for, and rate apps higher when they had positive user ratings, with a large effect, and parents generally preferred apps with bottom rankings, with a medium effect. Yet, the effect of educational benchmarks on parents' decisions was unclear. This study demonstrates an important problem in parents' app selection: when user ratings are available in app stores, parents rely heavily on this poor source of evidence of educational quality to choose apps for their kids. To address this, researchers should develop trainings and guidelines to help parents evaluate educational quality, and app stores should improve their rating and ranking systems to facilitate the selection of high-quality educational apps.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105410"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144665030","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"The complexities of digital media use in adolescents’ learning and academic performance: An experience sampling study","authors":"Sophie Mayen ,&nbsp;Anne Reinhardt ,&nbsp;Claudia Wilhelm","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105411","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105411","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The increasing amount of time adolescents spend engaged with digital media has raised concerns about its impact on academic performance. This study investigates the relationship between adolescents’ digital media use and academic performance, considering the mediating role of time spent on schoolwork. Between September and November 2022, 3087 responses were collected from 343 Austrian students using the experience sampling method. The data captured the use of social media, gaming, surfing the Internet, video streaming, and audio streaming, as well as time dedicated to schoolwork and the frequency of educational digital media use. Multilevel structural equation modeling revealed that social media use, gaming, and video streaming were negatively associated with school-related obligations. In contrast, Internet use positively correlated with time spent on schoolwork. Additionally, gaming showed a direct negative association with academic performance. These findings suggest that while certain digital activities are likely to displace time spent on schoolwork, their use does not necessarily lead to poorer academic outcomes, except for gaming. Other digital activities can provide educational benefits, such as surfing the Internet. Recognizing the risks and opportunities of digital media use is key to guiding effective educational strategies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105411"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144665031","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital media use and availability can mitigate the digital divide: Meta-analytic insights from PISA 2022","authors":"Tamara Kastorff,&nbsp;Maren Müller,&nbsp;Samuel Greiff","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105409","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105409","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The digital divide, commonly described as the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and digital competence, has garnered significant attention in educational research, particularly since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, despite ongoing efforts to promote digitalization across countries and schools, there has been limited research into the extent to which school-level or country-level factors can moderate the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and digital competence—an association commonly referred to in the literature as the second-level digital divide. This study addressed these gaps by examining the association between SES and digital competence using data from the Programme for International Student Assessment (PISA) 2022, encompassing 52 countries (<em>N</em> = 393607) and employing an integrative meta-analytical approach. We found positive associations between SES and two measures of digital competencies; self-efficacies, and practices related to online information (<em>β</em>_{summary effect} = 0.15, 95 % CI [0.14, 0.16]. <em>β</em>_{summary effect} = 0.11, 95 % CI [0.10, 0.12]). Furthermore, moderator analyses showed that the adequate availability and high-quality use of digital media, such as inquiry-based learning methods, can mitigate the positive relationship between SES and digital competence, an effect that holds promise for reducing digital inequalities. This study contributes to the existing body of research by providing a more nuanced understanding country-level factors that may mitigate the digital divide. Furthermore, it highlights potential approaches for targeted interventions aimed at addressing SES-related disparities that perpetuate digital inequalities.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105409"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613368","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"An exploratory process mining on students’ complex problem-solving behavior: The distinct patterns and related factors","authors":"Lihua Tan ,&nbsp;Bing Wei ,&nbsp;Fu Chen","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105398","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105398","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study showcases how process mining techniques can be used to uncover students' problem-solving processes. The data comprised event logs recoding the execution sequences of 2066 students who engaged in an example “Climate Control” task from PISA 2012. By analyzing students’ trace variants, eight distinct problem-solving patterns were identified, reflecting their varied approaches to key issues of problem exploration and representation. Then, the First-Order Markov Model and analysis of variance were used to highlight similarities and differences among these eight patterns. A multinomial regression analysis further examined their crucial predictors. The results revealed notable differences in the frequency of strategies employed, transitions between strategies, and the timing of representations across eight patterns. While some patterns achieved success by systematical or mixed use of the varying-one-thing-at-a-time strategy, others relied on guessing. Unsuccessful problem solvers might struggle due to an inability to control variables, flawed reasoning from trials with alternative strategies, or unfamiliarity with the diagramming interface. The regression results suggested that prior knowledge, problem-solving attitudes (openness, perseverance), and the availability of information and communication technology in school play significant, albeit different, roles at various problem-solving stages. The uncovered key issues and behavior patterns provide empirical evidence for elaborating theories about problem-solving processes. The identified patterns of students’ successes and failures have implications for developing tailored interventions to enhance students’ problem-solving competencies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105398"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-11","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613365","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Effects