Rapid dynamic assessment of expertise to improve the efficiency of adaptive e-learning

In this article we suggest a method of evaluating learner experties based on assessment of the content of working memory and the extent to which cognitive load has been reduced by knowledge retrieved from long-term memory. The method was tested in an experiment with an elementary algebra tutor using a yoked control design. In the learner-adapted experimental group, instruction was dynamically tailored to changing levels of expertise using rapid tests of knowledge combined with measures of cognitive load. In the nonadapted control group, each learner was exposed to exactly the same instructional procedures as those experienced by the learner's yoked participant. The experimental group demonstrated higher knowledge and cognitive efficiency gains than the control group.

[1]  G. A. Miller.  THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW THE MAGICAL NUMBER SEVEN, PLUS OR MINUS TWO: SOME LIMITS ON OUR CAPACITY FOR PROCESSING INFORMATION 1 , 1956 .

[2]  G. A. Miller.  THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW THE MAGICAL NUMBER SEVEN, PLUS OR MINUS TWO: SOME LIMITS ON OUR CAPACITY FOR PROCESSING INFORMATION 1 , 1956 .

[3]  R. Shiffrin,et al.  Controlled and automatic human information processing: I , 1977 .

[4]  Walter Schneider,et al.  Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending and a general theory. , 1977 .

[5]  Herbert A. Simon,et al.  Models of Competence in Solving Physics Problems , 1980, Cogn. Sci..

[6]  Michelene T. H. Chi,et al.  Expertise in Problem Solving. , 1981 .

[7]  R. Sternberg.  Advances in the psychology of human intelligence , 1982 .

[8]  J. Sweller,et al.  Development of expertise in mathematical problem solving. , 1983 .

[9]  H. Simon,et al.  Why are some problems hard? Evidence from Tower of Hanoi , 1985, Cognitive Psychology.

[10]  John Sweller,et al.  Cognitive Load During Problem Solving: Effects on Learning , 1988, Cogn. Sci..

[11]  Jeroen J. G. van Merriënboer,et al.  Strategies for Programming Instruction in High School: Program Completion vs. Program Generation , 1990 .

[12]  Fred G. W. C. Paas,et al.  The Efficiency of Instructional Conditions: An Approach to Combine Mental Effort and Performance Measures , 1992 .

[13]  J.J.G. van Merrienboer,et al.  Automating the planning and construction of programming assignments for teaching introductory computer programming , 1994 .

[14]  K. A. Ericsson,et al.  Long-term working memory. , 1995, Psychological review.

[15]  John R. Anderson,et al.  How people learn to skip steps. , 1996 .

[16]  Fred Paas,et al.  Dynamic problem selection in air traffic control training: a comparison between performance, mental effort and mental efficiency , 2001, Comput. Hum. Behav..

[17]  Slava Kalyuga,et al.  When problem solving is superior to studying worked examples. , 2001 .

[18]  R. Atkinson,et al.  Structuring the Transition From Example Study to Problem Solving in Cognitive Skill Acquisition: A Cognitive Load Perspective , 2003 .

[19]  Slava Kalyuga,et al.  The Expertise Reversal Effect , 2003 .

[20]  J. Sweller.  Evolution of human cognitive architecture , 2003 .

[21]  Slava Kalyuga,et al.  Measuring Knowledge to Optimize Cognitive Load Factors During Instruction. , 2004 .

[22]  Fred Paas,et al.  Mental Effort and Performance as Determinants for the Dynamic Selection of Learning Tasks in Air Traffic Control Training , 2004 .

[23]  Tehemton E. Udwadia,et al.  This Special Issue , 2005, Journal of minimal access surgery.

[24]  F. Paas,et al.  A motivational perspective on the relation between mental effort and performance: Optimizing learner involvement in instruction , 2005 .

[25]  Fred Paas,et al.  Instructional design for advanced learners: Establishing connections between the theoretical frameworks of cognitive load and deliberate practice , 2005 .