The Effect of Mobile Learning and Virtual Tour Instructional Models on Cognitive Load and Learning Effectiveness of Junior High School Students

This study investigated the effectiveness of a QR code-based mobile learning system in engaging students in a personalized, situated mobile learning environment for a lesson on campus edible plants. The participants were three classes of seventh grade students from a middle school in Taiwan. This study employed a quasi-experimental design. One class received materials by scanning a QR code with the help of a tablet (Experimental group A; n = 23), one class underwent a virtual tour (Experimental group B; n = 24), and one class underwent an in-person campus tour (Control group; n = 23). The students’ posttest responses to a cognitive load perspective survey (on mental load and mental effort) and pretest and posttest scores on a plant knowledge test were analyzed. The results confirm the effectiveness of mobile learning. The mobile learning group significantly outperformed the other groups in terms of total cognitive load and mental effort; no significant difference was observed between the in-person campus tour and virtual tour groups. Furthermore, no significant difference in mental load was observed among the three groups. The largest improvement in PKT scores was observed in the mobile learning group, followed by those in the in-person campus tour and virtual tour groups. However, the design of different instructional models and the cognitive load level of learners had no significant interaction effect on learning effectiveness. A significant difference was observed in the main effect of different instructional models. This study provides suggestions for research on mobile learning, cognitive load, and learning effectiveness.