Bas Jan Kolloffel

Learner Performance in Multimedia Learning Arrangements: An Analysis Across Instructional Approaches:

In this study, the authors compared four multimedia learning arrangements differing in instructional approach on effectiveness and efficiency for learning: (a) hypermedia learning, (b) observational learning, (c) self-explanation–based learning, and (d) inquiry learning. The approaches all advocate learners’ active attitude toward the learning material but show differences in the specific learning processes they intend to foster. Learning results were measured on different types of knowledge: conceptual, intuitive, procedural, and situational. The outcomes show that the two approaches asking learners to generate (parts of) the subject matter (either by self-explanations or by conducting experiments) led to better performance on all types of knowledge. However, results also show that emphasis on generating subject matter by the learner resulted in less efficient learning.

Comparing the effects of representational tools in collaborative and individual inquiry learning

Constructing a representation in which students express their domain understanding can help them improve their knowledge. Many different representational formats can be used to express one’s domain understanding (e.g., concept maps, textual summaries, mathematical equations). The format can direct students’ attention to specific aspects of the subject matter. For example, creating a concept map can emphasize domain concepts and forming equations can stress arithmetical aspects. The focus of the current study was to examine the role of tools for constructing domain representations in collaborative inquiry learning. The study was driven by three questions. First, what are the effects of collaborative inquiry learning with representational tools on learning outcomes? Second, does format have differential effects on domain understanding? And third, does format have differential effects on students’ inclination to construct a representation? A pre-test post-test design was applied with 61 dyads in a (face-to-face) collaborative learning setting and 95 students in an individual setting. The participants worked on a learning task in a simulation-based learning environment equipped with a representational tool. The format of the tool was either conceptual or arithmetical or textual. Our results show that collaborative learners outperform individuals, in particular with regard to intuitive knowledge and situational knowledge. In the case of individuals a positive relation was observed between constructing a representation and learning outcomes, in particular situational knowledge. In general, the effects of format could not be linked directly to learning outcomes, but marked differences were found regarding students’ inclination to use or not use specific formats.

The influence of learner-generated domain representations on learning combinatorics and probability theory

The aim of the current study was to examine the effects of providing support in the form of tools for constructing representations, and in particular the differential effects of the representational format of these tools (conceptual, arithmetical, or textual) in terms of perceived affordances and learning outcomes. The domain involved was combinatorics and probability theory. A between-subjects pre-test-post-test design was applied with secondary education students randomly distributed over four conditions. Participants completed the same tasks in a simulation-based learning environment. Participants in three experimental conditions were provided with a representational tool that could be used to construct a domain representation. The experimental manipulation concerned the format of the tool (conceptual, arithmetical, or textual). Participants in a control condition did not have access to a representational tool. Data from 127 students were analyzed. It was found that the construction of a domain representation significantly improved learning outcomes. The format in which students constructed a representation did not directly affect learning outcomes or the quality of the created domain representations. The arithmetical format, however, was the least stimulating for students to engage in externalizing their knowledge.

Getting the picture : the role of external representations in simulation-based inquiry learning

Three studies were performed to examine the effects of formats of ‘pre-fabricated’ and learner-generated representations on learning outcomes of pupils learning combinatorics and probability theory. In Study I, the effects of different formats on learning outcomes were examined. Learners in five experimental conditions were provided with a simulation-based learning environment. The experimental manipulation concerned the format of the simulations. These were diagrammatical, arithmetical, textual, a combination of textual+arithmetical or diagrammatical+arithmetical. The main finding of the study is that learning from the textual+arithmetical format was most beneficial, in particular with regard to procedural knowledge. Diagrams were found to negatively affect learning and to increase cognitive load. In Studies II and III learners had to work through the same kind of learning environment as in Study I, but they also had to construct representations themselves. The experimental manipulation concerned the format of the representation: graphical (concept map), arithmetical, or textual. In Study II the participants worked alone. It was found that the concept-map and the textual format afforded the creation of domain representations more than the arithmetical format. It was also found that learners engaging in the construction of representations showed higher learning outcomes. This could not be attributed to prior knowledge. Study III was identical except that participants worked in dyads. Again, the concept map and the textual format afforded the creation of representations more than the arithmetical format, although here no differences with regard to learning outcomes were observed between dyads engaging in representation construction and dyads that did not.

Can performance feedback during instruction boost knowledge acquisition? Contrasting criterion-based and social comparison feedback

Feedback indicating how well students are performing during a learning task can be very stimulating. In this study with a pre- and post-test design, the effects of two types of performance feedback on learning results were compared: feedback during a learning task was either stated in terms of how well the students were performing relative to other students (social comparison feedback) or relative to an absolute criterion (criterion-based feedback). Thirty-four students in secondary vocational engineering education were randomly assigned to one of two conditions. In both conditions, students worked together in small groups. All groups completed a math learning task, during which they received either social comparison feedback or criterion-based performance feedback. The findings showed that the type of feedback had a strong effect on learning outcomes: the post-test scores and gains of students in the social comparison condition were significantly higher than those of students in the criterion-based feedback condition.

Examining the relation between domain-related communication and collaborative inquiry learning

Research has suggested that providing elaborated explanations is often more beneficial for learning than receiving explanations (e.g., Webb, 1989). Applied to chat communication in a collaborate inquiry learning environment, we would expect that in a dyad the learner with more domain-related contributions than his partner would learn more. In the paper we develop a method to examine the relation between domain-related chats and learning outcome for intuitive knowledge. We describe how we automatically extract domain-related messages, and score them based on the expected cognitive effort to produce the messages. The analysis confirms that there is a positive relation between a high score on domain-related chats and the learning improvement as measured by the difference between a post-test and a pre-test on intuitive knowledge.