Beyond Words: A Mediation Analysis of How Instructors’ Nonverbal Emotional Expressions Facilitate Students’ Video Learning

Instructors’ emotional expressions play a pivotal role in improving the quality of educational videos, while previous studies have yielded inconsistent conclusions regarding the benefits of instructors’ nonverbal expressions on video learning. This study investigated the impact of instructors’ nonverbal emotional expressions (neutral vs. positive facial expressions vs. positive facial expressions and positive tone vs. positive facial expressions and gestures vs. positive facial expressions, positive tone and gestures) on students’ video learning, while exploring the underlying mechanisms involved. A total of 148 college students viewed educational videos while their eye movements were tracked. The primary results revealed significant differences in students’ self-reported emotions, attention, cognitive load, learning experience, self-efficacy, and learning outcome. Students who viewed the educational video with an instructor displaying happy facial expressions and with a cheerful tone performed the best. Additionally, cognitive load and attention partially mediated the immediate learning outcome. These findings not only underscore the significance of instructors’ nonverbal behavior in educational videos, but also increase our understanding of the role of nonverbal interactions in video learning, providing practical implications for students, educators, and researchers.