The Interactive Effects of Instructors' Guidance Frequency and Type on Chinese Secondary School Students' Learning

As an important resource in online learning, video lectures have attracted considerable research attention in the impact of teachers' nonverbal guidance behaviors on learning. However, few studies have focused on secondary education, and it remains unclear whether the interaction between different guidance frequencies and types leads to variations in the effectiveness of guidance. This study tested the mutual effects of instructor's guidance frequency and type on secondary school students' learning performance (retention scores, transfer scores) and affective experiences (cognitive load, learning experience, learning satisfaction). A total of 202 secondary school students were randomly assigned to watch one of the four video lectures, using a 2 (guidance frequency: low-frequency guidance, high-frequency guidance) × 2 (guidance type: gesture guidance, gesture + gaze guidance) between-groups design. The study was conducted in a multimedia classroom setting. The results showed that low-frequency guidance by instructors contributed to improved learning performance. Specifically, under low-frequency guidance conditions, gesture guidance was more effective in enhancing retention, while gesture + gaze guidance facilitated learners' transfer. Moreover, low-frequency gesture + gaze guidance by teachers resulted in better affective experiences for students, as evident in cognitive load, learning experience, and learning satisfaction. Therefore, it is recommended that instructors lecturing for secondary students adopt appropriate types of low-frequency guidance according to the level of learning difficulty to improve teaching effectiveness.