The Effect of Providing Motivational Support in Parsons Puzzle Tutors

摘要

In response to student feedback on a tutor on Parsons puzzles on the programming concept of sequence, we incorporated three features meant to improve the motivation of the student solving the puzzles. We compared the performance of students before and after introducing these features. We found that introduction of motivational supports did not affect pre-post improvement, and therefore, the amount of learning. Students who were provided motivational supports spent more time per puzzle than those who were not.