Decreasing extraneous cognitve load in multimedia environment: Effects of the pedagogical agent i

The study examines the pedagogical agent as cognitive tutor supporting learners to lower extraneous cognitive load while students engage in interactive learning environment. Through different learning phases, the pedagogical agent provided explanatory feedback and used socratic method for learners to regulate their thinking. At the final stage, with pedagogical agent guidance, students are asked to write the story which enabled them to elaborate their comprehension into long term memory. Cognitive processes are assessed using comprehension test and multimedia cognitive load measurement. The findings suggested with using the lifelike pedagogical agent, instructional designers should consider the split attention effect to interfere learning.