Are Psychophysiological Wearables Suitable for Comparing Pedagogical Teaching Approaches?

This study describes how wearable devices can be used in elementary schools to compare some aspects of different teaching approaches. Upper arm wearables were used as an objective tool to compare three approaches when teaching science: (i) classical frontal teaching, (ii) embodied (kinesthetic) teaching, and (iii) a distance teaching approach. Using the wearables, the approaches were compared in terms of their impact on students' psychological arousal and perceived well-being. In addition, short-term and long-term knowledge gain and physiological synchronization between teacher and students during the lecture were assessed. A synchronization index was defined to estimate the degree of physiological synchronization. During distance teaching, by means of measurements with wearables, students were significantly less physically active and significantly less psychologically aroused. Embodied teaching allowed significantly higher physical activation than during the other two approaches. The synchronization index for all three teaching approaches was positive with the highest values for distance and frontal teaching. Moreover, knowledge gain immediately after the embodied lessons was higher than after frontal lessons. No significant differences in the long-term knowledge retention between the three different teaching methods were found. This pilot study proved that wearables are a useful tool in research in the field of education and have the potential to contribute to a deeper understanding of the mechanisms involved in learning, even in complex environments such as an elementary school classroom.

The Search as Learning Spaceship: Toward a Comprehensive Model of Psychological and Technological Facets of Search as Learning

Using a Web search engine is one of today's most frequent activities. Exploratory search activities which are carried out in order to gain knowledge are conceptualized and denoted as Search as Learning (SAL). In this paper, we introduce a novel framework model which incorporates the perspective of both psychology and computer science to describe the search as learning process by reviewing recent literature. The main entities of the model are the learner who is surrounded by a specific learning context, the interface that mediates between the learner and the information environment, the information retrieval (IR) backend which manages the processes between the interface and the set of Web resources, that is, the collective Web knowledge represented in resources of different modalities. At first, we provide an overview of the current state of the art with regard to the five main entities of our model, before we outline areas of future research to improve our understanding of search as learning processes.

The Effects of Using the Sun Safe App on Sun Health Knowledge and Behaviors of Young Teenagers: Results of Pilot Intervention Studies

BACKGROUND

A balanced approach toward sun exposure and protection is needed by young people. Excessive sun exposure increases their risk for skin cancers such as melanoma, whereas some exposure is necessary for vitamin D and healthy bones. We have developed a new iOS smartphone app-Sun Safe-through a co-design process, which aims to support healthy and balanced decision-making by young teenagers (aged 12-13 years).

OBJECTIVE

The aim of this study was to test the capacity of Sun Safe to improve sun health knowledge and behaviors of young teenagers in 3 pilot intervention studies completed in 2020.

METHODS

Young teenagers (aged 12-13 years; N=57) were recruited through the web or through a local school via an open-access website and given access to Sun Safe (29/57, 51%) or a placebo (SunDial) app (28/57, 49%). Participants completed sun health questionnaires and knowledge quizzes before and after the 6-week intervention (either on the web or in class) and rated the quality of the app they used via a survey.

RESULTS

Of the 57 participants, 51 (89%) participants (26, 51% for placebo arm and 25, 49% for the Sun Safe arm) completed these studies, with most (>50%) reporting that they used a smartphone to access their designated app either "once a fortnight" or "once/twice in total." Improved sun health knowledge-particularly about the UV Index-was observed in participants who were given access to Sun Safe compared with those who used the placebo (-6.2 [percentage correct] difference in predicted means, 95% CI -12.4 to -0.03; P=.049; 2-way ANOVA). Unexpectedly, there were significantly more sunburn events in the Sun Safe group (relative risk 1.7, 95% CI 1.1-1.8; P=.02; Fisher exact test), although no differences in time spent outdoors or sun-protective behaviors were reported. COVID-19 pandemic-related community-wide shutdowns during April 2020 (when schools were closed) reduced the time spent outdoors by >100 minutes per day (-105 minutes per day difference in predicted means, 95% CI -150 to -59 minutes per day; P=.002; paired 2-tailed Student t test). Sun Safe was well-rated by participants, particularly for information (mean 4.2, SD 0.6 out of 5).

