Towards the Development of Detection of Learned Helplessness in Mathematics: Design and Data Collection Challenges from a Developing Country Perspective

TL;DR

This paper discusses the challenges faced in designing and collecting data for a web-based tutoring system aimed at detecting learned helplessness in students within a developing country context, highlighting environmental and logistical hurdles.

Contribution

It documents specific design and data collection challenges encountered in deploying an educational web app in resource-constrained settings for behavioral analysis.

Findings

Limited participant eligibility due to logistical constraints

Environmental disruptions impacted data collection efforts

Design features included hints, problem sequencing, and game modes

Abstract

This study investigates the challenges in designing, data collection, and implementation of a web-based Tutoring System (TS) for teaching linear equations within a developing country context. Originally designed as an Android app, the system was redeveloped as a web application to facilitate cross-platform access and data collection. This redesign enabled enhanced tracking through interaction logs and included features like problem skipping, hints, difficulty-based problem sequencing, and game modes with adaptable progression (e.g., easy-to-hard, hard-to-easy). The main objective was to document the design and data collection challenges encountered in data collection for the development of a model capable of detecting learned helplessness in students' behaviors while using a web application for solving linear equation. Challenges included outdated devices, unreliable internet, and logistical constraints such as limited session durations and delays in obtaining approvals. Environmental disruptions like class cancellations and curriculum gaps further complicated the process, with only 118 out of 410 students eligible and actively participating. These obstacles highlight the complexities of collecting interaction data for detecting learned helplessness in real-world, resource-constrained educational settings.