Käser, T., Schwartz, D.L. Modeling and Analyzing Inquiry Strategies in Open-Ended Learning Environments. Int J Artif Intell Educ 30, 504–535 (2020). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-020-00199-y

University of California, Berkeley

This paper has similarities with the one discussed in the previous nodes in that it discusses a research study that proposed that the students' learning strategies were very important factors in their performance and learning, much more than the number of questions they got correct. Students who actively explored their options and tried to understand the problems they were given would indicate a potentially better learning method. To test this, researchers created an experiment with two data sets (to back up their findings) involving a virtual tug-of-war game in which students would test scenarios of different teams in a tug-of-war game and answer questions about which team would win, requiring knowledge of forces. Finally, students would take a posttest that asked questions about forces, requiring knowledge gained from playing the game. 

Modeling/Analyzing Inquiry Strategies in Open-Ended Learning Environments- Summary

Modeling and Analyzing Inquiry Strategies in Open-Ended Learning Environments- Citation Reference

The experiment involved testing students who would choose to explore their options more during the game compared to those who would focus on answering the questions the game provided, or some mixture between the two. Results indicated: 

- those students who chose to explore more (especially the ones whose learning strategies were efficient; testing out one variable at a time to truly understand which tug-of-war team would win) ultimately did better on the posttest
- the article took into account academic context, implying that instilling inquiry and learning strategies into the students would help compensate for any potential gap regarding prior achievement records
- teachers can potentially predict performance and learning outcomes by taking into account which students use learning strategies

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