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In this commentary to the Special Issue of Educational Psychology Review on visual perceptual processes, I tie the empirical studies reported in the issue with previous research in other domains to offer some points to be considered in future studies. First, I will point out to issues related to the operationalization of the theoretical constructs. The empirical papers in this Special Issue use eye tracking to study students’ engagement, teachers’ expertise, and student-teacher interaction. However, it is not always clear how the observed eye movement patterns reflect these theoretical concepts and the underlying psychological processes. Second, I will reflect on the analyses of the eye movement data presented in the papers. The main advantage of the methodology is that it can provide detailed information about the time-course of processing, and to fully engage its potential, it should be complemented with adequate statistical methods. In my view, the papers in this Special Issue provide valuable novel information about the complex processes underlying learning in variable contexts, and offer an excellent starting point for future research.

This paper is grounded on a recent conceptualization of human motivation that encompasses strivings for value, control, and truth effectiveness. The article elucidates the key aspects that form the basis for a multidimensional self-system perspective comprising motivational orientations mapping these three types of effectiveness strivings. In addition, the paper highlights the importance of examining these strivings in motivation research. Moreover, the article delineates how employing this systemic approach to study motivation in conjunction with expectancy-value theory and self-determination theory leads to new insights, provides enhanced explanatory power, and delineates important directions for productive future research.

This paper focuses on the potential of mental simulation (mentally rehearsing an action to enhance performance) as a useful contemporary educational method. By means of a meta-review, it is examined which conditions impede or facilitate the effectiveness of mental simulation (MS). A computer search was conducted using Ovid PsycINFO. Reviews, meta-reviews, or meta-analyses published between 1806 and 2006 were included. The current paper presents the results of ten publications in which about 630 studies on mental simulation or mental practice are reviewed. According to the analyses, conditions that influence the effect of MS are the type of skill practiced, personal factors, time per trial, amount of trials, and instructional procedures. Based on these insights, it is reflected upon in which areas MS would be functional with regard to contemporary educational demands, such as for emotional, behavioral, and (other) complex cognitive tasks.

After a brief historical overview of how interest and its role in learning had been conceptualized, the focus of the paper shifts to the specific relationship between interest and reading. The issues considered are the effect of interest on readers' comprehension and learning, the variables that determine readers' interests, and the specific processes such as attention that may mediate the effect of interest on learning. It is suggested that to allow researchers a better understanding of the mediating variables, dynamic measures of interest are needed in addition to the more traditional self-reports and questionnaires. In the final section of the paper the author discusses the importance of utilizing students' interest in classrooms.

Research has found that interest is related to attention, deeper processing, the use of effortful strategies, feelings of enjoyment, and learning. However, some strategies for creating interest in text materials may interfere with the learning of important information. In this paper, I describe results of a study that used qualitative verbal report measures to identify text characteristics that are most positively and most negatively associated with interest, as well as quantitative measures to investigate how those characteristics are related to learning. Results have implications for curriculum development by contributing to our understanding of how writers of informational text can make important information interesting. The paper concludes with suggestions for pedagogical practice and for future research that may further our understanding of interest and how it might be enhanced in classrooms.

The author suggests how these papers converge in portraying the nature of motivation, learning, and achievement. That portrayal proceeds from a social— cognitive framework that stresses the centrality of goals in framing whether, when, and how students are likely to approach or avoid academic tasks. He points out, however, that approach and avoidance, although an important aspect of motivation, do not fully encompass a domain that is and has been considered the fitting purview of motivation theory and research. Especially in the realm of education, the quality of engagement that eventuates is of equal if not greater importance relative to choice and direction. However, a primary question raised in these comments relates to the nature of goals and how they operate in framing action, thought, and feelings. Some of the work reflected in the wider goal theory literature as well as in some of these papers, suggests that goals are closely linked to a varying role of self in determining the nature and direction of action, feelings, and thought. Some of the work seems to limit goals to a specific kind of objective under limited circumstances. Finally, questions are raised about whether or how the work presented would define the role of context in determining motivation. Clearly, although work reflected in these papers is truly impressive, it is impressive not just for conclusions reached but also for new questions prompted.

