Relationships Between Teacher Presence and Learning Outcomes, Learning Perceptions, and Visual Attention Distribution in Videotaped Lectures

Introduction

Video is a popular educational format in settings like traditional classrooms, online classwork, or blended educational environments. The COVID-19 global pandemic and person-to-person viral transmission forced the use of social distancing measures to curb the dissemination of disease. Online learning attracted more attention due to its comfort, accessibility, and remote opportunities (Yu, 2021b). However, online learning’s distance between learner and instructor may reduce learners’ engagement and produce lower academic grades, satisfaction, and interest (van Wermeskerken et al., 2018). According to some studies, these dilemmas may be addressed through the addition of a “talking head” in video lectures. Other studies, however, show that the effects of teacher presence in videotaped lectures did not reach a general agreement (Wang et al., 2018; Wang et al., 2020; Wilson et al., 2018). Therefore, whether and how a teacher should be present on the screen has been an issue discussed by instructional video designers as they work to create more attractive and efficient videos. This study will make it possible to analyze the relationships between teacher presence and learning as we aim to build a precise scenario for future design.

Advantages of teacher presence have been extolled by various theories. According to the social presence theory (Gunawardena, 1995), an instructor’s social cues could establish a closer social connection between the learners and instructor. The teacher-present format may induce a higher level of interest and satisfaction, as well as lower mental difficulty (Frechette & Moreno, 2010). Some researchers reported that the instructor’s voice served as the most crucial social cue. However, the instructor’s face on the screen seemed to be an inferior factor with insignificant effects on social presence (Colliot & Jamet, 2018). In addition, the social agency theory points out that teachers’ social signals (i.e., eye gaze, facial expression, and gestures) direct students’ attention toward important learning content or materials, activating deeper engagement and cognitive processing (Mayer & DaPra, 2012). Naturally, more meaningful efforts of students in videotaped lectures represented better learning performance (Wang et al., 2017, 2018; Yang, 2020).

Despite the effectiveness of videotaped lectures, some theories demonstrate problems with teacher presence. The cognitive theory of multimedia learning (CTML), proposed by Mayer and Moreno (2003), discussed the visual and verbal system channels in human working memory. Each system can process limited information when novel information is simultaneously input into the two tracks. For example, in videotaped lectures, the teacher’s face and other on-screen content can be construed as visual stimuli that compete with the limited capacity of working memory. This competition, in turn, can impair the learners’ performance. This theory was reflected in the increase of extraneous load. The three components of cognitive loads include:

• 1.

  Intrinsic Load: Subject to a learner’s prior knowledge and the complexity of tasks (Sweller, 2011)

• 2.

  Extraneous Load: Associated with the improper design and presentation of instructional activities (Yu et al., 2014)

• 3.

  Germane Load: The integration of schematic knowledge (Wiebe et al., 2010)

Instructor presence could induce additional extraneous load irrelevant to the task. This can hinder learning when the teacher’s image serves as redundant information.