Interest is key to learning. Video is a promising tool for interest development in education, but professionals in education are in need of more theory-grounded guidance for production, selection,... Show moreInterest is key to learning. Video is a promising tool for interest development in education, but professionals in education are in need of more theory-grounded guidance for production, selection, and use of videos. In previous studies, we developed and validated a model on film’s interest raising mechanisms in educational contexts, called the FIRM model. In the qualitative study reported here, we used the model to explain how pupils’ appraisals of video characteristics relate to their interest in the video. We evaluated the use of five videos in seven 12th-grade science and mathematics classrooms (177 pupils). We measured interest at scene level and grouped pupils on general interest. We performed video analyses, case studies (N = 5), and a cross-case analysis. Our findings resulted in three relationships between appraisals and interest, regarding the video’s complexity level and the pupils’ knowledge level, pupils’ recognition of video categories, and pupils’ expectations of videos. Show less
Film has been used for education ever since educators recognized its powerful potential for learning. But its educational application has been criticized throughout the decades for underuse of the... Show moreFilm has been used for education ever since educators recognized its powerful potential for learning. But its educational application has been criticized throughout the decades for underuse of the distinctive potential of film: to raise interest. To understand more fully film's potential for learning, we propose a dynamic model of viewer interest and its underlying cognitive and emotional mechanisms (film's interest raising mechanisms or FIRM model). In addition, we present an analysis method for assessing the interestingness of films in learning contexts. Our model marries interest theories from cognitive film theory and educational psychology and captures the dynamics of interestingness across a film as depending on a balance between challenge posed and coping potential provided. Show less
Wijnker, W.; Bakker, A.; Gog, T. van; Drijvers, P. 2018
Teachers are increasingly using video in their lessons, with various aims (eg, to raise students' levels of conceptual knowledge or interest). Videos that can be used for educational purposes are... Show moreTeachers are increasingly using video in their lessons, with various aims (eg, to raise students' levels of conceptual knowledge or interest). Videos that can be used for educational purposes are numerous, ranging from instruction videos to fiction films. Such videos have different characteristics, for example regarding the amount and structure of information, and the audio-visual presentation. However, guidelines on which video characteristics can help to achieve specific teacher aims are lacking. As a first step towards composing such guidelines, we added a film theory perspective to educational research on videos. The study included seven science teachers, 13 videos, and 233 students (aged 13-18 years). We used teacher interviews, video analyses, student questionnaires and a cross-case analysis connecting all the data. Data analysis followed a grounded theory approach, including open and axial coding to structure the data, and the constant comparative method to interconnect them. The results showed that videos that posed questions were associated with an increase in students' interest, and that highly informative videos with authoritative speakers were associated with an increase in students self-reported conceptual knowledge gains. Moreover, teachers often did not have explicit aims for using a particular video, and they selected and used videos in their lessons intuitively. Stimulating teachers to use videos in a more aim oriented way may make video usage more effective. From these findings, we developed a framework to assist teachers in selecting or making videos that match their aims, and a model of possible connections between teacher aims and film types as a first step towards guidelines for teachers using educational videos. Show less
This dissertation shows that the subjective experience of surprise and curiosity depends on where people are in their process of making sense. Part 1 focusses on surprise. It shows that to study... Show moreThis dissertation shows that the subjective experience of surprise and curiosity depends on where people are in their process of making sense. Part 1 focusses on surprise. It shows that to study surprise it is key to take the temporal dynamics of sense-making into account and to distinguish surprise (i.e., the response to the unexpectedness of an event) from the state that follows it after sense-making (i.e., the response to the valence of the event). Part 2 focusses on curiosity. It shows that anticipation is a key factor for how it feels to be curious. The closer people are to the resolution, the more they anticipate discovering new information, the more negative feelings of deprivation are reduced. Moreover, the more people anticipate that they can deal with complex novel things, the more curious they will become. Taken together, the findings in this dissertation show that people first need to master a situation of "not knowing" before they can appreciate it. Show less
