Enhancing video-based instruction: the impact of affective pedagogical agents and cognitive prompts

Affective pedagogical agents (PAs) have been recognized as an effective way to promote affective processing in video-based learning environments. However, non-verbal cues, such as a PA’s facial expressions and gestures have the potential to distract learners’ attention and disrupt their cognitive processing. Consequently, there is a need to explore methods to enhance the beneficial effects of affective PAs on learners’ cognitive processing. This study investigated the role of integrating affective PAs and cognitive prompts into video-based learning. A total of 123 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of four experimental conditions created using a 2 (affective PA: positive PA or neutral PA) × 2 (prompts: cognitive prompts or no cognitive prompts) between-subjects design. The results revealed that (a) learners in positive PAs conditions had lower negative emotions and higher retention and transfer scores than those in neutral PAs conditions; (b) cognitive prompts decreased learners’ negative emotions and extraneous cognitive load and promoted learning performance; and (c) the combination of positive PAs and cognitive prompts increased germane cognitive load and further facilitated learning performance. These findings confirm that cognitive prompt is a “cost-effective” strategy for improving learners’ emotional and cognitive performance in video-based learning environments featuring affective PAs.