Constructing interactive web apps has become more accessible for instructors, for example, by using the R package Shiny. Here we explored learners' preferences and the efficiency of interactive simulations versus static pictures in acquiring statistics knowledge of Cohen's d and standard normal distribution.Results revealed that students' spontaneous interaction with pictures was infrequent (pilot study, N = 26). While prompts (Exp. 1, N = 152) effectively ensured the manipulation of simulations, student exposure to interactive simulations led to longer learning times though similar test performance compared with student exposure to static pictures. Multiple interactive representations led to lower test performance than single interactive and static representations (Exp. 2, N = 117). Though no advantage was gained regarding learning outcomes, participants preferred the interactive variant (Exp. 3, N = 119). Taken together, this study demonstrates that the superiority of interactive pictures cannot be assumed to hold in general. Further work should evaluate how mental model construction can be effectively scaffolded by interactive simulations.
Statistics is not the subject most psychology students are feverishly looking forward to. Fears and doubts about its relevance are quite common. This is especially pronounced at our institution, a large distance-teaching university with highly heterogeneous students. We recognized three clusters of students that might need special support: (1) students with fear of statistics, (2) students whose school time was a long time ago, (3) students who already failed the statistics exam. We gave those students the opportunity to participate in small, supervised groups to discuss learning strategies, problems, or fears. Students who did not participate served as a control group. We exploratively evaluated which kind of students were interested, and if the groups affected attitudes towards statistics, general self-efficacy, and exam-related variables. Interest and activity in the groups were low. No unique effect of participation in the groups on attitudes and grades were observable. Students stated that the groups did not help them to deal with the course. If these results prove stable in further studies with an improved design, one might conclude that setting up such small groups is not worth the effort.
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