Mapping students’ self-reported cognitive load, situational engagement, and attentional-cognitive states in an online multimedia learning module

This study investigated relationships between online learners’ self-reported attentional and cognitive states, cognitive load, situational engagement, and learning gains from a multimedia instructional module on Newton’s second law. Students (N=896) estimated time spent in four states: on-screen/on-task, off-screen/on-task, onscreen/off-task (mind wandering), and off-screen/off-task. Most time was spent on-screen/on-task (62.4%). Mind wandering time negatively correlated with engagement, germane load, and learning gains. On-task time positively correlated with engagement and germane load, but off-screen/on-task time unexpectedly negatively related to germane load. Off-task time correlated negatively with engagement/germane load and positively with extraneous load. However, no attentional state significantly predicted learning gains besides mind wandering’s negative impact. Self-reports revealed relationships generally aligning with cognitive load theory, though some findings differed from expectations. The results underscore examining attentional-cognitive states’ influence on cognitive load, engagement, and multimedia learning outcomes.