on the learning achievement, approaches to learning, and multi-stage reflection quality of students with different levels of digital self-efficacy in a data literacy course: An ARCS-based self-reflective online learning model","authors":"Yun-Fang Tu ,&nbsp;Gwo-Jen Hwang ,&nbsp;Dongpin Hu","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105397","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105397","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Data literacy has become a critical core competency for university students. Research has indicated that in digital environments, learners' digital self-efficacy (DSE) not only influences their learning motivation but is also closely linked to their learning outcomes. Additionally, self-reflection could help students evaluate their learning process and deepen their understanding of the content. However, without appropriate instructional scaffolding, self-reflection may become a mere formality, failing to effectively enhance both the depth and quality of their reflection, as well as their learning motivation. Therefore, this study proposed an ARCS (Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction)-based self-reflective online learning model and integrated it into a 12-week data literacy course, with the intervention implemented over a 10-week period (Weeks 2–11). The aim was to explore data literacy achievement and approaches to learning in data literacy (ALDL) among university students with different levels of DSE, and the quality of self-reflection at different stages. Participants were 52 first-year university students, including 27 males and 25 females. Results showed that the proposed model effectively fostered a positive motivation cycle among students. While students with high DSE (HDSE) outperformed those with low DSE (LDSE) in terms of data literacy achievement and ALDL, the majority of students began their reflective process with technical reflection (88.46 %). To further explore the model's influence on self-reflection, Epistemic Network Analysis (ENA) 3D was employed to analyze the coded results of students' reflective diaries. The findings indicated that the model effectively promoted multidimensional self-reflection, broadened and deepened reflective focus across both LDSE and HDSE groups, and reduced the quality gap in self-reflection between the two groups. Additionally, the LDSE group enhanced practical application and critical thinking through conceptual understanding, relying on hands-on experience to construct knowledge. In contrast, the HDSE group focused on deep reflection through logical explanation, self-validation, and critical thinking.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105397"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144594932","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Exploring the potential of adopting an interactive mixed-reality tool in teacher professional development: Impact on teachers’ self-efficacy and practical competencies of dialogic pedagogy","authors":"Yu Song ,&nbsp;Jingying Wang ,&nbsp;Yuqing Chen ,&nbsp;Jiao Zhang ,&nbsp;Changliang Xu","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105390","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105390","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>This study examines how adopting an interactive mixed-reality tool (IMRT) in teacher professional development affects teachers' self-efficacy and practical competencies of dialogic pedagogy. As a widely used method for teaching, dialogic pedagogy is important for orchestrating productive educational achievement. However, it is challenging to manipulate such pedagogy and thus there is the need for scalable professional development. This study initially incorporated a customised IMRT, which supports teachers to communicate with a virtual administrator, to generate comments and refinements for classroom dialogue in an immersive and tangible way. A quasi-experiment was conducted with 60 primary school teachers to test its effectiveness. This study discovered that teachers participating in the IMRT-based training tended to exhibit greater self-efficacy in enhancing dialogic pedagogy compared to those who engaged in traditional training methods. Furthermore, these teachers' practical competencies concerning dialogic pedagogy increased dramatically. Specifically, they gained greater proficiency in managing elaborated, coordinated, and speculative talk. Under their skilful initiation of dialogue, students were more inclined to justify ideas, seek connections, explore possibilities, and engage in constructive conversations. Moreover, findings indicated that more positive correlations between teachers’ self-efficacy and their actual practice in the IMRT-based training group, especially with regard to dialogues involving complex ways of thinking. This study offers valuable insights for technological integration and pedagogical improvement. It contributes to the viability of scalable teacher training and to helping in-service teachers with their professional growth.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105390"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144613374","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Interactions between cognitive disequilibrium, interactivity with instructional videos, and learning","authors":"Aaron Weinberg ,&nbsp;Douglas Lyman Corey ,&nbsp;Michael A. Tallman ,&nbsp;Jason Martin ,&nbsp;Meagan Rains Bolton","doi":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105392","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.compedu.2025.105392","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The use of videos as instructional tools has increased dramatically in recent years. However, most research on student learning from videos has been conducted in clinical settings and has not explored the mechanisms that underlie connections between students' interaction with videos and their learning. This study explores the relationship between students' experiences of cognitive disequilibrium–operationalized in terms of Harel's (2013) theory of <em>intellectual need</em>–their use of video playback controls, and their learning from instructional videos in introductory calculus classes at the undergraduate level. The data reveal that students who paused or skipped backward in the video were more likely to demonstrate learning, and that this effect was stronger for students who exhibited lower background knowledge. Similarly, students who experienced cognitive disequilibrium were more likely to improve their performance. However, when we controlled for temporal interactions, cognitive disequilibrium was no longer a significant predictor of enhanced learning, which suggests that the experience of disequilibrium could underlie students' interaction with and promote their learning from mathematics instructional videos.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":10568,"journal":{"name":"Computers & Education","volume":"238 ","pages":"Article 105392"},"PeriodicalIF":8.9,"publicationDate":"2025-07-02","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"144595755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"教育学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}