The effect of interleaving an alternate task during tutoring and testing

Abstract

The effect of interleaving an alternate task during tutoring and testing was studied in the context of an online problem-solving software tutor. A controlled study was used and ANOVA was used for data analysis. It was found that introduction of the alternate task did not result in any difference in the scores of control and test groups during testing. It did not promote greater cognitive or affective learning during tutoring. Some possible reasons for the negative results are discussed.