Effects of combining multiple types of adaptive guidance on novices’ knowledge integration of scientific phenomena

Throughout inquiry learning, many learners, especially novices, experience difficulties and make errors in applying inquiry skills. Because learners’ prior knowledge and difficulties in comprehending concepts and applying inquiry skills are unique, diagnosing learning situations and adapting guidance in real-time is essential. However, effects of combining multiple types of adaptive guidance to support inquiry learning have been understudied. This study investigated effects of combining primary guidance (just-in-time prompts) and supplementary guidance (hints and confirmatory feedback) on novice learners’ knowledge acquisition and integration of concepts and rules during (i.e., performance success) and after inquiry (i.e., learning outcomes). The study involved 98 undergraduate students. In a pretest-posttest, three-group experimental design, participants engaged in inquiry tasks to discover the rules of series circuits using a simulation of electric circuits. They were randomly assigned to either a prompt-plus group receiving hints and feedback in addition to prompts, a prompt group receiving prompts only, or a control group receiving no adaptive guidance. On performance success, the prompt-plus group outperformed both the prompt (p = .02) and control (p < .001) groups in the number of rules discovered, and showed higher knowledge integration of system-level rules than the control group (p < .001), while the prompt group also outperformed the control group in the number of rules discovered (p = .02). On the posttest, only the prompt-plus group statistically detectably outperformed the control group (p < .001), and the effect was mediated by the number of rules discovered. These results suggest combining forms of adaptive guidance can support performance and learning outcomes.

在探究式学习（inquiry learning）实践中，众多学习者尤其是新手学习者，在应用探究技能时常会遭遇困难并出现操作失误。由于学习者的先验知识、概念理解难点以及探究技能应用能力均存在个体差异，实时诊断学习状态并动态调整指导策略实为必要。然而，当前针对结合多种自适应指导（adaptive guidance）方式以支撑探究式学习的效果研究仍相对不足。本研究考察了结合核心指导（即时提示（just-in-time prompts））与补充指导（提示（hints）与验证性反馈（confirmatory feedback））对新手学习者在探究过程中（即任务表现成绩）及探究结束后（即学习成果）的知识获取、概念与规则整合的影响。本研究共招募98名本科生，采用前测-后测三组实验设计，让参与者借助电路仿真平台开展探究任务，自主发现串联电路（series circuits）的运行规则。参与者被随机分配至三组：提示+组（额外获得提示与验证性反馈）、仅提示组（仅获取即时提示）以及对照组（未获得任何自适应指导）。在任务表现成绩维度上，提示+组在发现的规则数量上均优于仅提示组（p = .02）与对照组（p < .001），且其对系统级规则的知识整合程度显著高于对照组（p < .001）；仅提示组在发现的规则数量上也显著优于对照组（p = .02）。在后测环节中，仅提示+组的表现显著优于对照组（p < .001），且该效应通过发现的规则数量发挥中介作用。上述研究结果表明，组合多种形式的自适应指导可有效助力学习者的任务表现与学习成果提升。