The impact of on‐demand metacognitive help on effortful behaviour: A longitudinal study using task‐related visual analytics

• Published in: Journal of computer assisted learning 2021-02, Vol.37 (1), p.109-126
• Main Authors: Papamitsiou, Zacharoula, Economides, Anastasios A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Cognitive tasks; Correlation analysis; Data analysis; Decision analysis; Decision making; Design; effortful behaviour; Empirical analysis; Help Seeking; Learning; Learning Analytics; Learning Strategies; Longitudinal Studies; longitudinal study; Mathematical analysis; Metacognition; metacognitive help; Reaction Time; self‐assessment; Student Behavior; Task Analysis; task‐related visual analytics; Training; Visual tasks
• ISSN: 0266-4909; 1365-2729
• DOI: 10.1111/jcal.12472

This longitudinal study investigates the differences in learners' effortful behaviour over time due to receiving metacognitive help—in the form of on‐demand task‐related visual analytics. Specifically, learners' interactions (N = 67) with the tasks were tracked during four self‐assessment activities, conducted at four discrete points in time, over a period of 8 weeks. The considered and coded time points were: (a) prior to providing the metacognitive help; (b) while the task‐related visual analytics were available (treatment); (c) after the removal of the treatment; and (d) while the option to receive metacognitive help was available again. To measure learners' effortful behaviour across the self‐assessment activities, this study utilized learners' response‐times to correctly/wrongly complete the tasks and on‐task effort expenditure. The panel data analysis shown that the usage of metacognitive help caused statistically significant changes in learners' effortful behaviour, mostly in the third and fourth phase. Statistically significant changes were detected also in the usage of metacognitive help. These results provide empirical evidence on the benefits of task‐related visual analytics to support learners' on‐task engagement, and suggest relevant cues on how metacognitive help could be designed and prompted by focusing on the “task”, instead of the “self”. Lay Description What is already known about this topic: The learning outcomes are improved when students pause to think and reason a hint, and elicit its implications. The learning outcomes are improved when time‐spent is properly allocated on help‐seeking. Former studies followed cross‐sectional research designs to investigate the effects of help on learning constructs. What this paper adds: Task‐related visual analytics have strong positive effect on effortful behaviour. They increase learners' awareness on the “true” requirements of the learning task. They seem to boost learners to practice critical judgement and decision making. This study is one of the very limited in number studies in the field of learning analytics that implemented a longitudinal research design. Implications for practice and/or policy: The time metric can be coded (for describing change) to facilitate the research design. Training the learners to read and make‐sense from visual analytics fosters their metacognition. Training the learners on how to use visual analytics is expected to build their capacity for data‐driven decisions.