The present authors wrote a paper on cognitive neuroscience (i.e., Byrnes and Fox, 1998) that spawned a number of commentaries. In the present paper, they respond to these commentaries. Using a theme-based approach, they reveal an emerging consensus regarding the educational relevance of neuroscientific research.

We argue that greater precision is needed in the use of the term distributed cognition if this perspective is to significantly impact educational research. We describe a continuum of interpretations of distributed cognition ranging from a conceptualization of cognition as an individual phenomenon that is influenced by factors external to the individual, to a conceptualization of cognition as a social phenomenon that cannot be reduced to individual psychological constructs. We discuss the issues raised by the papers in the current volume, and locate the perspectives taken in these papers along the distributed cognition continuum. The relationship between distributed cognition and situated cognition is then examined, as these terms are often used interchangeably. Finally, we discuss key issues for further research in distributed cognition.

Spaced and interleaved practices have been identified as effective learning strategies which sometimes are conflated as a single strategy and at other times treated as distinct. Learning sessions in which studying information or practicing problems are spaced in time with rest-from-deliberate-learning periods between sessions generally result in better learning outcomes than massed practice without rest-from-deliberate-learning periods. Interleaved practice also consists of spaced sessions, but by interleaving topics rather than having rest-from-deliberate-learning periods. Interleaving is usually contrasted with blocking in which each learning topic is taught in a single block that provides an example of massed practice. The general finding that interleaved practice is more effective for learning than blocked practice is sometimes attributed to spacing. In the current paper, the presence of rest-from-deliberate-learning periods is used to distinguish between spaced and interleaved practice. We suggest that spaced practice is a cognitive load effect that can be explained by working memory resource depletion during cognitive effort with recovery during rest-from-deliberate-learning, while interleaved practice can be explained by the discriminative-contrast hypothesis positing that interleaving assists learners to discriminate between topic areas. A systematic review of the literature provides evidence for this suggestion.

The main goals of this paper are to exemplify and further elaborate on the theoretical connections between cognitive load and self-regulated learning. In an effort to achieve this, we integrate the concepts of self-control and self-management within the effort monitoring and regulation (EMR) framework laid out by de Bruin et al. (Educational Psychology Review this issue). More specifically, we argue that (1) cognitive load results from how the instruction is processed and not just from how it is designed (cf. self-management effect). (2) How instruction is processed by students (also) depends on their skill and will to self-control. For instance, high self-control may reflect compensatory processing of poorer instructional designs so that these designs may not lead to higher extraneous cognitive load. As soon as students’ willingness to self-control declines (e.g., with increasing study durations or previous demanding tasks), there is a closer link between (poorer) instructional designs and (higher) extraneous cognitive load in self-regulated learning tasks. Combining (1) and (2), we consider cognitive load to be influenced by self-control; (self-)control, in turn, is one central process of the monitoring-control cycle that characterizes self-regulated learning. We support these theoretical arguments by referring to empirical research in the domain of learning with multiple representations—with a particular focus on learning with and without seductive details during extended study episodes. We conclude with suggestions for further research.

Based on cognitive load theory, this paper reports on two experiments investigating the variability effect that occurs when learners’ exposure to highly variable tasks results in superior test performance. It was hypothesised that the effect was more likely to occur using high rather than low levels of guidance and testing more knowledgeable than less knowledgeable learners. Experiment 1, which tested 103 adults studying pre-university mathematics, showed no interaction between levels of variability (high vs. low) and levels of instructional guidance (worked examples vs. unguided problem solving). The significant main effect of variability indicated a variability effect regardless of levels of instructional guidance. Experiment 2, which tested another group of 56 adults enrolled in the same mathematics program, showed an interaction between levels of variability (high vs. low) and levels of learner expertise (novices vs. experts). More experienced learners learned more from high rather than low variability tasks demonstrating the variability effect, while less experienced learners learned more from low rather than high variability tasks demonstrating a reverse variability effect. It was suggested that more experienced learners had sufficient available working memory capacity to process high variability information while less experienced learners were overwhelmed by high variability and learned more using low variability information. Subjective ratings of difficulty supported the assumptions based on cognitive load theory. The major educational implication is that learners should initially be presented with low variability or easier tasks, and as they gain more experience in the task domain, variability or task difficulty should increase.

