Abstract BackgroundThe increasing prevalence of Artificial Intelligence (AI) language models, exemplified by ChatGPT, has sparked inquiries into their influence on creative writing skills in educational contexts. This study aims to quantitatively investigate whether ChatGPT's use negatively affects university students' creative writing abilities, focusing on originality, content presentation, accuracy, and elaboration in essays. The research adopts an experimental approach to shed light on this concern.ObjectiveThis study aims to quantitatively investigate whether the utilization of ChatGPT, an AI chatbot, adversely affects specific dimensions of creative writing skills among university students, with an emphasis on originality, content presentation, accuracy, and elaboration.MethodThe experimental study involves 600 students from 10 universities, divided into a control and an experimental group (EGp). The EGp incorporates ChatGPT in their creative writing process as an intervention. The study evaluates originality, content presentation, accuracy, and elaboration, utilizing the Wilcoxon Signed‐Rank Test for analysis.Results and ConclusionThe findings reveal a detrimental association between ChatGPT use and university students' creative writing abilities. Analysing both machine‐based and human‐based assessments substantiates earlier qualitative observations regarding ChatGPT's adverse impact on creative writing. This study highlights the necessity of approaching AI integration, particularly in creative writing disciplines, with caution. While AI tools have merits, their integration should be thoughtful, considering the potential drawbacks. These insights inform future research and educational practices, guiding the effective incorporation of AI while nurturing students' writing skills.

Abstract BackgroundGender differences in the use of educational environments and social media platforms have been a topic of interest in research. Several studies have examined the disparities between female and male participants in terms of participation, engagement, and motivations in either educational or social media platforms. On this end, this study proceeds to explore gender disparities in an innovative educational environment that sees the incorporation of an educational component within a simulated social media environment.ObjectivesDriven by a dual objective, this study aims to first investigate the impact of gender on skills development in an educational social media platform, and second, to explore the behavioural differences between female and male adolescents social interactions within the platform.MethodsThe study involved 142 high school students in Barcelona and utilised an ad‐hoc questionnaire to assess students' skills. To explore students' behaviour within the platform, actions such as likes, comments, publishing, visiting profiles, and viewing images, were recorded using the Experience API.Results and ConclusionsOur study's findings indicate that both female and male students benefited from the intervention implemented within the educational social media platform. Moreover, the results revealed distinct interaction patterns between female and male participants. These findings provide valuable insights into how adolescents of different genders interact within an educational social media platform. Additionally, the design principles outlined in this study can inform the development of future educational social media interventions that effectively engage the preferences of both genders.

Abstract BackgroundEmotional design of multimedia lessons involves adding features that are intended to increase learner enjoyment and promote learning—such as adding narrative, anthropomorphizing non‐human elements, and using warm colours.ObjectiveThe present study extends this work to examine the potential of Japanese animation (anime) for improving science learning.MethodSpecifically, 134 English‐speaking students learned about cells in the human body by viewing the popular anime, Cells at Work, either in Japanese with English subtitles or dubbed in English with no subtitles (anime groups), or by viewing a slideshow containing the same information (slideshow group). The anime conditions were vibrant story‐driven lessons that depicted human‐looking cells working to fight off invaders in a human body that looked like a city. The slideshow used very similar wording as the anime groups, and displayed the cells without anthropomorphism or a storyline.Results and ConclusionThe anime groups did not differ significantly from each other on any dependent measures and were therefore combined. The anime groups scored significantly higher than the slideshow group on retention (d = 0.35) and transfer (d = 0.48) tests. The anime groups also had significantly higher ratings of motivation (d = 0.60) and enjoyment (d = 1.13), whereas, the slideshow group had significantly higher ratings of distraction (d = 0.59). These results support the cognitive‐affective theory of learning with media (CATLM) and demonstrate that anime may be an effective learning medium.TakeawaysAnime should be considered as a medium for science learning, especially when students might not otherwise be motivated to learn.

