mental workload

Purpose: The COVID-19 pandemic has increased the workload of medical personnel providing patient care, particularly inpatient nurses. Field interviews with nurses at hospitals in Bandung City indicated increased fatigue and sleepiness during the new normal adaptation period. This study aimed to measure mental workload and sleepiness among inpatient nurses in Bandung City. Methodology: A total of 275 inpatient nurses participated by completing the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Task Load Index (NASA-TLX) questionnaire to assess mental workload and the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) to measure sleepiness. Results: Mental workload among inpatient nurses ranged from high to very high, with scores between 76.93 ± 13.18 and 81.36 ± 13.53. Hospital characteristics, gender, age, and marital status were identified as factors associated with excessive mental workload. KSS scores indicated that nurses were in the very alert to alert range after completing their duties. Furthermore, 60.73% of nurses experienced very high mental workload, while 68.73% were classified as very alert. Conclusion: The findings indicate the need for hospital management to improve working conditions through better shift scheduling, resource allocation, and equitable distribution of staff support facilities to address the needs of inpatient nurses. Originality: This study examines mental workload and sleepiness simultaneously among inpatient nurses in Bandung City and identifies factors associated with excessive mental workload, providing a basis for improving hospital workforce management during the new normal adaptation period.

Introduction Information and communication technologies, including wearable sensors, offer accessible and ecological ways to support psychological processes underpinning technical practice in sport, such as the regulation of attention, arousal and mental load. The aim of this exploratory study is to examine whether heart rate (HR) and physical activity (PA), recorded with a chest-worn wearable, can serve as a potential, indirect correlate of the mental load experienced during golf putting training. Two research questions were of interest: (i) Do pre-shot HR and PA differ between made and missed putts? (ii) Do pre-shot HR and PA differ following a made compared with a missed putt? Methods Seven youth golfing athletes (13–16 years old; handicap (hcp) index < 12) performed a putting training exercise in which the goal was to score five consecutive putts from 3-metre distance to the hole. HR and PA were recorded continuously and matched with putting performance using video footage. Pre-shot HR and PA were taken as the mean over the 5 s before ball contact. Because the putts are nested within sessions and athletes, the analyses combine within-athlete non-parametric tests, corrected for multiple comparisons and reported with effect sizes, with linear mixed-effects models treating athlete and session as random effects. Results Pre-shot HR and PA do not differ significantly between made and missed putts (mixed-model estimate for HR: +0.09 bpm, 95% CI [−0.46, 0.64]; p = 0.76). However, pre-shot HR is higher following a made putt and lower following a missed one (+5.08 bpm, 95% CI [4.54, 5.62]; p < 0.001), an association that persists after adjusting for the pre-shot HR of the preceding putt. PA shows the opposite trend. Discussion Because no subjective ratings of mental load, arousal or affect were collected, mental load remains one plausible interpretation of this pattern rather than an established one. Pending validation against such measures, the approach could offer coaches and athletes an exploratory starting point for conversations about how training situations are experienced, and illustrates how continuous monitoring of HR may provide a potential indirect correlate of mental load in youth golfers.

Background Students new to flipped classrooms frequently encounter challenges with motivation and comprehension when engaging with pre-class materials independently, particularly outside scheduled class hours. Aims This study examined a scaffolded flipped-learning approach that helped students move step by step from a Faux Flipped Classroom (FFC) to a Regular Flipped Classroom (RFC), and then to a Gamified Flipped Classroom (GFC) over one semester. The goal was to support students in adapting to flipped learning, managing their mental workload, and improving their learning performance. Method Mixed methods were employed in the data collection. For quantitative data, learning achievement was assessed with tests and self-rating scales measured cognitive load, while qualitative interviews provided more detailed feedback. Results The results revealed that students in the experimental group who learned through the scaffolding strategy performed better than their counterparts in the control group. Meanwhile, both groups demonstrated a small drop in intrinsic cognitive load, likely because they became more familiar with the tasks rather than because the material got easier. However, the scaffolded group showed a larger drop in unnecessary cognitive load and a larger increase in germane cognitive effort, suggesting the intervention helped students focus more on learning and less on confusion or figuring out what to do. Intrinsic and germane cognitive load should be interpreted cautiously because they are closely related. Conclusion This study contributes to Cognitive Load Theory and scaffolding research by showing that flipped classroom success depends not only on design but also on how students are gradually prepared to use it.

