An analysis of students’ spontaneous computer-mediated help seeking: A step toward the design of ecologically valid supporting tools

This study analyzes middle school students’ spontaneous mathematics-related help-seeking behavior, in view of making ecologically valid recommendations for the design of supporting tools or “help systems”. Our aim was to investigate the content of students’ help-seeking messages – Are there different forms of help-seeking messages and do they evolve with age? We used the archives of a French forum that provides students with free individualized help in mathematics. The data consisted of 206 messages sent by French middle school students over a period of 42 months. The constituent categories of the messages were identified. The results showed that not all middle school students use the same help-seeking “format”. Compared to sixth graders, ninth graders wrote messages containing more constituent categories, i.e., they provided the online expert with more kinds of information. A detailed analysis of the categories further showed that older students’ messages more often contained explicit help requests and contextual information than did younger students’ messages. Thus, the messages of the oldest students (age 15) were both cognitively more understandable and socially more acceptable than those of the youngest students (age 11). The interpretation of these findings and their implications for designing help systems are discussed.     

What matters in help-seeking? A study of help effectiveness and learner-related factors

Offering help functions is a standard feature of computer-based interactive learning environments (ILEs). Nevertheless, the effectiveness of learners’ use of help facilities has been subject to extensive debate. Recent research indicates an inefficient use or even ignorance of help functions. This article addresses the issues of effectiveness of help and the impact of learner-related factors in an ILE for plant identification. Students from three regular university courses in plant identification worked in a dyadic setting. The effects of two different types of help facilities (context-sensitive help and glossary function) on task performance in plant identification are analyzed. In addition, a broad set of potential learner-related factors is explored with respect to their effects on help-seeking, including prior knowledge, motivational orientation, interest, self-estimated competence, and epistemological beliefs. Results yield a positive effect of help-seeking on task performance. In addition, most learner-related factors affect help-seeking behavior and performance. Results are discussed with respect to their implications for future research on help-seeking in ILEs.     

An analysis of students’ spontaneous computer-mediated help seeking: A step toward the design of ecologically valid supporting tools

This study analyzes middle school students’ spontaneous mathematics-related help-seeking behavior, in view of making ecologically valid recommendations for the design of supporting tools or “help systems”. Our aim was to investigate the content of students’ help-seeking messages – Are there different forms of help-seeking messages and do they evolve with age? We used the archives of a French forum that provides students with free individualized help in mathematics. The data consisted of 206 messages sent by French middle school students over a period of 42 months. The constituent categories of the messages were identified. The results showed that not all middle school students use the same help-seeking “format”. Compared to sixth graders, ninth graders wrote messages containing more constituent categories, i.e., they provided the online expert with more kinds of information. A detailed analysis of the categories further showed that older students’ messages more often contained explicit help requests and contextual information than did younger students’ messages. Thus, the messages of the oldest students (age 15) were both cognitively more understandable and socially more acceptable than those of the youngest students (age 11). The interpretation of these findings and their implications for designing help systems are discussed.     

How to solve students’ problems in a flipped classroom: a quasi-experimental approach

With the adoption of online learning and the development of educational technologies, many universities and teachers are attempting to provide qualified teaching for their students. In order to improve students’ learning, the authors designed and provided flipped learning (FL) and treatment of online academic help-seeking (OAHS) in a computing course to help students develop computing skills for using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint. The participants in this study were 126 undergraduates from three classes taking a compulsory course titled “Applied Information Technology: Office Software.” According to the analysis, students who received the treatment of OAHS had significantly better computing skills for using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint than those without. However, the treatment of FL did not result in better development of students’ computing skills. Based on the results obtained, the authors present possible implications for online teachers, educators, and schools, particularly to assist those students who may feel bashful and are not willing to ask questions or seek for help in traditional classrooms. This study designs and provides reference for an integration of FL with OAHS to improve students’ learning outcomes.     

Not everybody needs help to seek help: Surprising effects of metacognitive instructions to foster help-seeking in an online-learning environment

Offering help functions is a standard feature of computer-based interactive learning environments (ILE). Nevertheless, a number of recent studies indicate that learners are not using such help facilities effectively. We compared the effects of different metacognitive supports to foster learners’ help-seeking behavior in an ILE for plant identification. Four groups of university students (n = 51), each receiving a different metacognitive instruction, had to determine living plants. They had to think-aloud and were video recorded during the experiment. At the end of the session they completed a knowledge test. The surprising effect was that students in all groups were effective help-seekers. They adapted their help-seeking behavior to the complexity of the plants in an effective way. The results indicate that for students on university level effective help-seeking seems to depend largely on motivational factors.     

