Improving learning from instructional videos in primary education: the use of a mindfulness meditation
Maik Beege, Nadine Scheller, Günter Daniel Rey
Current Psychology May 28, 2025 DOI: 10.1007/s12144-025-07940-7 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Experiment Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Sample size | 180 |
| Population | Primary school students (3rd and 4th graders) |
| Intervention | Mindfulness meditation |
| Topics | Meditation |
| Keywords | Education |
| Key findings | A brief mindfulness meditation before watching an instructional video increased mental effort and retention performance compared with a filler task. Third graders benefited more than fourth graders, with attention and germane processes particularly promoted in the younger group. |
Abstract
According to the Cognitive Load Theory as well as research regarding cognitive development in childhood, the use of instructional videos in primary education brings challenges. Particularly, primary students should be supported to maintain their attention on the instructional information. In the current experiment, performing a mindfulness meditation before video reception was investigated as a short intervention to promote subsequent learning-relevant processes. Overall, 180 students were either assigned to the meditation or filler task condition. We furthermore explored prior knowledge in the instructional topic and thus, quasi-experimental divided the participants into 3rd and 4th graders. Students learned the process of division of long numbers without a calculator by watching an instructional video. Results revealed that the mindfulness meditation enhanced mental effort as well as retention performance. Furthermore, 3rd graders particularly benefited from the meditation because, in contrast to the 4th graders, attention processes and germane processes were particularly promoted. Results are discussed by creating synergies between the Cognitive Load Theory and cognitive development research as well as research regarding meditational practices in educational contexts.
Comparable studies
Other experimental studies on meditation, most cited first.
| Study | Year | Design | Participants |
|---|---|---|---|
| The benefits of being present: Mindfulness and its role in psychological well-being. Cancer patients (clinical intervention study) | 2003 | Mixed methods: scale development, correlational, quasi-experimental, laboratory, experience-sampling, and clinical intervention study | |
| Loving-kindness meditation increases social connectedness. | 2008 | Controlled laboratory experiment | |
| Mindfulness and mind-wandering: Finding convergence through opposing constructs. | 2012 | Two studies: correlational study and experimental study | |
| Mental Training Enhances Attentional Stability: Neural and Behavioral Evidence | 2009 | Experimental study | |
| Mindfulness meditation and substance use in an incarcerated population. Incarcerated population | 2006 | Quasi-experimental with treatment-as-usual control condition |
Citations in the library
Cites 7
- Mindfulness: A proposed operational definition. Clinical Psychology Science and Practice 2004
- The influences of mindfulness on high-stakes mathematics test achievement of middle school students Frontiers in Psychology April 6, 2023
- Not all types of meditation are the same: Mediators of change in mindfulness and compassion meditation interventions. Journal of Affective Disorders February 2, 2021
- Mindfulness‐based interventions for improving cognition, academic achievement, behavior, and socioemotional functioning of primary and secondary school students Campbell Systematic Reviews December 30, 2019
- Can Mindfulness Meditation Improve Short-term and Long-term Academic Achievement in a Higher-education Course? College Teaching April 25, 2019
and 2 more in the library