Automatic Clustering of Students by Level of Situational Interest Based on Their EEG Features

The usage of physiological measures in detecting student’s interest is often said to improve the weakness of psychological measures by decreasing the susceptibility of subjective bias. The existing methods, especially EEG-based, use classification, which needs a predefined class and complex computational to analyze. However, the predefined classes are mostly based on subjective measurement (e.g., questionnaires). This work proposed a new scheme to automatically cluster the students by the level of situational interest (SI) during learning-based lessons on their electroencephalography (EEG) features. The formed clusters are then used as ground truth for classification purposes. A simultaneous recording of EEG was performed on 30 students while attending a lecture in a real classroom. The frontal mean delta and alpha power as well as the frontal alpha asymmetry metric served as the input for k-means and Density-Based Spatial Clustering of Applications with Noise (DBSCAN) clustering algorithms. Using the collected data, 29 models were trained within nine domain classifiers, then the classifiers with the highest performance were selected. We validated all the models through 10-fold cross-validation. The high SI group was clustered to students having lower frontal mean delta and alpha power together with negative Frontal Alpha Asymmetry (FAA). It was found that k-means performed better by giving the maximum performance assessment parameters of 100% in clustering the students into three groups: high SI, medium SI and low SI. The findings show that the DBSCAN had reduced the performance to cluster dataset without the outlier. The findings of this study give a promising option to cluster the students by their SI level, as well as address the drawbacks of the existing methods, which use subjective measures.

Judgment day: Activating computational thinking activities with popular culture

El interés como construcción de aprendizaje proporciona más que inspiración para la innovación. Dewey reconoció el papel del interés como una herramienta poderosa para involucrar a los estudiantes. Sin embargo, a pesar de los esfuerzos contemporáneos por estudiar el fenómeno, pocos diseños de aprendizaje reconocen este potencial. El presente artículo presenta un marco conceptual para la integración de la cultura popular en STEM, utilizando las competencias de pensamiento computacional como un mecanismo crítico y un contexto para la aplicación y las pruebas. El interés contribuye a la motivación a través de la autorregulación, y la autorregulación tiene el poder de mejorar el ciclo de logro e interés en el aprendizaje. A través de este marco, el Principio de activación de Merrill brinda orientación sobre por qué y cómo debemos atender este ciclo. Al evocar recuerdos positivos relacionados con los intereses del alumno, podemos mejorar otras etapas del aprendizaje desconectadas de la experiencia de aprendizaje inicial. Los educadores y académicos de STEM pueden usar este marco y diseñar y evaluar con confianza actividades de aprendizaje dirigidas al desarrollo del pensamiento computacional utilizando los medios y la cultura populares. Finding a foundation in Dewey, interest is an underestimated and often overlooked aspect of learning design. Yet, situational interest in a learning experience has the power to contribute to motivation through self-regulation. Self-regulation, a learning metaskill, has the power to aid the cyclical cycle of learning achievement and interest, especially in STEM learning. Additionally, Merrill’s Activation Principle provides guidance on why and how we should attend to this cycle. Though interest appears occasionally as a consideration in learning design, two aspects of such an approach are lacking in the literature. First, few STEM-learning designs evaluate activation strategies. Second, sparse examples of attention on designing for interest in STEM learning reference using popular culture as a specific trigger. The current paper explores a conceptual framework for integrating popular culture into STEM, using computational thinking competencies as a critical mechanism and context for application and testing.

The structural relationships among spatial presence, situational interest and behavioral attitudes toward online virtual museum navigation: a PLS-SEM analysis

PurposeThis study proposed a research model for verifying the structural relationships among users' perceived spatial presence (VR affordance), situational interest (affective factor) and behavioral attitudes (outcome) toward online virtual museum navigation. What role of situational interest plays in the relationships between spatial presence and outcomes was further examined.Design/methodology/approachThere were 141 adults invited to participate in the research trials on the navigation of the online virtual museum which was established by 3D space capture techniques. This study conducted a series of PLS-SEM to analyze the participants' quantitative responses to the surveys of spatial presence, situational interest and attitudes.FindingsThe testing of reliability and validity for the measurement model of this study was satisfied. The significance of users' perceived situational interest: attention demand, instant enjoyment and exploration intention when navigating the online virtual museum with perceptions of spatial presence were identified. The mediation of situational interest in the relationships between spatial presence and behavioral attitudes were also verified.Practical implicationsFor the practical design of desktop-based online virtual museums, it is suggested that more engaging strategies such as narrative storytelling and gamified interaction could be integrated to enhance users' situational interest including attention demand, instant enjoyment and exploration intention.Originality/valueThrough the examination of situational interest from multiple constructs, the research model of this study advanced the conceptual framework for understanding the consequences of VR affordance in online virtual museum navigation. The theoretical contribution to verifying the mediated role of situational interest was made.

