New high-frequency, automated data collection and analysis algorithms could offer new insights into complex learning processes, especially for tasks in which students have opportunities to generate unique open-ended artifacts such as computer programs. These approaches should be particularly useful because the need for scalable project-based and…

We present a new method for analyzing a student's learning over time for a specific skill: analysis of the graph of the student's moment-by-moment learning over time. Moment-by-moment learning is calculated using a data-mined model that assesses the probability that a student learned a skill or concept at a specific time during learning…

The study of knowledge transfer rarely draws upon motivational constructs in empirical work. We investigated how students' achievement goals interact with different forms of instruction to promote "transfer," defined as preparation for future learning (Bransford & Schwartz, 1999) Students were given either invention or tell-and-practice activities…

This study aims to extend a previous work on the role of peer facilitation of asynchronous online discussions. Specifically, in this paper I report three cases that examine students' preference for peer or instructor facilitation of online discussion forums, as well as their respective reasons for it. These three cases involved the following…

Many approaches to the transfer problem argue that transfer depends on the recognition of the same or similar abstract "structure" in 2 different situations. However, mainstream cognitive perspectives and contrasting Piagetian constructivist accounts differ in their conceptualizations of structure. These differences, not clearly articulated in the…

Student approaches to learning have been a popular area of research in educational psychology. One useful framework for understanding student approaches to learning is through Biggs' presage-process-product model. The purpose of this study is to examine the process stage of the 3P model. Undergraduate students (N = 67) thought aloud while…

This study investigated students' spontaneous use of source information for the resolution of conflicts between texts. One-hundred fifty-four undergraduate students read two conflicting explanations concerning the relationship between blood type and personality under two conditions: either one explanation with a higher credibility source and…

Prior research has established that learning by teaching depends upon peer tutors' engagement in knowledge-building, in which tutors integrate their knowledge and generate new knowledge through reasoning. However, many tutors adopt a "knowledge-telling bias" defined by shallow summarizing of source materials and didactic lectures.…

Traditional structures in higher education support a separation between faculty members' and students' perspectives on classroom practice. This is in part because student-faculty interactions are typically defined by a focus on content coverage and by a clear delineation between faculty and student roles in engaging that content. This…

The current study examined efficient modes for providing standardized feedback to improve performance on an assignment for a second year college class involving writing a brief research proposal. Two forms of standardized feedback (detailed rubric and proposal exemplars) were utilized is an experimental design with undergraduate students (N = 100)…

Invention activities are Productive Failure activities in which students attempt (and often fail) to invent methods that capture deep properties of a construct before being taught expert solutions. The current study evaluates the effect of scaffolding on the invention processes and outcomes, given that students are not expected to succeed in their…

The present study investigated the utility of an instructional strategy known as the "query method" for enhancing learning outcomes in computer-based training. The query method involves an embedded guided, sentence generation task requiring elaboration of key concepts in the training material that encourages learners to "stop and…

The present study tests the effect of ability pairing in two instructional methods in L2 collaborative revision. Two continuous indices determine a pair: individual proficiency level, distance in proficiency between pair members (heterogeneity), and the interaction between both indices. Instructional methods tested are modelling and practising.…

We investigated example choice as a new method for the teaching of formal theoretical principles. Formal principles are presented with several examples from different topics, and students choose the one that interests them most. Example choice might be related to prior knowledge, interest, or perceived control. In an experimental study, we…

Interacting with and translating across multiple representations is an essential characteristic of expertise and representational fluency. In this study, we explored the effect of interacting with and translating between representations in a computer simulation or in a paper-based assignment on scientific accuracy of undergraduate science…