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Rapid dynamic assessment of expertise to improve the efficiency of adaptive e-learning

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Abstract

In this article we suggest a method of evaluating learner experties based on assessment of the content of working memory and the extent to which cognitive load has been reduced by knowledge retrieved from long-term memory. The method was tested in an experiment with an elementary algebra tutor using a yoked control design. In the learner-adapted experimental group, instruction was dynamically tailored to changing levels of expertise using rapid tests of knowledge combined with measures of cognitive load. In the nonadapted control group, each learner was exposed to exactly the same instructional procedures as those experienced by the learner's yoked participant. The experimental group demonstrated higher knowledge and cognitive efficiency gains than the control group.

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Correspondence to Slava Kalyuga.

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This article was prepared during the appointment of the first author as an adjunct lecturer at the School of Education, University of New South Wales.

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Kalyuga, S., Sweller, J. Rapid dynamic assessment of expertise to improve the efficiency of adaptive e-learning. ETR&D 53, 83–93 (2005). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02504800

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