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Background: The use of e-exams in higher education is increasing. However, the role of student diversity in the acceptance of e-exams is an under-researched topic. In the current study, we considered student diversity in terms of three sociodemographic characteristics (age, gender, and second language) and three dispositional student characteristics (computer anxiety, test anxiety, and technology openness). Objectives: The main objective of this study was to investigate the relationship between student diversity and acceptance of e-exams. Methods: Our research combined cross-sectional analyses (N = 1639) with data from a natural experiment on the introduction of e-exams versus the established paper-pencil exams (N = 626) and used both self-report and institutional data. Sociodemographic and dispositional characteristics were indirectly related to pre-exam acceptance via expectancy variables from the Technology Acceptance Model framework. Results and Conclusions: Comparisons of post-exam acceptance showed that practical experience with the e-exam led to a significant increase in e-exam acceptance, and that students with low openness toward technology particularly benefited from this effect. Students' exam performance (i.e., grades) was unrelated to the exam format or their pre-exam acceptance of the e-exam format, and this was true across students' sociodemographic and dispositional characteristics. Takeaway: Student diversity plays a role in e-exam acceptance, but its influence is mitigated by first-hand experience with e-exams. The practical implications for higher education institutions aiming to implement e-exams are discussed.

Background: Engaging students in computer-assisted guided inquiry learning has great potential to scaffold their scientific understanding: Students are expected to improve their scientific problem-solving skills, and at the same time gain a deep conceptual understanding of the subject-matter. Additional generative activities such as creating video explanations subsequent to inquiry learning activities can also further deepen students' knowledge. Objectives: In this experiment, we therefore compared the effectiveness of computer-based direct instruction (to mimic traditional classroom teaching) versus computer-based inquiry learning. Methods: University students (N = 118) either received video-based direct instruction (direct instruction), including the demonstration of a virtual experiment, or conducted the virtual experiment themselves supported by prompts (inquiry learning). A third group of students additionally generated a video explanation as consolidation activity subsequent to conducting the virtual experiment (inquiry learning + generative activity). Results and Conclusions: Contrarily to our hypotheses, the direct instruction condition outperformed the inquiry learning conditions. There were no significant differences between the inquiry learning and the inquiry learning + generative activity condition. Moderation analyses revealed that the effectiveness of direct instruction predominantly held true for students with low levels of domain-specific self-concept. All in all, our present study contributes to a better understanding of effects of direct instruction versus guided inquiry learning in computer-based science education settings. Importantly, our findings show that the effectiveness of instructional approaches may depend on students' domain-specific self-concept as a motivational prerequisite. As such it is up for further research in science education to identify motivating instructional strategies to enhance students' learning.

Background: When interpreting medical images such as dental panoramic radiographs (Orthopanthomogram, OPT), errors are frequent. Previous research has shown that eye movement modelling examples (EMME) are a supportive training method for medical image interpretation to reduce errors. To date, EMME support for OPTs has not been verified. Objectives: We investigated whether a training with EMME and verbal explanations supports dental students in evaluating OPTs. Methods: Dental students were randomly assigned to an intervention (N = 42) or a control group (N = 41). The intervention group received the EMME between pre- and post-test. In a laboratory study, we measured students' gaze behaviour during evaluating OPTs and the detection rate of anomalies. Results and conclusions: The training led to fewer, shorter, and later fixations on anomalies and no difference in visual coverage of the OPT. The detection rate of anomalies did not improve. We replicated the latter finding in an online study (N = 31). Students may not have been able to apply the information from the EMME to detect anomalies. The image reading processes changed to more efficient rather than deeper visual search. Major takeaways: This study evaluated a training method with EMME for anomaly detection of OPTs. EMMEs did not improve the anomaly detection of dental students and changed their visual search process toward a more efficient rather than a deeper search.

The presentation of extraneous (i.e., irrelevant or unnecessary) information may hamper learning with multimedia. The present study examined whether people can learn to ignore unnecessary information with increasing experience with the task and whether this depends on the layout of that information. In two experiments, participants learned about the process of mitosis from a multimedia slideshow, with each slide presenting a combination of expository text and a picture on one of the stages in the process. Slides either contained no unnecessary text (control condition) or unnecessary text (i.e., merely describing the picture) either integrated in the picture (integrated condition) or presented underneath the picture (separated condition). Knowledge about the studied mitosis phase was tested immediately after each slide using a cloze test. Across Experiments 1 and 2, we did not find a reliable negative effect of the unnecessary text on cloze test performance. As a result, the question of whether task experience would reduce or eliminate that negative effect could not be answered. The eye movement data did confirm, however, that participants attended less to the unnecessary information with increasing task experience, suggesting that students can adapt their study strategy and learn to ignore unnecessary information.

Background: When interpreting medical images such as dental panoramic radiographs (Orthopanthomogram, OPT), errors are frequent. Previous research has shown that eye movement modelling examples (EMME) are a supportive training method for medical image interpretation to reduce errors. To date, EMME support for OPTs has not been verified. Objectives: We investigated whether a training with EMME and verbal explanations supports dental students in evaluating OPTs. Methods: Dental students were randomly assigned to an intervention (N = 42) or a control group (N = 41). The intervention group received the EMME between pre‐ and post‐test. In a laboratory study, we measured students' gaze behaviour during evaluating OPTs and the detection rate of anomalies. Results and conclusions: The training led to fewer, shorter, and later fixations on anomalies and no difference in visual coverage of the OPT. The detection rate of anomalies did not improve. We replicated the latter finding in an online study (N = 31). Students may not have been able to apply the information from the EMME to detect anomalies. The image reading processes changed to more efficient rather than deeper visual search. Major takeaways: This study evaluated a training method with EMME for anomaly detection of OPTs. EMMEs did not improve the anomaly detection of dental students and changed their visual search process toward a more efficient rather than a deeper search. Lay Description: What is already known about this topic: Dental students and dentists commit many errors when interpreting radiographs.Validated interventions to support radiograph interpretations are lacking.Eye movement modelling examples (EMME) consist of videos showing an expert's gaze behaviour while performing a visual task.EMME improve processing of visual information in other domains (e.g., multimedia learning, chest x‐rays). What this paper adds: We investigated whether EMME improved detection of anomalies and gaze behaviour for dental students.Three EMME videos of dental experts explaining their behaviour and observations were presented to students.Studying the EMME videos did not improve the detection of anomalies.The gaze behaviour changed to a more efficient visual search. Implications for practice and/or policy: EMME do not seem to be effective as a short‐term intervention to improve anomaly detection for dental students.Further research is needed to develop effective training methods that could be applied in university teaching. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]