Promoting case indexing in case library learning: Effects of indexing prompts on self‐explanation and problem solving

Online learning is generally a solitary process without teachers’ on-the-spot assistance. To help students achieve sustained learning effects, the authors conducted a quasi-experiment to explore the effects of web-mediated self-regulated learning (SRL) with feedback on enhancing students’ computing skills, and their attitudes toward blended learning through online problem-solving. In this study, two cases were studied and compared, one a class deploying web-mediated SRL with feedback and the other without. The results showed that students who received web-mediated SRL with feedback outperformed those without feedback on computing skills and exhibited positive attitudes toward this instruction integrated with innovative teaching methods and technologies.

THE EFFECTS OF INDEXING PROMPTS ON PROBLEM-SOLVING IN CASE LIBRARY LEARNING

Problems of Education in the 21st Century ◽

10.33225/pec/20.78.394 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 78 (3) ◽

pp. 394-409

Author(s):

Jongchan Park ◽

Jinju Lee ◽

Dongsik Kim

Keyword(s):

Problem Solving ◽

Control Group ◽

First Year ◽

Case Based Reasoning ◽

First Year Students ◽

Case Library ◽

Quasi Experimental ◽

Scaffolding Strategies ◽

Development Course ◽

Effective Case

Researchers have suggested that case library learning is an effective instructional method that promotes argumentation skills for ill-structured problem-solving. However, little research has examined scaffolding strategies to implement effective case library learning. The aim of this research was to examine the effects of indexing prompts as scaffolds on argumentation skills during problem-solving in case library learning. A quasi-experimental design was employed for the research. A total of 111 first-year students in a university across three sections in a career development course participated in the experiment. Participants were provided with three different indexing prompts: explanation-based indexing prompts (focused on self-explaining anomalies of individual cases), difference-based indexing prompts (focused on self-explaining similarities and differences between cases), and no prompts (allowing spontaneous self-explanations when studying cases). Learners’ argumentation essays comprising initial arguments, counterarguments, and rebuttals were collected. The results found that learners who were prompted to generate mental indices outperformed the learners in the control group when constructing argumentation. More specifically, explanation-based indices were beneficial in making counterarguments and rebuttals, and difference-based indices were helpful when making rebuttals. These findings suggest that indexing cases based on both exploration of the anomalies of each case and comparisons between cases improves argumentation by facilitating case retention, retrieval, and reuse. Keywords: argumentation skills, case library learning, case-based reasoning, indexing prompts.