Abstract Background StudyAs interest in programming education continues to grow, more educators are incorporating programming into K‐12 classrooms. There is evidence that programming can help develop essential skills for future societal advancement, known as 21st century skills. However, there has been limited research into which sub‐skills of 21st century skills are fostered through programming and the effect sizes thereof.ObjectiveThis study presented a meta‐analysis to comprehensively understand the influence of programming instruction in K‐12 classrooms on the development of students' 21st century skills in different dimensions of sub‐skills. And further analysed the impact of key elements of programming instruction design on its effectiveness.MethodsA comprehensive meta‐analysis was conducted, covering 74 empirical studies published between 2000 and 2023, involving 136 effect sizes, and moderation analyzes on variables of instructional design.ResultsThis study indicated that implementing programming instruction in K‐12 schools can help develop students' multiple dimensions of 21st century skills, such as critical thinking, creativity, communication, collaboration, problem‐solving and decision, learning to learn, ICT literacy, and personal and social responsibility. Overall, programming demonstrates a moderate but significant effect on improving 21st century skills (Hedges's g = 0.621, p = 0.000 < 0.01). Furthermore, several best practices were identified to enhance students' 21st century skills, including initiating programming education from kindergarten, limiting the duration of programming interventions to 6 months, adopting interdisciplinary approaches to programming education, utilizing visual programming tools, and selecting appropriate assessment methods.ConclusionBased on these findings, this study recommended the thoughtful design of programming education to maximize its advantages in various dimensions of 21st century skills.

Abstract BackgroundThe global introduction of complex measures directed at the containment of the COVID‐19 spread has spurred a massive shift to distance learning among educational institutions. As far as such a learning mode is rather forced and, probably, only a few establishments faced no difficulties with it, the matter of assuring teaching activities' effectiveness in the practice of e‐learning is relevant.ObjectivesThe main purpose of this article was to assess the efficiency of online‐based tools and technologies in the context of distance education and develop a set of recommendations aimed at improving the effectiveness of online teaching.MethodsThe research methodology was based on an empirical approach presupposing an exploratory questionnaire survey addressed to university students. As for the e‐learning platform used, the focus was set on Microsoft Teams.Results and ConclusionsIn general, the conducted investigation unveiled that the perception of the role of the instructor differs among Western and Chinese students in terms of willingness to accept psychological help and the feeling of safety during online lessons. Given this, it is reasonable to pay more attention to the psychological well‐being of international students. The comprehensive analysis of survey outcomes allowed the development of a set of recommendations able to enhance the effectiveness of teaching in online settings. These encompass, for example, giving preference to small student group formations, setting greater emphasis on means increasing students' motivation to learn, involvement of instructors in the development and delivery of video lectures, the introduction of automated student assessment, use of multimedia information, and informing students about possible ways of interaction.

Abstract BackgroundDriven by the ongoing need to provide high‐quality learning and teaching, universities recently have shown an increased interest in using learning analytics (LA) for improving learning design (LD). However, the evidence of such improvements is scarce, and the maturity of such research is unclear.ObjectivesThis study is aimed to evaluate the maturity of research discussing LA‐driven LD improvements in higher education.MethodsThe systematic review analyses 49 empirical papers, assesses their quality and suggests further research directions. The review elaborates on methodological (research questions, strategy and methods, LA‐LD integration theoretical backgrounds) and substantial (LA‐driven LD improvements, types of data used, LA software development) features of the papers.Results and ConclusionsThe findings demonstrated the lack of theoretical alignment between LA and LD, with research tending towards user experience studies. The most frequently used research strategy was a case study; experiments were very rare. Researchers predominantly used parsing for collecting data and AI methods for analysing it; mostly used data types related to registering learners' engagement with learning activities as well as resources and tools provided in digital learning environments.TakeawaysThe research area discussing LA‐driven LD improvements still has a way to go before attaining the level of full maturity. Only a third of the papers reported actual LA‐driven LD improvements; moreover, only three papers measured their effectiveness. The presented LA software was mostly at the beta or implementation stages and did not assess the impact of using this software.

