Investigating the Impact and Student Perceptions of Guided Parsons Problems for Learning Logic with Subgoals

TL;DR

This study introduces Guided Parsons problems (GPPs) with step-specific hints to enhance logic learning, showing improved accuracy and efficiency, especially for students with less prior knowledge, while also revealing student perceptions of structured problem solving.

Contribution

The paper presents GPPs that incorporate hints to support learners, demonstrating their effectiveness in improving learning outcomes and problem solving efficiency in an intelligent logic tutor.

Findings

GPP students achieved higher rule application accuracy.

GPP students spent less time on post-tests, indicating efficiency gains.

Students reported better understanding but some felt restricted in reasoning.

Abstract

Parsons problems (PPs) have shown promise in structured problem solving by providing scaffolding that decomposes the problem and requires learners to reconstruct the solution. However, some students face difficulties when first learning with PPs or solving more complex Parsons problems. This study introduces Guided Parsons problems (GPPs) designed to provide step-specific hints and improve learning outcomes in an intelligent logic tutor. In a controlled experiment with 76 participants, GPP students achieved significantly higher accuracy of rule application in both level-end tests and post-tests, with the strongest gains among students with lower prior knowledge. GPP students initially spent more time in training (1.52 vs. 0.81 hours) but required less time for post-tests, indicating improved problem solving efficiency. Our thematic analysis of GPP student self-explanations revealed task decomposition, better rule understanding, and reduced difficulty as key themes, while some students felt the structured nature of GPPs restricted their own way of reasoning. These findings reinforce that GPPs can effectively combine the benefits of worked examples and problem solving practice, but could be further improved by individual adaptation.