Help Seeking and Help Design in Interactive Learning Environments

TLDR

Interactive learning environments provide on‑demand help to improve learning, but help seeking depends on learners’ metacognitive and cognitive skills and on system‑related factors and their interactions. This selective review examines theoretical perspectives on on‑demand help, reviews literature on help seeking and learning, identifies reasons for ineffective help use, and proposes directions for future research. The authors review the effects of system‑related factors, student‑related factors, and their interactions on help seeking and learning outcomes. Recent studies show that while effective help seeking is linked to better learning, learners are not using help facilities effectively.

Abstract

Many interactive learning environments (ILEs) offer on-demand help, intended to positively influence learning. Recent studies report evidence that although effective help-seeking behavior in ILEs is related to better learning outcomes, learners are not using help facilities effectively. This selective review (a) examines theoretical perspectives on the role of on-demand help in ILEs, (b) reviews literature on the relations between help seeking and learning in ILEs, and (c) identifies reasons for the lack of effective help use. We review the effect of system-related factors, of student-related factors, and of interactions between these factors. The interaction between metacognitive skills and cognitive factors is important for appropriate help seeking, as are a potentially large space of system-related factors as well as interactions among learner- and system-related factors. We suggest directions for future research.