Abstract BackgroundIt is crucial to use innovative tools to gain clinical reasoning skills through experiential learning in pharmacy education, and one of the most effective tools used in this is virtual reality. However, the lack of research that empirically demonstrates the instructional principles of virtual environment design, especially in the clinical setting, has resulted in a significant gap in the current literature.AimIn this study, it was aimed to determine the instructional design principles of a virtual environment for the clinical pharmacy.MethodThe study was conducted as a design‐based research. The data of the study related to three components of the developed virtual reality environment in pharmacy education (VRPE). These components, scenario development interface‐scenario development interface, virtual environment, and scenario, were collected through interviews, observation, document review, and a system usability scale. Instructional design principles for the VRPE were determined through analysis of the collected data.ResultsThe prominent instructional design principles of the VRPE were revealed as immersion, interaction, diversity, flow, aesthetics‐ergonomic‐universal design, informing, and retest availability. The significance of the study was the adoption of a holistic perspective in the design of a virtual reality environment for pharmacy education. In addition, one of the most critical features of the study was eliminating the expertise barrier in virtual environment design. Thus, it was concluded that the VRPE is an extraordinary tool that can be used for pharmacy education to promote experiential learning.

Abstract BackgroundVideo conferencing learning offers a more accessible and flexible learning mode for students who cannot attend face‐to‐face class in person. However, research about the video conferencing learning is still lacked, especially for students' engagement in this setting.ObjectivesThis study adopts the self‐system model of motivational development to uncover effects of the video conferencing learning environment (VCLE) to students' engagement.MethodsTwo hundred and ninety‐eight primary school students involved in the VCLE were surveyed. The partial least square structural equation modelling was employed to explore the link between the VCLE and students' engagement with a mediating role of basic psychological needs satisfaction (BPNS).Results and ConclusionsResults showed that the BPNS played a mediating role in the processes from the VCLE to engagement. Both pedagogical and social affordance had a significant effect on the BPNS. However, their influences were different. Specifically, pedagogical affordance yielded a stronger effect on the BPNS for autonomy than social affordance. The predicting power of social affordance on BPNS for relatedness and competence was stronger than pedagogical affordance. Generally, social affordance yielded more contributions to behavioral and emotional engagement than pedagogical affordance. Moreover, BPNS for competence was the only significant mediator between the VCLE and behavioral engagement, and it owned the strongest mediating power on the relationship between the VCLE and emotional engagement, followed by autonomy, and the smallest of relatedness. This study suggests that practitioners and researchers should give more consideration to improve social affordance of the VCLE and to meet students' BPNS especially for competence in order to design and implement an engaged video conferencing course.

Abstract BackgroundLearning Progress Assessments (LPA) have been developed to help teachers individualize their curriculum. The use of LPA is facilitated by an increasing number of computerized LPA tools. However, little is known about student factors that influence the effectiveness of computerized LPA.ObjectivesIn this study, we explored whether a computerized LPA that focused on reading comprehension was differentially effective depending on students' initial reading comprehension abilities. Moreover, effects of the LPA implementation on underlying or related form‐based literacy skills (i.e., decoding, spelling) were explored.MethodsThe development of reading and spelling skills of 668 third graders was assessed in 41 LPA and 36 control classes in a pretest–posttest design. We used multi‐level modelling to analyse effects of the LPA on reading comprehension, decoding, and spelling skills, and tested whether these effects were qualified by students' initial achievement level.ResultsThe LPA treatment proved beneficial for improving reading comprehension but not for improving decoding or spelling. Children with low levels of reading comprehension at the beginning of the school year benefitted particularly from LPA.TakeawaysTeachers seem to make use of the data offered by the computerized LPA to identify children with reading comprehension difficulties. For these children, an accelerated increase in reading comprehension ability was observed. Results also suggest that this effect is specific to the literacy skill measured by the LPA and does not generalize to underlying or related literacy skills (i.e., decoding, spelling).