Web-Based Representations of Ill-Structured Problems: Analysis

and Implications for Practice

Nada DabbaghProfessor, Learning Technologies

George Mason UniversityVirginia, U.S.A.

PBL 2016, Sao Paulo

Ill-Structured Problems (ISP)

Ill-Structured Problems (ISP)

Examples of ISP

ISP Representation

How does one determine the degree and type of structure with which to arrange information for an ISP, and does it matter?

Does problem structure impact student learning? Does problem structure impact problem-solving? Does problem structure impact knowledge assembly?

Examine how students interact with two types of ISP representations, hierarchical and heterarchical web-based designs, in order to better understand problem structure

User Experience (UXD)

Hierarchical versus HeterarchicalWeb-Based Designs

Hierarchical design: tree-like, top-down structure resulting in several navigation levels or layers content generally organized into logical sections often by

major topic area Heterarchical design:

network-like, relational, conceptually indexed structure embedded links are sprawled throughout the content,

resulting in an unstructured navigation path with random links jumping from one topic to another (referential access)

Depth versus Breadth

Topical versus Contextual

ISP Used in this Research

Design Problem/Dilemma – Medical Malpractice Authentic, ambiguous, multiple stakeholders, incomplete information,

emergent, elusive

Concerning the issue of “informed consent” prior to surgery: The informed consent problem was used in an ID context:

Instructional Design (ID) is a dynamic process of problem understanding and problem solution

ID cases are archetypal examples of ill-structured problems Students are responsible for designing instruction and assessment

that legally verifies that patients were fully “informed” ISP was used in a PBL environment

Tracking Program

Tracking Program

First Study - Exploratory 7 participants – 2 groups

Hierarchical (H) Design of ISP: Exploration was found to be more comprehensive in terms of the #links

visited/revisited, # of unique links visited, and total # of interactions generated

Heterarchical (R) Design of ISP: Average time spent on a page was 1.5 times the average time spent on a page

in the H case design Evidence of more collaboration between group members (97% versus 86% of

the decisions were group-based) Group problem solving strategy was clearly one of discussion and reasoning

through the problem information Perceptions of structure in terms of organization of links, resource information,

and navigation, were overall more positive

Both H&R: Perceptions of ill-structuredness, authenticity, meaningfulness, and relevance of the learning task was equal in both groups

Second Study – Case Study

14 participants – 4 groups

Problem solutions developed in response to the heterarchical (R) design were more cogent and viable than problem solutions developed in response to hierarchical design explicit links among multiple factors in the case focused on building from what is known recommendations described in tentative terms and subject to change as

additional information becomes available explicit consideration of implementation and/or effects of recommendations

Problem solutions developed in response to heterarchical (R) design provided evidence of a heuristic problem-solving process facilitating the identification of an expert-like solution to the case and the articulation of learners’ understanding and application of grounded and engaging instructional designs

Third Study – Experimental Design43 participants – 8 groups

How does team exploration (information seeking behavior) in the heterarchical (R) ISP design compare to team exploration in the hierarchical (H) hypermedia case design?

How do team-based heterarchical (R) ISP design solutions compare with team-based hierarchical (H) ISP design solutions? Are the heterarchical ISP solutions more expert-like, comprehensive, cogent, and viable than the hierarchical ISP solutions?

Did the online discourse reveal differences in participants’ problem solving behaviors (e.g., novice vs. expert-like) between teams that interacted with the heterarchical (R) ISP design and teams that interacted with the hierarchical (H) ISP design?

Results Exploration, information seeking behavior:

team exploration in the R case design was more comprehensive (covered more case content) and decisive (minimal uncertainty with respect to the usefulness of the visited links to solving the case)

average time spent on a page by the R teams was 2 minutes versus 4.75 minutes for the H teams which explains why exploration was overall more comprehensive in the R case design

Research suggests that user interaction with R case designs requires more cognitive effort in terms of navigation decision making resulting in more time spent on a page and hence less links visited overall; however, this was not the case in this study

The results of this study were not consistent with the results of the first study with respect to number of links visited (comprehensiveness) and time spent on a page

Results

Problem solving behavior/design solutions: Initial/draft ISP solution means were higher for the hierarchical (H)

teams, however, this trend was reversed for the final ISP solutions heterarchical (R) ISP interactions and solutions demonstrated more

expert-like

Users interacting with a simplified, externalized, or highly organized hypermedia navigation structure, as is the case in the hierarchical (H) ISP design, may initially perceive the learning task as well-defined, while students or users interacting with a more contextual (natural) or unstructured hypermedia navigation structure, as is the case in the heterarchical (R) ISP design, may initially perceive the learning task as ill-structured or ill-defined

Conclusions

Collaborative decision making and problem solving are a staple of PBL and interactions involving these processes are becoming largely technology supported and mediated through online learning technologies

The results of this series of studies that examined the effects of problem representation of ISP or cases on student collaborative information seeking and problem solving behaviors seem to support the tension that exists in CSCL research (Computer Supported Collaborative Learning)

While CSCL researchers argue that group tasks should be complex and ill structured to maximize group interactions, recent CSCL research is increasingly tempering this position and arguing that clearer and greater structure is needed to scaffold collaborative tasks and problems

More research on UX (User Experience) as this relates to the design of technology supported ISP representations and CSCL in PBL

For more information please contact Dr. Nada Dabbagh

atndabbagh@gmu.edu