۱- Introduction

۲- Identification of emotions in e-learning

۳- Measurement of emotions in e-learning

۴- Explanation of emotions in e-learning

۵- Conclusion

References

Abstract

This special issue of Learning and Instruction examines the role of emotions in academic learning, with a special focus on emotions in computer-supported academic learning (or e-learning). Three central research challenges concerning emotion in e-learning are: identification (e.g., what are the key emotions in e-learning?), measurement (e.g., how can we tell how strongly a learner is experiencing each key emotion during e-learning?), and explanation (e.g., what are the causes and consequences of the learner’s emotional state during learning?). A useful goal of research on emotions in e-learning is to test an affective-cognitive model of e-learning with links among an e-learning episode, the learner’s emotional reaction during learning, the learner’s cognitive processing during learning, and the learning outcome.

Introduction

The goal of instruction is to create learning experiences that promote a change in knowledge in the learner, or more concisely, the goal of instruction is to promote learning (Mayer, 2011). According to cognitive models of learning, such as the cognitive theory of multimedia learning, an instructional message causes cognitive processing in the learner that yields a learning outcome (Mayer, 2009, 2014). However, researchers have called for expanding theories of academic learning to include the role of affective processing, because cognitive processing is not the only internal activity in the learner during learning (Lajoie, 2014; Moreno & Mayer, 2007; Pekrun & Perry, 2014; Plass & Kaplan, 2016). In particular, affective-cognitive models of learning seek to incorporate the learner’s emotional state during learning within the causal chain that produces a learning outcome. Emotion is short-term, intense affect caused by a particular object or event (Duffy, Lajoie, Pekrun, & Lachapelle, 2018 this issue). Fig. 1 summarizes an affectivecognitive model of academic learning which incorporates both affective processing and cognitive processing during learning: the learning episode causes an emotional reaction in the learner that affects cognitive processing during learning and leads to a learning outcome. This special issue of Learning and Instruction provides the latest update in attempts to clarify some of the boxes and links in this kind of affective-cognitive model of academic learning. In particular, this special issue examines the role of emotions in academic learning, with a special focus on emotions in computer-supported academic learning (or e-learning).