Li Wenhao, Qian Li, Feng Qinna, Luo Heng
Faculty of Artificial Intelligence in Education, Central China Normal University, 152 Luoyu Street, Wuhan, 430079, China.
Sci Rep. 2024 Aug 1;14(1):17819. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-68885-8.
Olfactory cues are considered a new sensory medium that can enhance learning, but the lack of empirical data has hampered their widespread use in educational practice. This requires empirical research to explore the effects of olfactory cues on learning. To address this research need, an experimental research study was conducted among 87 fourth graders from a Chinese elementary school. It explored the innovative design of adding olfactory cues to text materials by examining their effects on retention and schemata construction as learning outcomes, as well as their influence on learners' cognitive load and learning experience. In this between-subjects design experiment, the experimental group (n = 44) learned text materials with the introduction of olfactory cues, while the control group (n = 43) only learned text materials. After the learning activity, participants were asked to complete the questionnaires, immediate test, and delayed test. The results revealed that the usage of olfactory cues synchronized with text materials can enhance delayed retention, facilitate schemata construction, and improve learner experience without increasing cognitive load. This study confirms the potential of well-designed olfactory cues in educational practice and provides insights for designing and presenting multimedia learning resources.
嗅觉线索被认为是一种能够促进学习的新感官媒介，但缺乏实证数据阻碍了它们在教育实践中的广泛应用。这就需要进行实证研究来探索嗅觉线索对学习的影响。为满足这一研究需求，在中国一所小学的87名四年级学生中开展了一项实验研究。该研究通过考察嗅觉线索对作为学习成果的记忆保持和图式构建的影响，以及它们对学习者认知负荷和学习体验的影响，探索了在文本材料中添加嗅觉线索的创新设计。在这项被试间设计实验中，实验组（n = 44）在学习文本材料时引入了嗅觉线索，而对照组（n = 43）只学习文本材料。学习活动结束后，要求参与者完成问卷、即时测试和延迟测试。结果显示，与文本材料同步使用嗅觉线索能够提高延迟记忆保持、促进图式构建，并改善学习者体验，且不会增加认知负荷。本研究证实了精心设计的嗅觉线索在教育实践中的潜力，并为设计和呈现多媒体学习资源提供了见解。
