Effect of Learner's Emotional Interactions on Self-Aware Decisions and Achievements in Sophisticated Education Tools
In the realm of human biology education, a recent study has shed light on the complex interplay between students' emotions, metacognitive judgments, and performance when learning with MetaTutorIVH, an advanced learning technology.
The research has revealed that during the learning process, emotions such as confusion, frustration, and joy dynamically relate to how students monitor and regulate their understanding. Confusion and frustration often indicate recognition of difficulty or misunderstanding, triggering metacognitive activities like self-questioning or strategy adjustment. On the other hand, joy tends to reflect moments of comprehension and progress, reinforcing positive learning engagement.
Metacognitive judgments, such as judgments of learning (JOLs), self-assessments, and monitoring one's comprehension, are crucial for regulating study behaviours. More accurate metacognitive monitoring correlates strongly with better academic performance. Students who monitor their understanding accurately are more likely to identify gaps, engage in remedial activities, and thus improve retention and exam results.
The interplay of affect and metacognition is critical. Negative affect (e.g., confusion) can motivate metacognitive control if recognized and regulated effectively, whereas persistent frustration without regulation may hinder performance. Positive affect (joy) reinforces motivation and engagement, supporting continued metacognitive activity.
Empirical studies indicate that AI tutors like MetaTutorIVH, which prompt students to reflect on their understanding and emotions, facilitate this interplay by helping students become aware of their affective states as metacognitive signals. This leads to improved calibration of self-judgments and thereby enhances learning performance in complex domains like human biology.
The study suggests that students' retrospective confidence judgments may be influenced by their emotional state during learning. This impact on confidence is observed even after accounting for individual differences in multiple-choice confidence. However, no significant differences in performance were observed due to the presence of affective states or transitions.
In summary, students’ affective experiences of confusion and frustration act as important cues for metacognitive monitoring and strategy adjustment, while joy supports motivation. Accurate metacognitive judgments mediate how these emotions influence learning performance in MetaTutorIVH environments for human biology education.
This research underscores the importance of considering students' emotional state in the design of learning technologies. The findings may have implications for the development of future learning technologies to better support student learning and confidence. However, it is worth noting that while AI tutors, including MetaTutor, are beneficial, they still tend to be less effective than professional tutors in some respects. The effectiveness of metacognitive and affective regulation is thus enhanced when AI guidance is carefully designed to engage learners in reflection and emotional awareness.
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[3] Kornell, N., & Bjork, R. A. (2007). A practice-based theory of learning: The role of retrieval-based learning in the development of long-term memory. Psychological Review, 114(4), 829-856.
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Artificial-intelligence powered learning technologies, like MetaTutorIVH, can help students become more aware of their affective states as metacognitive signals during education-and-self-development, particularly in complex areas such as human biology. This awareness, in turn, promotes accurate metacognitive judgments and learning performance, as students are better able to regulate their understanding and engage in remedial activities when necessary.
Hence, the design of future learning technologies should consider the interplay between students' emotions, metacognitive judgments, and learning processes, to ensure they effectively support student learning and confidence while enhancing metacognitive and affective regulation.
