Worked Examples and the Assistance Dilemma (Kooperation mit Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center
Kurzbeschreibung
The Assistance Dilemma (Koedinger & Aleven, in press) states that the balance between giving information to students and withholding it exerts a major influence on students’ learning. A key manifestation of this dilemma is the choice between worked examples and problems. Much empirical research has investigated this dilemma in the context of non-interactive learning environments, and has shown clear value of worked examples as a supplement to problem-solving practice. However, few if any studies have systematically varied the amount of assistance students receive (i.e., the ratio of examples and problems) and the few studies that did address this question were conducted in the laboratory. The current proposal builds on and extends our previous PSLC-funded project which has started to test whether the results obtained in non-tutoring environments carry over to Cognitive Tutors placed within an authentic (in vivo) learning environment. The main research question to be addressed is: how should a tutor effectively switch from a “high assistance” form of instruction (i.e., worked examples) to a “low assistance” form of instruction (i.e., problem solving) in a manner that is adaptive to individual students’ needs? To investigate this question, we will (1) study the effect of systematically varying the ratio between examples and problems, and (2) design and evaluate a principled adaptive fading procedure that is grounded in the Assistance Dilemma (AD). This ADgrounded procedure applies to other assistance dilemmas besides the choice between examples and problems as well. We propose 2 lab studies, to be carried out in Freiburg, and 2 in vivo studies, to be carried out in Pittsburgh.
Förderung
National Science Foundation (NSF)
Förderzeitraum
2007 - 2009
Gemeinsam mit
Alexander Renkl (Leiter FR)
Externe Kooperationspartner
Vincent Aleven (Leitung Pittsburgh), Ron Salden (Pittsburgh Science of Learning Center)
Publikationen
in Vorbereitung
Konferenzbeiträge
in Vorbereitung