Cognitive load theory has incorporated evolutionary perspectives to consider how biologically primary knowledge (such as physical movement and pointing), acquired through evolutionary processes, might support the acquisition of biologically secondary knowledge (such as reading or writing), requiring explicit teaching. Tracing (a physical movement) against a surface with the index finger may be one form of biologically primary knowledge that can enhance learning biologically secondary knowledge. We investigated whether tracing lesson materials (about the water cycle) presented on A4 pieces of paper in an initial phase, then on an A1 poster in a subsequent phase, would affect primary school students’ reports of intrinsic versus extraneous cognitive load, as well as recall and transfer test performance. Students who traced while studying reported lower extraneous cognitive load than those who simply studied and scored higher on subsequent recall and transfer tests. Considerations for instructional designers, educators and researchers are discussed.

Theory of mind is the understanding that other people have mental states that drive their actions and that those mental states can be different from one’s own. Without understanding theory of mind and being able to take others’ perspectives, it could be difficult for children to read and understand narrative texts. This paper posits that children’s understanding of others’ minds may be a potential missing piece in current accounts of reading comprehension. Indeed, the typical progression of children’s theory of mind abilities across childhood is closely aligned with the development of narrative processing skills. Furthermore, emerging evidence shows that both narrative processing and theory of mind are predictive of children’s reading comprehension, both concurrently and longitudinally. We present a possible explanation for why such a link exists and propose a causal framework of this relation in which increased ToM leads to increased understanding of and inferencing about characters’ mental states. Understanding characters’ mental states then leads to better reading comprehension. The framework makes novel, testable predictions and provides directions for future research.

Our goal in this paper is to understand the extent to which, and under what conditions, executive functions (EFs) play a role in reading comprehension processes. We begin with a brief review of core components of EF (inhibition, shifting, and updating) and reading comprehension. We then discuss the status of EFs in process models of reading comprehension. Next, we review and synthesize empirical evidence in the extant literature for the involvement of core components of EF in reading comprehension processes under different reading conditions and across different populations. In conclusion, we propose that EFs may help explain complex interactions between the reader, the text, and the discourse situation, and call for both existing and future models of reading comprehension to include EFs as explicit components.

Recent upgrades to cognitive load theory suggest that evolutionary processes have shaped the way that working memory processes cultural and social information. According to evolutionarily educational psychologists, some forms of information are processed with lower working memory loads than other forms. The former are evolutionarily salient and the latter historically recent and evolutionarily novel. Sex differences in evolutionary pressures have resulted in some differences in aspects of associated working memory systems that are relevant to cognitive load theory. For this reason this paper suggests that gender differences in information processing via evolutionary processes is an important consideration that should be added to current theory.

In the traditional framework of cognitive load theory, it is assumed that the acquisition of domain-specific knowledge structures (or schemas) is the only instructional goal, and therefore, the theory is applicable to any instructional task. Accordingly, the basic concepts of intrinsic (productive) and extraneous (unproductive) types of cognitive load were defined based on the relevance (or irrelevance) of the corresponding cognitive processes that impose the load to achieving this universal instructional goal, and the instructional methods advocated by this theory are aimed at enhancing the acquisition of domain-specific schemas. The paper suggests considering this goal within the whole variety of possible specific goals of different learner activities that could be involved in complex learning. This would result in narrowing down of boundaries of cognitive load theory and have implications for distinguishing types of cognitive load, sequencing different goals and instructional tasks, considering the role of learner expertise, and other aspects of complex learning. One of the consequences of this reconceptualization is abandoning the rigid explicit instruction versus minimal guidance dichotomy and replacing it with a more flexible approach based on differentiating specific goals of various learner activities in complex learning. In particular, it may allow reconciling seemingly contradictory results from studies of the effectiveness of worked examples in cognitive load theory (supporting the initial fully guided explicit instruction for novice learners) and studies within the frameworks of productive failure and invention learning that have reportedly demonstrated that minimally guided tasks provided prior to explicit instruction might benefit novice learners.

