Maria Mendiburo

Interaction design for improved analytics

In this paper, we explain a portion of the design research process that we used to develop the learning analytics for a manipulative-based fractions intervention program. In particular, we highlight a set of qualitative interviews that we conducted with individual students after a short study in which students in three classes at the same school learned to use virtual manipulatives to compare pairs of proper fractions and order groups of 3 proper fractions. These qualitative interviews provided us with considerable information that helped us improve the interactions students have with the virtual manipulatives and produce more sophisticated and informative analytics. We emphasize the importance of using mixed-methods during the iterative cycles of development that define design research.

Teaching Fractions With Technology: What Type of Support Do Students Need as They Learn to Build and Interpret Visual Models of Fractions Ordering Problems?

This study examined 78 students as they began learning how to use a computer system to create visual models of fractions ordering problems and then use the visual models to reason about the correct answers to the problems. We used quantitative data collected by the computer system during a 2-day intervention to identify groups of students with similar performance characteristics. After the intervention, we conducted individual interviews with 10 students for the purpose of investigating qualitative differences between the groups. Our results indicated that most of the 78 students learned to use the computer system to create accurate models in a relatively short period, but not all students learned how to use the models to reason about the correct answers to the problems by the end of the intervention. We hypothesize that we can improve future versions of the system by creating differentiated scaffolds for students with different performance characteristics. In addition, we may be able to improve the learning outcomes associated with implementing this type of technology in classrooms by providing teachers with more detailed data about their students’ performance and the correct and incorrect strategies their students use to solve problems.

Virtual manipulatives in a computer-based learning environment: how experimental data informs the design of future systems

In the fall of 2009, we conducted an experiment in which we compared virtual and physical fractions manipulatives. We facilitated instruction in the virtual condition using a program called Virtually Fractions, which we designed specifically for the experiment. The instructional elements of Virtually Fractions align with a commercial curriculum that integrates physical manipulatives into instruction. As such, our experiment allowed us to test the non-instructional elements of the Virtually Fractions system within a proven instructional model. In this paper, we discuss the design of the system as well as what the data collected during our experiment tells us about the ways students interacted with the system.