CONCLUSIONS

Access to the Sun Safe app increased sun health knowledge among young teenagers in these pilot intervention studies. Further investigations with larger sample sizes are required to confirm these observations and further test the effects of Sun Safe on sun-protective behaviors.

Do Women in Nepal Like Playing a Mobile Game? MANTRA: A Mobile Gamified App for Improving Healthcare Seeking Behavior in Rural Nepal

In Low and Middle Income Countries (LMIC), one of the causes of maternal and child mortality is a lack of medical knowledge and consequently the inability to seek timely healthcare. Mobile health (mHealth) technology is gradually becoming a universal intervention platform across the globe due to ubiquity of mobile phones and network coverage. MANTRA is a novel mHealth intervention developed to tackle maternal and child health issues through a serious mobile game app in rural Nepal, which demonstrated a statistically significant knowledge improvement in rural women. This paper explores the perceptions and usability of the MANTRA app amongst rural women and Female Community Health Volunteers (FCHVs) in Nepal. Despite the challenges of a target user group with limited educational levels and low smartphone experience, all participants viewed the MANTRA app with approval and enthusiasm. They were willing to engage further with the mHealth intervention and to share their experience and knowledge with fellow community members. Participants also showed an increase in awareness of danger signs enabling them to make better informed health decisions in the future. FCHVs viewed the app as a validation tool providing and support for greater impact of their efforts in rural Nepal. Growing mobile ownership, network coverage and availability of smartphones along with acceptance of the prototype MANTRA app in rural communities suggest encouraging prospects for mHealth interventions to be incorporated in the national health infrastructure in Nepal and other LMICs.

Evaluation of toolbox safety training in construction: The impact of narratives

BACKGROUND

Construction is a dangerous industry with a large number of small businesses. Because they require minimal resources to deliver, toolbox talks may be an ideal training format for small construction contractors.

METHODS

Eight toolbox talks were developed, each with two versions. One version of each toolbox talk was standard and one version included a narrative and discussion questions. Participants were randomly assigned to receive the standard or the narrative version. Pre- and post-intervention surveys measured demographics, workplace safety climate, and knowledge. The post-intervention survey also measured training impact.

RESULTS

Including narratives with discussion questions significantly increased knowledge gain and led to increased training impact. Less experienced workers were more likely to gain knowledge and training impact compared to more experienced workers. There were no significant changes in workplace safety climate.

CONCLUSIONS

The results suggest that including a narrative and discussion questions increases toolbox talk effectiveness.

Pattern of online communication in teaching a blended oral surgery course

AIM

To explore the factors that might affect the patterns of interaction amongst dental students that can be found in asynchronous online discussion fora.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS

It is a qualitative study that involved the participation of 71 dental students (42 male and 29 female) who belong to one academic year. Students were participated in asynchronous online discussion fora as a part of a blended oral surgery course that involved both face-to-face lecture and an online learning environment using the Blackboard learning management system. Qualitative analysis of students' pattern of discussion was performed using Transcript Analysis Tool.

RESULTS

The total number of postings was 410. Sixty-seven of 71 students participated in the discussion by writing posts, whereas all of the students had accessed all of the postings. A positive correlation between imposing vertical questions and the number of non-referential and referential statements was observed. Regarding horizontal questions, a positive correlation was observed with the number of referential statements, whilst there was a negative correlation with the number of non-referential statements.

CONCLUSION

Asynchronous online discussion fora that are integrated as a part of a whole pedagogical practice may provide an opportunity for promoting learning, especially when consideration is given to the structure of problems, timely feedback by tutors and supportive strategies within the discussion threads.