Formal Lessons Improve Informal Educational Experiences: The Influence of Prior Knowledge on Student Engagement

How Does Prior Knowledge Influence Learning Engagement? The Mediating Roles of Cognitive Load and Help-Seeking

“…Prior knowledge had a positive effect on learning engagement, which is consistent with claims made by other researchers (Rodrigues, 2007;Pecore et al, 2017). However, our work further explores the direct and indirect effects.…”

“…H1, H2, H3a, H3b, and H3c are supported. Prior knowledge has a significant positive direct effect on engagement (β = 0.17, p < 0.01) (H1), a finding that is aligned with the results from previous studies (Rodrigues, 2007;Pecore et al, 2017). Consistent with findings of van Riesen et al (2019), prior knowledge has a significant negative direct effect on cognitive load (β = − 0.42, p < 0.01) (H2).…”

“…Learning something new is predicated on what one already knows (i.e., prior knowledge). Past studies claimed that prior knowledge has an important influence on learning engagement (Rodrigues, 2007;Pecore et al, 2017). Prior knowledge could reduce cognitive load leading to better learning engagement (van Riesen et al, 2019).…”

Students’ Psychological Perceptions Toward Online Learning Engagement and Outcomes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Comparative Analysis of Students in Three Different Countries

“…As many universities have been considering both face-to-face and online learning for the upcoming semester, it is important to examine students' learning outcome of online courses, compared to traditional faceto-face courses in order to identify potential problems, address the issue, and thereby provide consistent quality of education services. Furthermore, previous research (e.g., Pecore et al, 2017) suggested that learning engagement mediates the relationship between students' motivation and learning outcome. Accordingly, in this study, students' online learning engagement is considered a mediator between three antecedents, self-efficacy, motivation, and anxiety and online learning outcomes.…”

Editorial

“…This issue contains four research and evaluation reports, two methodology reviews, and one book review. The articles address ongoing concerns in the visitor studies field and build on prior publications from the journal in three areas: (a) research methodologies, especially issues around efficient and accurate data collection (see, e.g., Moussouri & Roussos, 2013;Rainbolt Nurse, Benfield, & Loomis, 2012;Schautz, van Dijk, & Meisert, 2016) and the impact of our methods on visitors (e.g., Pattison & Shagott, 2015); (b) the use of photography by museum visitors (e.g., Vartiainen & Enkenberg, 2014); and (c) strategies for enhancing the educational value of school field trips to informal educational organizations (e.g., Aerila, Rönkkö, & Gronman, 2016;Pecore, Kirchgessner, Demetrikopoulos, Carruth, & Frantz, 2017).…”