Elementary School Students’ Preferences and Learning Effects on Displayed Teacher Image in On-Demand Learning Content

Abstract: This study aims to elucidate the appropriate form of teacher images in online learning content and to establish the knowledge necessary to construct effective learning content. Based on our previous study, we hypothesized that the improvement in learning effect would be maintained or continued when the preference for teacher image presentation matched the learners’ preferences for the display in the learning content. To confirm the validity of this trend, we experimented. We also analyzed the difference in learners’ gazing points when their preferences were matched and when they were not. In this paper, 41 elementary school students (grades 4-6) were given a quiz simulating on-demand learning, and the quiz’s correct response rate and gazing point were analyzed. Questionnaires and interviews were also conducted. Two types of content were created and used: one with the teacher’s image and the other without it. The content viewed by the participants included an explanation of the correct answers. The learning retention rate was analyzed based on the percentage of correct answers on the quiz before and after viewing this explanation, and then again after four weeks. In the analysis, we tested for differences in learning effects and gazing areas by whether the teacher image was presented and if it matched the participants’ preferences for the presentation of the teacher images. The results of the interview revealed that 46% of the experimental participants preferred the presentation of the teacher’s face image. It was also found that the presence or absence of the teacher’s image in the content did not affect the percentage of correct answers to the quiz. However, when the presence or absence of teacher images in the video content viewed matched the individual preferences of the participants, the learning effect was improved up to four weeks after the experiment. Furthermore, we compared the gazing areas of the groups in which the presence or absence of the teacher image matched the students’ preferences with those in which they did not. The results showed that the group who preferred the teacher image, in other words, the group whose preference matched the teacher presentation, spent significantly less time looking at the teacher image in the learning content than the group who didn’t prefer the teacher image, and spent considerably more time looking at the area of multiple choices during the explanation period. These results suggest that among participants who prefer the presentation of teacher image, there is less concern that gazing at the teacher image will reduce their attention to the learning content. The interview results indicated that the presentation of teacher images can be a reassuring or disincentive factor, depending on learner preference. To construct learning content with a high learning effect, it is essential to design a system that encourages learners to think and understand spontaneously, considering their preferences rather than just the presence or absence of teacher images.

Keywords: comprehension level, eye gaze tracking, learning effect, on-demand learning, preference

DOI: 10.54941/ahfe1006950

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