Guided-KNOWLA: The Use of Guided Unscrambling to Enhance Active Online Learning

Abstract

Test-yourself questions are effective examples of formative assessment, and have been shown to promote learners' active interaction with materials and knowledge mastery through frequent practice. However, the cost of developing and implementing engaging test-yourself activities can be problematic in large-scale web-based learning environments; a lack of built-in scaffolding to guide learners is also a challenge. We introduce Guided-KNOWLA, an improvement of KNOWLA -- a learning tool has learners assemble a given set of mixed-size scrambled fragments into a logical order using a web-based interface, accompanied by motivational step-by-step hint/guidance as enhancements. We conducted an exploratory study with graduate learners to examine their attitudes toward Guided-KNOWLA activities, measured by perceived usefulness and comparative formats for formative assessment. Preliminary results suggest that using the Guided-KNOWLA were useful in helping learners master online materials and were a preferred format of "test-yourself" practice to multiple-choice questions.