Unsolicited hints and meta-hints raised first-attempt correctness by d=0.682 and problem completion by d=0.727¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · reviewr2·q2·i2medium
Currency · newest study 2015 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
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This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i2 The most recent Andes version's judiciously provided unsolicited hints and meta-hints raised the frequency of getting a step right on the first attempt by d=0.682 and the problem completion rate by d=0.727. → VanLehn 2015
Evidence¶
VanLehn 2015¶
VanLehn, K. (2015). Reflections on Andes' Goal-free User Interface. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40593-015-0067-7
q2 · i2 · review · r2
The most recent Andes version (Ranganathan et al., unpublished) alleviated hint underuse by "judiciously providing unsolicited hints" and unsolicited meta-hints that always used the same wording ("You should ask for a hint."). Reported effects: d=0.682 on first-attempt correctness and d=0.727 on completion rate.
"This raised the frequency of getting a step right on the first attempt by d=0. 682 and raised the problem completion rate by d= 0.727."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- Error rates per completed problem-solving step did not significantly differ between conditions — related
- Mindful-condition students completed fewer problem-solving steps and requested fewer hints per step than Cognitive-condition students — related
- K-12 learners preferred incremental hints and multiple attempts over immediately revealed solutions — related
- Not requesting any hints in at least one problem is related to greater wheel-spinning, consistent with help avoidance — related
- Most students (87.6%) prefer attempting to solve problems independently before seeking support, managing uncertainty privately before engaging formal support — related
- Personalized hints raise student success at solving exercises: 60.47% success before second attempt with the discourse model versus 37.93% baseline (p = 0.03) — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
- Hints generated by LOGAX help students complete the exercises — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
unsolicited-meta-hints-effect-sizes |
title |
Unsolicited hints and meta-hints raised first-attempt correctness by d=0.682 and problem completion by d=0.727 |
description |
Unsolicited hints and meta-hints raised first-attempt correctness by d=0.682 and problem completion by d=0.727 |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
moderate |
newest_evidence |
2015 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-27 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — vanlehn-2015 |
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