Recently, Soemer (2015) criticized our theoretical review paper published in this journal (Schweppe and Rummer 2014). In our article, we argued for a new perspective on (working) memory within theories of multimedia learning. Our main idea was that a theory that focuses on interactions between attention and long-term memory (as does Cowan’s 1999, embedded-processes model) provides a more unitary account of the multi-faceted principles associated with working memory in multimedia research than those models currently incorporated in multimedia theories. Even though many of the recommendations for how to design multimedia learning materials relate to reducing cognitive load in working memory, they refer to attention and long-term memory at least as much. Our article had two core messages: (1) Based on a description of the multicomponent model of working memory (e.g., Baddeley 2000; Baddeley & Hitch 1974) and how it is adapted in theories of multimedia learning, we concluded that the most important principles for multimedia learning are neither clearly attributable to the basic model (i.e., the multicomponent model) nor to the applied models (i.e., the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, e.g., Mayer 2009, and the cognitive load theory, e.g., Sweller 1999). (2) As an alternative, we suggested incorporating a different model that conceives of working memory as the interplay of attentional processes and long-term memory and thus allows for explaining principles related to attention, working memory, and long-term memory in a unitary manner (i.e., the embeddedprocesses model by Cowan 1999). Soemer’s (2015) comment mainly concerned our description of the multicomponent model of working memory. More specifically, he criticized that, unlike suggested in our article, the current version of the multicomponent model of working memory (Baddeley 2000, and later) does not postulate structurally independent working and long-term memory systems but rather Educ Psychol Rev (2016) 28:201–204 DOI 10.1007/s10648-015-9336-0

This special issue has its genesis in the recent establishment of the Early Start Research Institute at the University of Wollongong in Australia, which aims to transform lives of young people through high-quality early year education supported and informed by high-quality research and practice. The contributions to this special issue are based on a united approach to the brain and body, which holds that learning processes and body movements are inextricably bound. The mix of theoretical papers, intervention studies, and commentary in this issue indicate that part- and whole-body movements can positively affect children’s learning performance, especially when movements are infused into the classroom and integrated into the learning task.

Although collaboration is often considered a beneficial learning strategy, research examining the claim suggests a much more complex picture. Critically, the question is not whether collaboration is beneficial to learning, but instead how and when collaboration improves outcomes. In this paper, we first discuss the mechanisms hypothesized to support and hinder group learning. We then review insights and illustrative findings from research in cognitive, social, and educational psychology. We conclude by proposing areas for future research to expand theories of collaboration while identifying important features for educators to consider when deciding when and how to include collaboration in instructional activities.

Rewards have been examined extensively by both psychologists and neuorscientists and have become one of the most contentious issues in social and educational psychology. In psychological research, reward processing has typically been studied in relation to behavioral outcomes. In contrast, neuroscientists have been examining how rewards are processed by brain structures that are related to the reward circuitry, and in a few instances have also evaluated behavioral outcomes. In this article, I first present findings from both the social and educational psychology and neuroscientific research on reward processing that have frequently been reported without acknowledgment of the presence of the other. Subsequently, five topics pointing to the need for integration of research findings across these two fields are considered. These include the following: (a) distinctions between extrinsic and intrinsic motivation, (b) causes of undermining effects of rewards, (c) potential benefits of choice provided for individuals, (d) differences in reward types, and (e) individual differences in reward processing. It is argued that, if positive aspects of rewards are to be utilized and their potentially negative effects are to be avoided, neuroscientific, social, and educational research findings need to be integrated. This paper provides a first step toward such integration.

Multimedia learning theories rely on findings from different areas of fundamental psychological research. Working memory is undoubtedly a particularly important concept for these theories. However, the application of findings from fundamental research to multimedia learning is not as straightforward as it might seem at first glance, and misinterpretations are pervasive in the literature. The recent article of Schweppe and Rummer (2014) represents an important contribution in this respect. Their paper outlines assumptions in Baddeley and Hitch’s (1974) multicomponent working model and discusses the implementation of these assumptions in popular multimedia learning theories such as the cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML; Mayer 2009) and cognitive load theory (CLT; Sweller et al. 2011). The authors then continue arguing that the multicomponent model conceives working memory as structurally separate from long-term memory, and that this assumed separation has drawbacks with regard to explaining a number of effects in multimedia studies. As an alternative foundation for multimedia learning theories, they propose Cowan’s (1999) embedded-processes model. While this effort should be highly valued, the present commentary argues (a) that Schweppe and Rummer’s rejection of the multicomponent model as a basis for multimedia theories is based on a misinterpretation of the relationship between working memory and long-term memory in the multicomponent model, (b) that the multicomponent model and the embeddedprocesses model can be seen as complementary approaches, and (c) that a complete theory of multimedia learning needs to fully integrate both central executive (i.e., attentional) and functionally specialized (e.g., phonological and visuospatial) mechanisms.