Relationships between students’ individual interest, achievement goals, perceived competence and situational interest: A cluster analysis in swimming

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between students’ individual interest, achievement goals, perceived competence and situational interest, by using a cluster analysis in swimming. Three hundred and eighty-two secondary school students ( Mage = 14.8, SD = 0.9, 52.4% girls, aged 13–17) enrolled in swimming lessons during physical education classes participated in the study. They responded to validated questionnaires assessing their individual and situational interest, achievement goals and perceived competence in swimming. A cluster analysis was performed to examine students’ profiles in relation to their individual interest in swimming. Then, for each profile identified, correlations and multiple regression analyses were used to examine the relationships between students’ individual interest, achievement goals, perceived competence and situational interest. Four different students’ profiles were identified, which represented a continuum from a ‘Very low individual interest and triggering situational interest’ towards a ‘Well-developed individual interest and actualised situational interest’. Each profile was characterised by specific relationships between individual interest, achievement goals, perceived competence and situational interest. Referring to the model of interest development ( Hidi and Renninger, 2006 ), the four profiles identified were aligned with the four phases that represent the transition from students’ situational interest towards students’ individual interest.

Flow Experience and Situational Interest in Game-Based Learning: Cousins or Identical Twins

While game-based learning seems to be an effective instructional approach, the underlying learning and engagement mechanisms of games are still poorly understood. In the current study, we investigated to what extent flow experience and situational interest are different indicators of engagement in game-based learning. Fifty-two Finnish 5th graders played a game on fractions at home during COVID-19 enforced distance learning. Flow and situational interest measures were embedded directly into the game environment. Results revealed that although flow experience and situational interest constructs share similar components, they also differ. In particular, regression analysis indicated that situational interest is mostly related to immersive aspects of flow. Moreover, learning gains achieved by playing the game and situational interest were positively related – a relation not found with flow. Although flow was not related to learning gains, it seems to be a more competence-oriented construct than situational interest as it was positively correlated with in-game performance. The design of the game successfully supported weaker students with adaptive scaffolds and in-game self-reporting measures worked well. Taken together, even though situational interest and flow share similar components, both constructs are important for multifaceted assessment of engagement in game-based learning. Theoretical and practical implications for engagement research and game design are discussed.

The Roles of Sex and Minority Status in Children’s Motivation and Psychomotor Learning

In this study, we had two inter-related goals: (a) to examine sex and minority status differences on children’s motivation for physical education (PE; i.e., their expectancy beliefs, subjective task values, and situational interest) and their psychomotor learning outcomes (i.e., motor competence, cardiorespiratory fitness, and in-class physical activity); and (b) to examine the relationships between children’s motivation and their psychomotor learning outcomes while testing the moderation effects of sex and minority status. We recruited 195 fourth and fifth-grade students (101 boys; 94 girls; Mage = 10.7, SD = 0.7 years) from three elementary schools in North Texas. Using multivariate analysis of variance, we identified a significant sex difference that favored boys in motivation and psychomotor learning outcomes, with no significant minority status difference in relation to these variables. Regression analysis revealed that children’s expectancy beliefs were significantly associated with both motor competence ( R2 = 11%) and cardiorespiratory fitness ( R2 = 16%), while both situational interest and sex were associated with in-class physical activity ( R2 = 18%). Thus, improving children’s expectancy beliefs may be a means of enhancing psychomotor learning outcomes in PE, especially for girls. Enhancing children’s beliefs in their own ability and offering diversified PE content so as to generate greater interest may facilitate psychomotor learning.

Investigating students’ perceived authenticity of learning activities in an out-of-school lab for social sciences: a replication study

Out-of-school labs (OSLs) aim to foster students’ interest in and knowledge about scientific ways of thinking and working by engaging them in authentic activities that emulate processes of scientific inquiry. However, research has not yet focused on investigating whether students perceive those activities as authentic and whether students’ perceived authenticity is related to further motivational (e.g. situational interest) or cognitive (e.g. achievement) learning outcomes. An authentic learning activity that emulates scientific inquiry processes is Productive Failure (PF). In PF, students are asked to explore solutions to a complex problem before they have to falsify their solutions during instruction. The present study, which aims to replicate the findings of a previous study, investigates whether PF has an impact on students’ perceived authenticity and their situational interest in an OSL for social sciences. We further examined whether students’ perceived authenticity is associated with their situational interest and knowledge acquisition. For this purpose, we conducted a quasi-experimental study with 152 10th graders and compared PF to Direct Instruction (DI). DI can be characterized as less authentic, as it promotes the conceptualization of scientific inquiry being nothing else but an application of instructions. The results mostly replicate the findings of the previous study, showing that the authenticity level of the learning activity did neither affect students’ perceived authenticity nor their situational interest. Furthermore, students’ perceived authenticity correlated with their situational interest but not with their knowledge acquisition. We discuss the results in light of previous research on the effectiveness of authentic learning settings.