Not everybody needs help to seek help: Surprising effects of metacognitive instructions to foster help-seeking in an online-learning environment

Offering help functions is a standard feature of computer-based interactive learning environments (ILE). Nevertheless, a number of recent studies indicate that learners are not using such help facilities effectively. We compared the effects of different metacognitive supports to foster learners’ help-seeking behavior in an ILE for plant identification. Four groups of university students (n = 51), each receiving a different metacognitive instruction, had to determine living plants. They had to think-aloud and were video recorded during the experiment. At the end of the session they completed a knowledge test. The surprising effect was that students in all groups were effective help-seekers. They adapted their help-seeking behavior to the complexity of the plants in an effective way. The results indicate that for students on university level effective help-seeking seems to depend largely on motivational factors.     

The influence of achievement goals and perceptions of online help on its actual use in an interactive learning environment

This study explored the influence of achievement goals and perceptions of help-seeking on a learner’s actual use of help in an interactive learning environment. After being shown a web site on statistics, 49 psychology students answered a questionnaire on achievement goals and their perceptions of help-seeking. They were then asked to solve statistics problems in an interactive learning environment. In this environment, they were allowed to use instrumental and executive help. The results showed that high mastery goals were related to a high perception of a threat to the learner’s autonomy but not to the use of help. Performance goals were positively related to a perception of threat of not being considered competent and negatively related to the use of help and especially instrumental help. The implications of these results for future research on the help-seeking process in an interactive learning environment are discussed particularly in relation to the Technology Acceptance Model of the use of help.     

College students’ perceived threat and preference for seeking help in traditional,distributed, and distance learning environments

The purpose of the present study was to examine how college students’ help seeking behavior varied across different instructional learning environments. Four hundred and seventy four (N = 472) students enrolled in distance, distributed, and traditional classes were queried about their help seeking preferences, help seeking tendencies, personal threat in seeking help, and academic self-efficacy. It was hypothesized that students enrolled in courses with an online computer component would report (a) higher instances of help seeking behavior, particularly from instructors; and (b) feel less threatened to seek help than students in traditional learning environments. It was also expected that student achievement would be significantly correlated with formal help seeking, academic self-efficacy, and perceived threat to seek help. Lastly, it was postulated that students would report that they prefer to use electronic means to seek help and that they find it more effective. Overall the hypotheses of this study were supported. Educational implications and recommendations are provided regarding the type of technological tools that college instructors might consider using in their courses to promote help seeking.     

Computer use and the gender gap: The issue of access, use, motivation, and performance

Since the beginning of computerization, it has been of interest whether there are differential effects on computer behavior, in particular in terms of computer access, computer use, and motivational variables, such as computer self-efficacy. The current research addresses the questions if the gender-related differences in this respect persist to the present day and if there is also a difference in actual performance characteristics. A sample of 48 university students (23 male) was administered a technology self-efficacy questionnaire, a survey on computer access, recorded a user diary, and turned in a computer task. Results show that the gender gap is closing as far as computer access and self-efficacy are concerned. Also, female and male students report comparable amounts of computer usage for their studies. User behavior appears to be gender-specific as males spend more time at the computer for personal purposes. There is also some evidence that male students outperform female students at a computer task (remastering of Power-Point slides). Conclusions for creating computer-based learning environments are discussed.     

The impact of general and specific performance and self-efficacy on learning with computer-based concept mapping

When students learn a new and challenging task, for which they have very limited corresponding personal or vicarious experiences to refer, it is important to understand how their self-efficacy beliefs evolve during the course of sequential lessons; how they differ in the way their general learning performance and self-efficacy influence their ratings of task-specific self-efficacy and performance; and, how such differences may result in different learning outcomes and motivations for learning. By examining a group of 66 students engaged in learning to construct good concept maps with computer software, this study revealed several important findings on these questions. Students generally tended to initially overestimate their ability to successfully carry out the required task. They also varied in the way their general self-efficacy and performance were associated with their task-specific self-efficacy and performance. And, these differences did appear to be associated with different learning outcomes and motivations for learning. These results indicate that investigating individual differences in students’ patterns of association between general and specific performance and their self-efficacy may lead to a better understanding of how students differ in their levels of motivation and outcomes when learning a new and challenging task.     

Do Pedagogical Agents Enhance Software Training?

This study investigates whether a tutorial for software training can be enhanced by adding a pedagogical agent, and whether the type of agent matters (i.e., cognitive, motivational, or mixed). The cognitive agent was designed to stimulate students to process their experiences actively. The motivational agent was designed to increase perceived task relevance and self-efficacy beliefs. A mixed agent combined these features. Process and product data were recorded during and after software training of students from the upper grades of vocational education (M age = 16.2 years). Comparison of scores on performance measures during training revealed a significant advantage of working with the motivational and mixed agents for two important motivational mediators for learning (i.e., strategy systematicity and mood). All students were highly successful during training, improving from an average 30% task completion score on the pretest to a 77% posttest score. On a retention measure 3 weeks later, task completion was still at 66%. Working with the motivational and control agents yielded significantly higher retention scores, whereas working with the motivational and mixed agents led to significantly higher scores on task relevance and self-efficacy beliefs after training. The discussion reflects on the possibilities for improving the internal and external properties of the agents.     

