Fang Zhao

FernUniversität in Hagen

In this study we examined the different functions of text and pictures during text–picture integration in multimedia learning. In Study 1, 144 secondary school students (age = 11 to 14 years; 72 females, 72 males) received six text–picture units under two conditions. In the delayed-question condition, students first read the units without a specifi...

Sequential skill learning with practice is fundamental to human activity (e.g., tying shoes). Given the lack of prior knowledge in most participants, Origami folding is a promising task to study the acquisition of a sequential skill. While previous Origami folding studies mainly dealt with the question, which forms of instruction can lead to better...

Regulation of distance to the screen (i.e., head-to-screen distance, fluctuation of head-to-screen distance) has been proved to reflect the cognitive engagement of the reader. However, it is still not clear (a) whether regulation of distance to the screen can be a potential parameter to infer high cognitive load and (b) whether it can predict the u...

Different graph types might differ in group comparison due to differences in underlying graph schemas. Thus, this study examined whether graph schemas are based on perceptual features (i.e., each graph has a specific schema) or common invariant structures (i.e., graphs share several common schemas), and which graphic type (bar vs. dot vs. tally) is...

This study examined the relationship between grade and the ability of text-picture integration in terms of task completion and the pattern of using textual and pictorial information. Children ( N = 144) from secondary schools were recruited from grade 5 and grade 8. Analyzing the time spent with the multimedia unit prior to an incorrect response, t...

Different graph types may differ in their suitability to support group comparisons, due to the underlying graph schemas. This study examined whether graph schemas are based on perceptual features (i.e., each graph type, e.g., bar or line graph, has its own graph schema) or common invariant structures (i.e., graph types share common schemas). Furthe...

Constructing interactive web apps has become more accessible for instructors, for example, by using the R package Shiny. Here we explored learners' preferences and the efficiency of interactive simulations versus static pictures in acquiring statistics knowledge of Cohen's d and standard normal distribution. Results revealed that students' spontane...

When the duration of a pre-target interval probabilistically predicts the identity of the target, participants typically form time-based expectancies: they respond faster to frequent interval-target combinations than to infrequent ones. Yet, previous research investigating the cognitive time-processing mechanisms underlying time-based expectancy as...

Sequence learning in serial reaction time tasks (SRTTs) is usually inferred through the reaction time measured by a keyboard. However, this chronometric parameter offers no information beyond the time point of the button-press. We therefore examined whether sequence learning can be measured by muscle activations via electro-myography (EMG) in a dua...

Interviews with scholars and experts are becoming more and more popular as e-learning materials. Yet how an interview video should be edited is mostly based on personal preference rather than on rigorous scientific research. Thus this study tested whether showing the interviewer in educational interview videos can affect the learning outcome. Two i...

Research on the limitations of dual-tasking might profit from using setups with a predictable sequence of stimuli and responses and assessing the acquisition of this sequence. Detrimental effects of dual-tasking on implicit sequence learning in the serial reaction time task (SRTT; Nissen & Bullemer, 1987) – when paired with an uncorrelated task – h...

While detrimental effects of dual-tasking on the acquisition and usage of sequence knowledge in the Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT) have been attributed to the integration of regularly and randomly sequenced events, direct evidence for across-task integration has been scarce. In two experiments, we paired two spatial tasks: A visual-manual SRTT (s...

Cognitive and motor memory loads can affect sequential skills. Differentiating the execution and the acquisition of sequential skills, we studied the impact of cognitive or motoric dual-task loads on performance in Origami folding and changes with practice. Participants (N = 53) folded five Origami figures for four times each, which were randomly p...

The constraints in overlapping response selection have been established in dual-tasking studies with random sequence of stimuli and responses as well as random stimulus onset asynchrony (SOA). While this approach makes it possible to control for advance activation of upcoming stimuli or responses, it leaves open whether such preparatory processing...

Many studies have documented that multitasking reduces Response Time (RT) indicators of implicit sequence learning as well as the expression of acquired sequence knowledge in RT benefits. In these tasks it is only relevant that the correct key is hit quickly, not where it is hit. We explored how variability in response location is influenced by (a)...

One often replicated finding is that implicit sequence learning is hampered in dual-task situations. Thus, one crucial question has been whether implicit learning processes require attentional resources. Meanwhile, focusing exclusively on limited attentional resources might be considered as too unspecific. Overall, the focus lies now rather on the...

Typing is an everyday activity that requires people to use the correct serial order of phonological and orthographic forms of words. The evidence until now shows that different forms of representation of serial order have mixed contributions to typing performance. It is not clear whether and how representational overlap between subsequent words imp...

Everyday multitasking often is characterized by predictable sequences. While such sequential regularities are present in setups using the Serial Reaction Time Task (SRTT), many laboratory studies on dual-tasking performance use random sequences of stimuli in either of the two tasks. In the current study, following single-task training on the SRTT,...

Comics have been increasingly used in reading materials, e.g. newspaper, textbook, and signs. Despite its potential benefits, little is discussed in the merit of comics expertise in comics reading. This study, therefore, aims to investigate how experienced vs. inexperienced comics readers comprehend comics. It investigates additionally whether comi...

Students are frequently required to integrate text and picture information into coherent knowledge structures. This raises the questions of how students deal with texts and how they deal with graphics when they try to integrate the two sources of information, and whether there are differences between students from different school types and grades....

Placing questions before the material or after the material constitute different reading situations. To adapt to these reading situations, readers may apply appropriate reading strategies. Reading strategy caused by location of question has been intensively explored in the context of text comprehension. (1) However, there is still not enough knowle...

Despite numerous studies on reading and multimedia comprehension, the usage of text and picture with different reading strategies has rarely become a focus of research. The current study aims to explore whether the usage of text differs from the usage of picture when readers follow different strategies of knowledge acquisition. In a within-subjects...