It was investigated whether task-related body movements yield beneficial effects on children’s learning of two-digit numbers and whether these learning effects are affected by mirror-based self-observation of those movements. Participants were 118 first-graders, who were randomly assigned to two movement conditions and two non-movement control conditions. In the movement conditions, children were instructed to build two-digit numbers by making and simultaneously verbalizing out loud different sized steps representing the smaller units the numbers consisted of (e.g., the number “36” was construed by saying out loud “10,” “20,” “30,” “35,” “36,” while making three big steps, one medium, and one small step) on a ruler across the floor. In one of the movement conditions, the children were additionally asked to observe their steps in a mirror. In the first conventionally taught control condition, the children were asked to verbally build and mark the two-digit numbers on a ruler depicted on a sheet of paper. In the second control condition, children were seated before the ruler across the floor, and after verbally constructing the two-digit number, they had to walk to the appropriate position of the number on the ruler across the floor. In the subsequent test phase, children’s knowledge of two-digit numbers was assessed by a final math test. The results confirmed the hypothesis that the movement conditions lead to higher test performance than the non-movement condition and revealed that test performance was not differentially affected by mirror-based self-observation.

Cognitive models of multimedia learning such as the Cognitive Theory of Multimedia Learning (Mayer 2009) or the Cognitive Load Theory (Sweller 1999) are based on different cognitive models of working memory (e.g., Baddeley 1986) and long-term memory. The current paper describes a working memory model that has recently gained popularity in basic research: the embedded-processes model (Cowan 1999). The embedded-processes model argues that working memory is not a separate cognitive system but is the activated part of long-term memory. A subset of activated long-term memory is assumed to be particularly highlighted and is termed the “focus of attention.” This model thus integrates working memory, long-term memory, and (voluntary and involuntary) attention, and referring to it within multimedia models provides the opportunity to model all these learning-relevant cognitive processes and systems in a unitary way. We make suggestions for incorporating this model into theories of multimedia learning. On this basis, one cannot only reinterpret crucial phenomena in multimedia learning that are attributed to working memory (the split-attention effect, the modality effect, the coherence effect, the signaling effect, the redundancy effect, and the expertise reversal effect) but also derive new predictions.

This paper used meta-analysis to synthesize the relation between visual skills and Chinese reading acquisition based on the empirical results from 34 studies published from 1991 to 2011. We obtained 234 correlation coefficients from 64 independent samples, with a total of 5,395 participants. The meta-analysis revealed that visual skills as a global construct had a medium correlation effect size (r = 0.32) associated with Chinese reading acquisition. The various visual processing skills differed in their relation to Chinese reading acquisition in different stages. Visual perception, speed of processing visual information, and pure visual memory had low-to-moderate correlations with Chinese reading acquisition in the lower grades (i.e., below second grade), whereas these relations did not retain their magnitude for children in the higher grades (i.e., second through sixth grades). By contrast, visual–verbal association skill was found to account for 34 and 41 % of the variance in children’s Chinese reading acquisition in both lower and higher grade levels, respectively. Greater attention to this construct can significantly benefit reading research and instructional practice. No regional differences between studies in Mainland China and Hong Kong were found in the meta-analysis.

A major decision that must be made during study pertains to the distribution, or the scheduling, of study. In this paper, we review the literature on the benefits of spacing, or spreading one's study sessions relatively far apart in time, as compared to massing, where study is crammed into one long session without breaks. The results from laboratory research provide strong evidence for this pervasive “spacing effect,” especially for long-term retention. The metacognitive literature on spacing, however, suggests that massing is the preferred strategy, particularly in young children. Reasons for why this is so are discussed as well as a few recommendations regarding how spacing strategies might be encouraged in real-world learning. While further research and applicability questions remain, the two fields—education and cognitive science—have made huge progress in recent years, resulting in promising new learning developments.