Motivating agents in software tutorials

Pedagogical agents can provide important support for the user in human–computer interaction systems. This paper examines whether a supplementary, motivating agent in a print tutorial can enhance student motivation and learning in software training. The agent served the role of motivator, attending the students to issues of task relevance and self-efficacy. The agent was presented in the tutorial by means of images and written messages. An experiment compared the agent condition with a no-agent (control) condition. Participants were 49 students (mean age 11.3 years) from the upper grades of elementary school. Data on motivation and learning were gathered before, during and after training. The findings revealed that students in the agent condition did significantly better on skills measures during and after training (i.e., performance indicators, posttest, and retention test). In addition, marginally significant differences favoring these students were found for flow experience during training and for motivational gains on task relevance and self-efficacy after training. The design strategies of the motivating agent are considered relevant for the creation of Animated Pedagogical Agents.     

Can students really multitask? An experimental study of instant messaging while reading

Students often “multitask” with electronic media while doing schoolwork. We examined the effects of one form of media often used in such multitasking, instant messaging (IM). We predicted that students who engaged in IMing while reading a typical academic psychology passage online would take longer to read the passage and would perform more poorly on a test of comprehension of the passage. Participants were randomly assigned to one of three conditions (IM before reading, IM during reading, or no IM). We found that students took significantly longer to read the passage when they IMed during reading (not including time taken to IM) than in other conditions. However, test performance did not differ by condition. Students who are managing busy lives may think they are accomplishing more by multitasking, but our findings suggest they will actually need more time to achieve the same level of performance on an academic task.     

Exploring embedded guidance and self-efficacy in educational multi-user virtual environments

In this paper, we present the results of an exploratory study into the relationship between student self-efficacy and guidance use in a Multi-User Virtual Environment (MUVE) science curriculum project. We describe findings from a sample of middle school science students on the combined impact on learning of student self-efficacy in scientific inquiry and use of individualized guidance messages, and on the interplay between levels of self-efficacy and use of an embedded guidance system in an educational MUVE. Results from our study showed that embedded guidance was associated with improved learning outcomes for learners across a spectrum of self-reported efficacy in science. However, we also found that learners with low levels of initial self-efficacy in science viewed fewer guidance messages than their higher efficacy peers, and did not perform as well as their higher efficacy peers regardless of guidance use level. At the same time, outcomes for low self-efficacy students who used the guidance system heavily were raised to the level of high self-efficacy students who did not use the system.     

The impact of computer self-efficacy,situational interest and academic self-concept in virtual communities of inquiry during the distance learning procedures through Second Life

The current study investigates a case where the online learning procedure in three-dimensional (3D) technologically-advanced environments of the Web 2.0 is growing at an exponential rate. In this occasion it is highly imperative need to understand students’ interactions in this innovative mode of e-Education that requires from educators and scholars not only analysis conceptually, but also an empirically-driven optimization. The community of inquiry (CoI) model (or framework) consists to be as one of the most prominent multi-dimensional constructs that it is widely used to represent several distinct dimensions of social presence, teaching presence and cognitive presence, as a unique and fundamental theoretical concept to measure students’ interactions in contemporary electronic environments. Although, the effectiveness of these multi-dimensional constructs creates a dilemma to researchers who want the breadth and comprehensiveness of this model for the precision and clarity of users’ (instructors and students) dimensions with other motivational and learning variables. To address this dilemma, the current empirical study presents statistical analyses from the “trinity” constructs of the CoI model by utilizing correlation and hierarchical regression analyses with two fundamental motivational (computer self-efficacy and situational interest) and another one learning (academic self-concept) variables. This study goes one step further and introduces the conspicuously indisputable intervention of a virtual (V)CoI and its utilization in multi-user virtual worlds, like Second Life (SL). The study findings of one hundred thirty-five (135) participants who enrolled in several online sessions unveiled that the situational interest was the only significant predictor of social presence. The computer self-efficacy was not a significant predictor of the CoI model, while on the other hand academic self-concept was a significant predictor in a revamped attempt to validate the strong relationship among constructs within it. According to the aforementioned reasons, it can be surmised that the successful combination of the VCoI in Second Life, surpassing irrefutable and inherent shortcomings to a future-driven sustainable use and growth.     

