The Pursuit of a BREAKthrough Formula: Investigating How Breaks Can Be Effectively Designed to Promote Student Attention During Online Lectures and Enhance Learning

Abstract

Attention during lectures often declines due to high cognitive demands, challenging student learning. The increasing popularity of online education, especially since the COVID-19 pandemic, has added to the attention-sustaining difficulties students face during lectures. Online lecture breaks are a promising intervention to enhance attention and learning; however, there is limited research on how they should be designed. In the current study, I investigated the effects of break duration and frequency (Experiment 1) and break activity (Experiment 2) during an online lecture on student attention and learning. In both experiments, undergraduate students watched a 50-minute video-recorded online lecture and then completed an immediate comprehension quiz and a post-lecture survey that included questions about their lecture engagement and experiences. In Experiment 2, attention was measured through probes during the lecture, and a second comprehension quiz was administered one week later. Contrary to my predictions, findings from Experiment 1 revealed that taking three 2-minute open-ended lecture breaks led to significantly lower performance on the immediate quiz compared to taking one 6-minute open-ended lecture break or no breaks. Interestingly, participants in the combined break(s) conditions reported engaging in significantly more media multitasking behaviour and decreased levels of motivation during the lecture compared to the no breaks condition. Consistent with my predictions, Experiment 2 demonstrated that taking stretching breaks during an online lecture significantly improved immediate quiz performance compared to taking social media breaks or no breaks. These findings suggest that structuring online lectures with well-designed breaks can enhance learning outcomes, with stretching breaks showing particular promise. However, further research is needed to explore other factors that influence the quality and effectiveness of lecture breaks, as poorly designed breaks may inadvertently hinder learning.