Desing and evaluation of interactive learning tasks

Providing learners with learning tasks of multiple complexity and difficulty is a widely acknowledged possibility of initiating active learning and intensive information processing in various learning contexts. Modern information technologies can be used to design interactive learning tasks. In contrast to evaluative learning tasks (i.e. test items) interactive learning tasks offer the possibility to solve problems interactively by providing means like guiding hints, multiple-try strategies and informative tutoring feedback.

The issue of how to support the systematic design, construction and evaluation of such interactive learning tasks is of critical interest for instructional designers.

To address this issue we have developed a learning task framework integrating well-founded approaches to constructing content-valid test items (Klauer, 1987), as well as knowledge on task analyses (e.g., Jonassen, Tessmer & Hannum, 1999), on taxonomies of learning objectives (Anderson et al. 2001), on multi-dimensional competency models, and on informative tutoring feedback strategies (Narciss, 2008). Based on this framework the Exercise-Format and the Exercise-Format Editor (http://studierplatz2000.tu-dresden.de/efb), an authoring tool for constructing interactive learning tasks have been developed.

Currently, the following research questions are at the focus of our interest:

• How to design interactive learning tasks based on multi-dimensional competency models?
• How to design the interactive component of a learning task to foster learners’ motivation, as well as performance?
• Under what individual and/or situational conditions do interactive learning tasks promote knowledge acquisition and transfer, as well as learners’ motivation?
• How can diagnostic procedures be refined by interactive learning tasks?

Contact Persons: Prof. Dr. Susanne Narciss, Prof. Hermann Körndle, Antje Proske, Felix Kapp

Selected Publications

Kapp, F., Proske, A., Narciss, S., & Körndle, H. (2015). Distributing vs. blocking learning questions in a web-based learning environment. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 51(4), 397-416.

Körndle, H., Narciss, S. & Proske, A. (2004). Konstruktion interaktiver Lernaufgaben für die universitäre Lehre. In D. Carstensen & B. Barrios (Hrsg.), Campus 2004. Kommen die digitalen Medien an den Hochschulen in die Jahre? (S. 57-67). Münster: Waxmann.

Narciss, S. (2013). Designing and Evaluating Tutoring Feedback Strategies for Digital Learning Environments on the basis of the Interactive Tutoring Feedback Model. Digital Education Review, 23, 7-26. [Accessed: 27/04/2014] http://greav.ub.edu/der

Proske, A., Körndle, H., & Narciss, S. (2012). Interactive learning tasks. In N. M. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 1606-1610). New York: Springer.

Proske, A., Körndle, H. & Narciss, S. (2004). The Exercise Format Editor: A multimedia tool for the design of multiple learning tasks. In H. M. Niegemann, D. Leutner, & R. Brünken (Eds.). Instructional Design for Multimedia Learning (pp. 149-164). Münster: Waxmann.

More publications can be found on the pages of contact persons.