زمینه و هدف: دانشجویانی که برای نخستین بار با کلاس‌های وارونه مواجه می‌شوند، اغلب هنگام مطالعه مستقل منابع پیش از کلاس، به‌ویژه خارج از ساعات برنامه‌ریزی‌شده، با چالش‌هایی در انگیزش و درک مطالب روبه‌رو می‌شوند. هدف: این پژوهش رویکردی پله‌ای در یادگیری وارونه را بررسی کرد که به دانشجویان کمک می‌کرد تا گام‌به‌گام از کلاس شبه‌وارونه (FFC) به کلاس وارونه معمولی (RFC) و سپس به کلاس وارونه بازی‌محور (GFC) طی یک نیم‌سال تحصیلی حرکت کنند. هدف این بود که دانشجویان در سازگاری با یادگیری وارونه، مدیریت بار ذهنی و بهبود عملکرد یادگیری خود حمایت شوند. روش: روش‌های ترکیبی برای گردآوری داده‌ها به‌کار رفت. برای داده‌های کمی، پیشرفت یادگیری با آزمون‌ها سنجیده شد و مقیاس‌های خودسنجی بار شناختی را اندازه‌گیری کردند؛ همچنین مصاحبه‌های کیفی بازخوردهای دقیق‌تری ارائه دادند. یافته‌ها: نتایج نشان داد که دانشجویان گروه آزمایش که از راهبرد پشتیبانی تدریجی بهره‌مند شدند، عملکرد بهتری نسبت به گروه کنترل داشتند. در عین حال، هر دو گروه کاهش اندکی در بار شناختی ذاتی نشان دادند که احتمالاً به دلیل آشنایی بیشتر با وظایف بود، نه آسان‌تر شدن مطالب. با این حال، گروه پشتیبانی‌شده کاهش بیشتری در بار شناختی زائد و افزایش بیشتری در تلاش شناختی سودمند نشان دادند که بیانگر آن است که مداخله به دانشجویان کمک کرد تا بیشتر بر یادگیری و کمتر بر سردرگمی یا نحوه انجام کارها تمرکز کنند. تفسیر بار شناختی ذاتی و سودمند باید با احتیاط انجام شود، زیرا این دو به‌طور نزدیکی به هم مرتبط‌اند. نتیجه‌گیری: این پژوهش به نظریه بار شناختی و مطالعات پشتیبانی تدریجی می‌افزاید و نشان می‌دهد که موفقیت کلاس وارونه نه‌تنها به طراحی بلکه به چگونگی آماده‌سازی تدریجی دانشجویان برای استفاده از آن بستگی دارد.

Computer science students are required to master data structures and algorithms, yet learning these topics often presents significant cognitive challenges. This study investigates whether a bundled package of adaptive personalization is associated with learning outcomes, perceived workload, and usability, using an existing educational visualization tool called VZOU (Visualization Zone of Understanding). The enhanced adaptive version of VZOU incorporates personalized learning paths structured around a visible learning progression map, enabling learners to monitor their progress, identify gaps, and take ownership of their learning path. Basic gamification features, Bloom-aligned progressive sequencing, and topic-specific formative quizzes are designed to support self-regulated learning through immediate feedback and motivational reinforcement. In a between-subjects study (N = 55), we compared control, non-adaptive, and adaptive groups. The adaptive group scored significantly higher on the post-test than the non-adaptive and control groups (mean 89.3 vs. 73.3 and 71.0 out of 100, respectively), and showed numerically but not statistically higher usability scores (SUS). Perceived mental workload showed a mixed pattern: the overall six-subscale NASA-TLX composite did not differ significantly by condition, though Mental Demand specifically was significantly higher in the adaptive group than in the control group, and a workload composite excluding self-rated success also differed significantly across conditions. The bundled adaptive VZOU package, combining a diagnostic-driven graph, gated progression, formative quizzes, and gamification, was associated with higher post-test performance, while raising certain aspects of perceived workload. As these components were not manipulated independently, the estimate reflects the package as a whole, not any single element.

دانشجویان علوم کامپیوتر ملزم به تسلط بر ساختمان داده‌ها و الگوریتم‌ها هستند، اما یادگیری این مباحث اغلب با چالش‌های شناختی قابل توجهی همراه است. این پژوهش بررسی می‌کند که آیا یک بسته جامع شخصی‌سازی تطبیقی با پیامدهای یادگیری، بار ادراک‌شده و قابلیت استفاده ارتباط دارد یا خیر، و از یک ابزار تجسم آموزشی موجود به نام VZOU (منطقه تجسم فهم) استفاده می‌کند. نسخه تطبیقی پیشرفته VZOU مسیرهای یادگیری شخصی‌سازی‌شده‌ای را در قالب یک نقشه پیشرفت یادگیری قابل مشاهده ارائه می‌دهد که به یادگیرندگان امکان می‌دهد پیشرفت خود را پایش کنند، شکاف‌ها را شناسایی نمایند و مالکیت مسیر یادگیری خود را بر عهده گیرند. ویژگی‌های ابتدایی بازی‌وارسازی، توالی تدریجی منطبق با بلوم و آزمون‌های تکوینی موضوع‌محور به منظور حمایت از یادگیری خودتنظیمی از طریق بازخورد فوری و تقویت انگیزشی طراحی شده‌اند. در یک مطالعه بین‌گروهی (N = ۵۵)، گروه کنترل، غیرتطبیقی و تطبیقی با یکدیگر مقایسه شدند. گروه تطبیقی در آزمون پس از مداخله به طور معناداری نمره بالاتری نسبت به گروه‌های غیرتطبیقی و کنترل کسب کرد (میانگین ۸۹٫۳ در مقابل ۷۳٫۳ و ۷۱٫۰ از ۱۰۰، به ترتیب) و همچنین از نظر نمرات قابلیت استفاده (SUS) به صورت عددی اما نه معنادار آماری بالاتر بود. بار ذهنی ادراک‌شده الگوی ترکیبی نشان داد: ترکیب شش‌زیرمقیاس NASA-TLX به طور معناداری بر اساس شرایط تفاوت نداشت، اگرچه تقاضای ذهنی به طور خاص در گروه تطبیقی نسبت به گروه کنترل به طور معناداری بالاتر بود و ترکیب بار کاری بدون موفقیت خودارزیابی‌شده نیز به طور معناداری بین شرایط تفاوت داشت. بسته تطبیقی VZOU که ترکیبی از نمودار مبتنی بر تشخیص، پیشرفت مرحله‌ای، آزمون‌های تکوینی و بازی‌وارسازی است، با عملکرد بالاتر در آزمون پس از مداخله همراه بود، در حالی که برخی جنبه‌های بار ادراک‌شده را افزایش داد. از آنجا که این مؤلفه‌ها به طور مستقل دستکاری نشدند، این برآورد منعکس‌کننده بسته به طور کلی است، نه هیچ عنصر منفردی.