Why fifth- and seventh-graders submit off-task responses to a web-based reading comprehension tutor rather than expected learning responses

Research shows the students improve their reading comprehension with Intelligent Tutoring of the Structure Strategy (ITSS). One problem for ITSS is that some students are producing responses in the on-line instruction that are unrelated to learning and practicing the reading strategy. These types of disengaged responses can be referred to as system active off-task responses (“off-task”). In this study we characterize who produces off-task responses and why. Classification and Regression Trees (C&RT) and logistic regression analyses were used to answer the why question. Variables predicted to relate to gaming included reading strategy and skill variables, motivation, attitude, self-efficacy, and goal orientation variables, demographic variables, and type of computer feedback (simple versus elaborated). C&RT analysis could explain 66% of the variance in off-task responses. Students without off-task responses were higher in motivation to read and worked in ITSS to produce good main ideas. Students with higher off-task responses had low scores on work mastery goals. The highest producers of off-task responses in Grades 5 and 7 (averaging 24 off-task responses over 7 lessons) had low motivation to read and scored over 2 SD below average on recall tasks in ITSS. The logistic regression could explain 42% of the variance in off-task responses. Use of motivational scales prior to starting instruction as well as on-line performance measures could be used to flag students for early intervention to prevent system active off-task responses and increase on-line learning. The C&RT approach may be particularly helpful to designers in making software more appropriate for different types of students.     

Enhancing web-based language learning through self-monitoring

Abstract  The present study investigated the effects of a self-monitoring strategy on web-based language learning. Both students' academic performance and their motivational beliefs were investigated. The interaction between the use of a self-monitoring strategy and the level of learners' English proficiency was also examined. A total of 99 college students who were enrolled in classes for Freshmen English participated in this study. The experimental group was led to a web page with self-monitoring form for recording study time and environment, learning process, predicting test scores, and self-evaluation while the control group was not. It was found that (1) the self-monitoring strategy had a significant main effect on students' academic performance and their motivational beliefs; students who applied the self-monitoring strategy outperformed students who did not apply the self-monitoring strategy on both academic performance and motivational beliefs regardless of their English proficiency level; and (2) the influence of self-monitoring was greater on the lower English level students than on the higher English level students. The positive findings suggest that encouraging students to develop self-monitoring could help increase the success of online learning. Thus, applying a self-monitoring strategy is strongly recommended for web-based instruction.     

Helping users help themselves

Application-learning problems are a perennial design challenge. This persistent help-seeking behavior is forcing designers to wonder if any technologies for designing interactive help will satisfy the user as much as asking a real person. In addition to hypermedia applications, the paper considers several technologies explored as help systems. These technologies can easily provide a knowledgeable apprentice to help users accomplish their tasks, but they do pose challenges for interface design     

Do students benefit equally from interactive computer simulations regardless of prior knowledge levels?

The purposes of this study were to examine the effects of two types of interactive computer simulations and of prior knowledge levels on concept comprehension, cognitive load, and learning efficiency. Seventy-two 5th grade students were sampled from two elementary schools. They were divided into two groups (high and low) based on prior knowledge levels, and each group was divided into two treatment groups (a low-interactive simulation group and a high-interactive simulation group). The dependent variables were concept comprehension, cognitive load, and learning efficiency. The results showed that, for students with high prior knowledge levels, high-interactive simulations, rather than low-interactive simulations, resulted in significantly increased comprehension scores, decreased cognitive load scores, and higher learning efficiency. On the other hand, among students with low prior knowledge levels, the low-interactive simulation group did not demonstrate significantly increased comprehension scores, but they did show lower cognitive load scores and higher learning efficiency than the high-interactive simulation group.     

A programmed instruction tutoring system for Java™: consideration of learning performance and software self-efficacy

An undergraduate (n=23) and a graduate (n=23) class of information systems majors used a Web-based tutoring system during the first 3-h session of a 14-week course in interface design and implementation. The tutoring system taught a simple Java™ applet as the first technical training exercise, and the instructional design was based upon programmed instruction, which is a competency-based tutoring system. Software self-efficacy was assessed prior to using the tutor and at the end of the 3-h period. Students’ interactive performances (errors and help selections) were recorded for all interfaces in the tutor. The results showed that the undergraduate students made more input and test errors than did the graduate students, but the number of students in each class who completed all eight tutor stages (18 undergraduates and 17 graduates) was almost equivalent. Forty-four of the 46 students completed the fourth tutor stage, which presented frames of information explaining the items in the program. Students who did not complete all eight stages showed more errors on the initial four stages, in comparison to students who did complete all stages. Software self-efficacy increased from pre-tutor to post-tutor occasions for both classes and for both completers and non-completers. No significant relationship was found between software self-efficacy changes and tutor learning performance. Neither was gender related to software self-efficacy changes or learning performance. Evaluations of the tutor were favorable by almost all learners. A competency-based tutoring system may produce both skill and earned self-efficacy at the level of the individual learner, without regard to variations in the learning process leading to mastery.