Although researchers have demonstrated that studying multiple examples is more effective than studying one example to facilitate learning, the principles found in the literature for designing multiple examples remain ambiguous. This paper reviews variation theory research on example design which sheds light on unclear issues regarding the effects of example variability. First, the distinction of surface/structural should be replaced by critical/uncritical in example study. Aspects and features that are critical to students’ understanding should be identified and compared in example design. Second, variation as well as similarity among examples should be taken into consideration in example design. Certain patterns of variation and invariance should be adopted to systematically determine the variability of examples. Third, students with different levels of prior knowledge perceive different aspects of examples that are critical for their learning. Examples should be designed according to aspects that are critical to specific students.

Learners studying mechanical or technical processes via dynamic visualizations often fail to build an accurate mental representation of the system's movements. Based on embodied theories of cognition assuming that action, perception, and cognition are closely intertwined, this paper proposes that the learning effectiveness of dynamic visualizations could be enhanced by grounding the movements of the presentation in people's own bodily experiences during learning. We discuss recent research on embodied cognition and provide specific strategies for how the body can be used to ground movements during the learning process: (1) making or observing gestures, (2) manipulating and interacting with objects, (3) using body metaphors, and (4) using eye movements as retrieval cues. Implications for the design of dynamic visualizations as well as directions for future research are presented.

The development of flexible, transferable problem-solving skills is an important aim of contemporary educational systems. Since processing limitations of our mind represent a major factor influencing any meaningful learning, the acquisition of flexible problem-solving skills needs to be based on known characteristics of our cognitive architecture in order to be effective and efficient. This paper takes a closer look at the processes involved in the acquisition of flexible problem-solving skills within a cognitive load framework. It concludes that (1) cognitive load theory can benefit from putting more emphasis on generalized knowledge structures; (2) there are tradeoffs between generality and power with respect to specific versus generalized knowledge structures; (3) generalized knowledge structures of “medium” generality are essential for flexible expertise; and (4) cognitive load theory could provide a valuable framework for considering essential attributes of flexible expertise.

Numerous studies have evaluated the effects of pedagogical agents on students’ learning outcomes, but so far, beneficial effects have not been consistently demonstrated. The ambiguous results might partly be due to the strong emphasis on cognitive outcomes, which is characteristic for research in teaching and learning. The paper suggests a shift of attention to socio-emotional and relational variables, which might be considered as relevant moderator variables in learning or even as learning outcomes per se, for example, in social learning. In order to achieve this goal, we suggest a systematic account of the results from social psychology and in particular from nonverbal communication research, and findings from studies on the social effects of embodied agents in general. This perspective will include (1) a distinction between static and dynamic aspects of embodiment, such as the visual appearance of agents and their nonverbal behavior, and (2) a more systematic approach concerning the functions of embodiment and nonverbal behavior, such as modeling, discourse and dialogue functions, and socio-emotional effects. A further argument addresses the necessity of complementing outcome measures by process measures, which are sensitive to the tasks and the changing situational demands that occur during learning processes and tutor-learner interaction.

Application of physiological methods, in particular electroencephalography (EEG), offers new and promising approaches to educational psychology research. EEG is identified as a physiological index that can serve as an online, continuous measure of cognitive load detecting subtle fluctuations in instantaneous load, which can help explain effects of instructional interventions when measures of overall cognitive load fail to reflect such differences in cognitive processing. This paper presents a review of seminal literature on the use of continuous EEG to measure cognitive load and describes two case studies on learning from hypertext and multimedia that employed EEG methodology to collect and analyze cognitive load data.

Cognitive load theory has been concerned primarily with techniques that will facilitate the acquisition by students of knowledge previously generated by others and deemed to be important by society. The initial generation of that knowledge, a creative process, has been largely ignored. The recent expansion of cognitive load theory’s cognitive architectural base to incorporate evolutionary biological principles has opened the possibility of using the theory to consider the generation of knowledge as well as its transmission. It has been suggested that the logical base that underlies evolution by natural selection also underlies human cognitive architecture. The purpose of evolutionary theory is to explain the creation of new biological entities and processes. If human cognitive architecture is organized around the same principles, it should analogically be possible to explain knowledge generation. This paper will outline the relevant theoretical machinery, indicate data that support the theory, and indicate instructional procedures that, based on the theory, should facilitate creativity.