In vivo experimentation: combine design research with controlled experimentation to balance control and ecological validity¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

The editorial describes the Walker, Rummel and Koedinger approach of adapting automated individual support (from the Cognitive Tutor tradition) to improve collaborative peer-tutoring interactions in algebra. The authors "have elaborated what they call an “in vivo” experimentation design process that combines design research with controlled experimentation to balance the tradeoffs between control and ecological validity," treating the reported attempt as the start of several iterations.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Mixed methods so qualitative data explain why improvements occurred and quantitative data map cases to systematic condition contrasts

Constraints¶

• The reported attempt is an early iteration; the authors themselves recognize this

Target Learners¶

• Students tutoring each other in mathematics; researchers of adaptive collaborative support

Target Learning Goals¶

• Improving the quality of collaborative student interactions with automated support

Related Strategies¶

• Use in vivo experimentation: rigorous experimental contrasts embedded in operating courses with real students, real subject matter, and real contexts
• Use design research to study the interplay of guidance and discovery, trading methodological control for ecological validity

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Gerry Stahl & Friedrich Hesse. (2011). Let a hundred flowers bloom; let a hundred schools of thought contend. Computer-Supported Collaborative Learning, 6, 139-145. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11412-011-9118-8