Holistic framework to help students learn effectively from research-validated self-paced learning tools

TL;DR

This paper investigates how students engage with self-paced learning tools in physics education, revealing the importance of support and supervision for effective learning transfer, and proposes a comprehensive framework to enhance engagement.

Contribution

It introduces a holistic theoretical framework designed to improve student engagement with research-validated self-paced learning tools in diverse educational settings.

Findings

Students struggle to transfer learning from tutorials without supervision.

Supervised tutorial work leads to significantly better problem-solving performance.

Support and incentives are crucial for effective engagement with self-study tools.

Abstract

With limited time available in the classroom, e-learning tools can supplement in-class learning by providing opportunities for students to study and learn outside of class. Such tools can be especially helpful for students who lack adequate prior preparation. However, one critical issue is ensuring that students, especially those in need of additional help, engage with the tools as intended. Here we first discuss an empirical investigation in which students in a large algebra-based physics course were given opportunities to work through research-validated tutorials outside of class as self-study tools. Students were provided these optional tutorials after traditional instruction in relevant topics and were then given quizzes that included problems that were identical to the tutorial problems with regard to the physics principles involved but had different contexts. We find that students who worked through the tutorials as self-study tools struggled to transfer their learning to solve problems that used the same physics principles. On the other hand, students who worked on the tutorials in supervised, one-on-one situations performed significantly better than them. These empirical findings suggest that many introductory physics students may not engage effectively with self-paced learning tools unless they are provided additional incentives and support, e.g., to aid with self-regulation. Inspired by the empirical findings, we propose a holistic theoretical framework to help create learning environments in which students with diverse backgrounds are provided support to engage effectively with self-study tools.