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Investigating the Use of Hints in Online Problem Solving

Authors:

Alastair R. Beresford,

Andrew RiceAuthors Info & Claims

L@S '16: Proceedings of the Third (2016) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale

Pages 105 - 108

https://doi.org/10.1145/2876034.2893379

Published: 25 April 2016 Publication History

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Abstract

We investigate the use of hints as a form of scaffolding for 4,652 eligible users on a large-scale online learning environment called Isaac, which allows users to answer physics questions with up to five hints. We investigate user behaviour when using hints, users' engagement with fading (the process of gradually becoming less reliant on the hints provided), and hint strategies including Decomposition, Correction, Verification, or Comparison. Finally, we present recommendations for the design and development of online teaching tools that provide open access to hints, including a mechanism that may improve the speed at which users begin fading.

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Cited By

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Inventado PScupelli PYip J(2016)Patterns for learning-support design in math online learning systemsProceedings of the 23rd Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs10.5555/3158161.3158183(1-13)Online publication date: 24-Oct-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3158161.3158183

Index Terms

Investigating the Use of Hints in Online Problem Solving
1. Applied computing
  1. Education
    1. Distance learning
    2. E-learning

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Information

Published In

L@S '16: Proceedings of the Third (2016) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale

April 2016

446 pages

ISBN:9781450337267

DOI:10.1145/2876034

General Chair:
Jeff Haywood
The University of Edinburgh, UK
,
Program Chairs:
Vincent Aleven
Carnegie Mellon University, USA
,
Judy Kay
University of Sydney, Australia
,
Ido Roll
University of British Columbia, Canada

Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the Owner/Author.

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Association for Computing Machinery

New York, NY, United States

Publication History

Published: 25 April 2016

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L@S 2016

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L@S 2016: Third (2016) ACM Conference on Learning @ Scale

April 25 - 26, 2016

Scotland, Edinburgh, UK

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L@S '16 Paper Acceptance Rate 18 of 79 submissions, 23%;

Overall Acceptance Rate 117 of 440 submissions, 27%

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Inventado PScupelli PYip J(2016)Patterns for learning-support design in math online learning systemsProceedings of the 23rd Conference on Pattern Languages of Programs10.5555/3158161.3158183(1-13)Online publication date: 24-Oct-2016
https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.5555/3158161.3158183

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Recommendations

Scaffolding problem solving in technology-enhanced learning environments (TELEs): Bridging research and theory with practice

A Comparison of Hints vs. Scaffolding in a MOOC with Adult Learners

Hints: is it better to give or wait to be asked?