DiSco: Differential Effects of Digital Scaffolding on Learning Fractions

Investigators @RILL: Sarah Hofer, Sarah Bichler

Collaborators: Frank Reinhold (PH Freiburg)

Duration: January 2019 (start)

Funding: Jacobs Research Fellowship

Main Goals: Learning from instruction depends on how individuals make use of the instructional methods implemented. Due to differences in their individual resources, students don’t profit equally from instructional methods to support information intake, methods to support practice or application, and feedback methods. Scaffolds can help to adapt those instructional methods to the needs of individual learners. In this study, we want to answer the question who benefits from what type of scaffold when learning about fractions on the number line using established instructional methods. Referring to existing research, dynamic visualizations were used as an information-processing scaffold when learning new information with analogies, adaptive task difficulty was implemented as an engagement scaffold during repeated practice, and explanations based on typical mistakes were provided as an information scaffold in the context of feedback.

Practical Relevance: We want to emphasize the relevance of a learner- and content-specific approach to the design of learning situations and suggest ways to individualize instruction based on the conditioning of scaffolds on the specific mechanisms underlying different instructional methods. The findings can inform the development of more inclusive and effective teaching strategies, ultimately improving educational outcomes for a wide range of students.

Related Publications, Talks, and Media

Hofer, S. I., Bichler, S., & Reinhold, F. (2023, August). How Prior Knowledge and Other Individual Variables Interact with Scaffolds in Learning Fractions. 20th Biennial EARLI Conference. Thessaloniki, Greece.

Hofer, S. I. (2022, February). Individual Differences in Learning With Digital Scaffolds in Secondary School Mathematics. Future Learning Initiative Research Colloquium, ETH Zurich, Switzerland.

Hofer, S. I. (2022, February). Individuelles Lernen – Voraussetzungen und Unterstützungsmethoden. DiCTaT-Forschungskolloquium, Potsdam University, Germany.

Hofer, S. I. (2020, September). Digital technology as a catalyst for individual learning. Scientific Talks on Learning and Technology. ETH Zurich, Department of Humanities, Social and Political Sciences.

Hofer, S. I. & Reinhold, F. (2019, September). Individualisiertes Lernen durch individualisierte digitale Lernunterstützung im Unterricht. Invited Symposium on the 2019 Joint Conference of the Sections Developmental Psychology and Educational Psychology (paEpsy). Leipzig, Germany.

https://jacobsfoundation.org/en/digital-scaffolding-for-successful-learning/

BOLD – Blog on Learning and Development: Digital tools to transform the classroom. https://bold.expert/using-digital-tools-to-transform-the-classroom/

Hofer, S. I. & Schultz-Pernice, F. (2023). Schule in einer Kultur der Digitalität: Was sind die Ziele und auf welchen Wegen gelangen wir dorthin? PLAN BD, Magazin des Forum Bildung Digitalisierung. https://magazin.forumbd.de/rahmenbedingungen/schule-in-einer-kultur-der-digitalitaet-was-sind-die-ziele-und-auf-welchen-wegen-gelangen-wir-dorthin/

Reinhold, F., Hofer, S. I., Hoch, S., Werner, B., Richter-Gebert, J., & Reiss, K. (2020). Digital support principles for sustained mathematics learning in disadvantaged students. PLOS ONE 15(10): e0240609. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0240609

Reinhold, F., Obersteiner, A., Hoch, S., Hofer, S. I., & Reiss, K. (2020). The Interplay Between the Natural Number Bias and Fraction Magnitude Processing in Low-Achieving Students. Front. Educ., 5(29). https://doi.org/ 10.3389/feduc.2020.0002910.3389/feduc.2020.00029