Multimedia Worked Examples as an Engineering Problem-Solving Tool Natalia Kapli Roxanne Toto Michael Gooseff The Pennsylvania State University

Engineering Problem Solving Problem solving is the analysis and transformation of information toward a specific goal (Lovett, 2002). In a well-defined problem, “the given state, the goal state, and the procedures that should be used to reach the goal are clearly stated” (Mayer & Wittrock, 2006, p. 288). Engineering Conceptual Knowledge Base Physical Principles Analytical Procedures Worked examples are instructional tools that are used to teach problem-solving skills in well-structured domains. Worked examples usually consist of modeling the process by presenting an example problem and demonstrating the solution steps, as well as the final answer to the problem (Moreno, 2006) Conceptual knowledge is “knowledge of categories and classifications and the relationships between and among them”, and represents an individual’s understanding of how a particular subject matter is structured and organized, as well as how the parts of a system are interrelated and function together (Anderson & Krathwohl, 2001, p. 48). Engineering Problem Solving Worked Examples Practice Problems

Why it doesn’t always work 1. Novice learners have difficulty connecting the attributes of practice problems with those of worked examples, when worked examples are separated from practice problems in time and space (Atkinson et al., 2000) 2. Without being prompted to make the connection, novices mostly attend to surface features in the examples, rather than deeper conceptual knowledge (Alexander, 2003).

What is a Multimedia Worked Example? A multimedia worked example (MWE) is a worked example that is developed using multimedia authoring tools to facilitate integration of physical principles and analytical procedures into the problem-solving process. It consists of 7 parts representing: conceptual knowledge (parts 1-2) solution outline (part 3) solved problem steps (parts 4-7) It is delivered online via a course management system.

1. Novice learners have difficulty connecting the attributes of practice problems with those of worked examples, when worked examples are separated from practice problems in time and space (Atkinson et al., 2000) Segmenting of a multimedia worked example is breaking the continuous multimedia presentation into separate parts that show only the conceptual and procedural information related to each step in the practice problem to facilitate learning by analogy (Anderson, 1995).

2. Without being prompted to make the connection, novices mostly attend to surface features in the examples, rather than deeper conceptual knowledge (Alexander, 2003). Self-explanation prompt is a question which purpose is to induce meaningful learning strategies, such as explaining the conditions and consequences of each procedural step in the example, as well as justifying the principles and definitions of concepts applied to them (Chi et al., 1989; Schworm & Renkl, 2007).

Context An undergraduate 300-level course in fluid mechanics Covers fundamental fluid mechanics topics that are used in civil engineering Course activities: two weekly lectures, seven homework assignments, and seven in-class quizzes. Homework assignments and quizzes are focused on solving fluid mechanics problems

Design of Worked Examples Tools Tablet PC Camtasia Studio by TechSmith Corp. (video-editing software) Process Storyboard Multimedia presentation 3 step-by-step problems in CMS Segmenting worked examples Adding self-explanation prompts

Complete Storyboard Homework 1 / Problem 1 Step 2 Problem recap Equation help - Link Step 2 Calculate the velocity Multimedia Worked Example Step 2 - Link Self-explanation prompt Worked examples are more effective when they: are in proximity to matched problems are integrated to avoid split-attention effect (e.g. video and text in same window) use multiple modalities (e.g. audio and video, or audio and text) use a clear subgoal structure (each step should be labeled) (Atkinson et al. 2000) What principle is involved in calculating the velocity? Self-explanations can help students’ understanding by making them think about: 1. The conditions of application of the actions; 2. The consequences of actions; 3. The relationship of actions to goals; 4. The relationship of goals and actions to natural laws and other principles. (Chi et al., 1989) Step solution Solution for Step 2: Submit Answer

Integrated into the Course Management System

Integrated into the Course Management System

Pilot Study Spring 2009 67 civil engineering juniors Specific Energy topic

Purpose Refine the design Test logistical procedures Determine evaluation strategy

Pilot Study Design Segmenting of the Multimedia Worked Example Non-Segmented No Self-Explanation Prompts Segmented No Self-Explanation Prompts Self-Explanation Prompts Non-Segmented Self-Explanation Prompts Segmented Self-Explanation Prompts

Problem Statement - Introduction

Segmented / No Prompts

Non-Segmented / Prompts

Non-Segmented / No Prompts

Results – Descriptive Stats Group n Immediate Problem Solving Delayed Problem Solving M (SD) max score = 21 max score = 4 Segmented MWE and Self-Explanation Prompts 17 12.00 (3.18) 2.12 (.60) Segmented MWE (No prompts) 13.76 (4.04) 1.94 (.74) Non-segmented MWE and Self-Explanation Prompts 16 12.50 (4.13) 2.25 (.68) Non-segmented MWE (No prompts) 13.82 (2.48) 1.94 (.75) Total 67 13.03 (3.53) 2.06 (.69)

Results - Survey MWE were very useful for: Issues with MWE: Demonstrating real world examples Providing conceptual explanations Providing step-by-step support for problem-solving process Issues with MWE: Didn’t support all 3 problems equally well

Results – Survey (cont.) Self-explanation prompts were: Useful for promoting conceptual understanding Somewhat redundant for easier or repeating concepts Technical / process issues: Problem flow in CMS

Discussion Both non-segmented and segmented MWE are perceived as useful by students Self-explanation prompts are perceived as useful by some of the students, and redundant by others Studying with self-explanation prompts possibly requires more cognitive processing Problem-solving tests show that self-explanation prompts tend to make MWE more effective in the long run

Implications for Design and Research MWE should be revised to better support all 3 problems in the problem-set Number of self-explanation prompts should be decreased to reduce cognitive load Some changes should be made in the problem flow More testing is necessary to determine the effectiveness of MWE and self-explanation prompts for this content

Future Directions Develop 7 multimedia worked examples to support concepts for each homework in the course Turn these worked examples into stand-alone learning objects

Questions Natalia Kapli Email: nvk104@psu.edu