We test the hypothesis that superficial knowledge interdependence is more effective in fostering individual learning from collaboration than the true knowledge interdependence often realized by jigsaw-type collaboration arrangements. Based on research on group informationprocessing, we argue for the benefits of distributing only contextual information, but not core principles between learners, ...

Social learning has allowed humans to build up extensive cultural repertoires, enabling them to adapt to a wide variety of environmental and social conditions. However, it is unclear which social learning strategies people use, especially in social contexts where their payoffs depend on the behaviour of others. Here we show experimentally that individuals differ in their social learning strateg...

Grammatical dependencies often involve elements that are not adjacent. However, most experiments in which non-adjacent dependencies are learned bracketed the dependent material with pauses, which is not how dependencies appear in natural language. Here we report successful learning of embedded NAD without pause bracketing. Instead, we induce learners to compute structure in an artificial langua...

The use of animated pedagogical agents with emotional capabilities in an interactive learning environment has been found to have a positive impact on learners. Aristotle contended that three elements; emotion, logic, and character are crucial for successful persuasion, i.e. in winning others over to one’s way of thinking. We have designed a pedagogical agent that acts in an interactive learning...

The question why some learners successfully study through distance mode and others do not is increasingly becoming important as open and distance learning (ODL) has come to occupy a prominent place in providing higher education to large segments of the population in India. With barely 1112 students studying through distance mode in 1962, the number has crossed 2.8 million in 2006. This article ...

The current study investigated the effects of L1 and L2 glosses on L2 vocabulary retention in incidental and intentional settings. To this end, 100 intermediate Iranian female learners of English as a foreign language at Soroosh High School were given a pre-test to make sure that they do not have any prior knowledge of the target words. Reading passages with three different glossing conditions ...

The involvement of technology to support and enhance learning is ever increasing; for example moving from the traditional blackboard to electronic whiteboards, from printed books to virtual reality training simulations, and from class room meetings to (a-)synchronised meeting over the web with handheld mobile devices. These technologies promise improved efficiency for traditional ways of learni...

For e-learning systems to be successful, proper understanding of the learner is crucial. This can be done with the use of learners’ profiles. However, there is a need for the availability of such information for mobile learning environments to make it available when the learner roams between different spaces. This paper investigates the application of RFID technologies for this use. We suggest ...

We adapted a successful instructional principle – contrasting cases – to create an educational game to teach young children physical principles of stability. Our goal was to design a game that would promote transfer – extending the reach of the educational game beyond the game itself. In Study 1, we compared a “standard” version of the game to a “contrast” version that contained contrasting cas...