How to design informative tutoring feedback for multimedia learning

This paper outlines a conceptual framework for the design of psychologically well-founded informative tutoring feedback forms. This framework is on the one hand based on the large body of research on multiple elaborated feedback types. On the other hand cognitive task and error analyses serve as roots for the development of systematic design strategies. Furthermore, the present paper illustrates how these principles can be applied to the design, implementation and evaluation of informative tutoring feedback for a multimedia learning environment on written subtraction tasks. The impact of the developed informative tutoring feedback forms on learning and motivation was examined in two computer-based learning experiments. The results of these studies show that systematically designed informative feedback has positive effects on achievement and motivation. Informative feedback has to be considered an important factor in order to support efficient learning processes in computer-based learning or multi-media learning environments. Hence, the effects of multiple types and forms of elaborated feedback have been investigated in a large variety of instructional contexts. Widely used and examined feedback forms are outcome feedback types such as knowledge of result or response (KR, informs whether a response is correct or incorrect), knowledge of the correct response (KCR, provides the correct response or solution) or answer until correct (AUC, provides KR and requires to remain on the same item until it is answered correctly). There also exists a large body of research on elaborated feedback (EF). Unfortunately, the findings on the effects of multiple feedback forms are rather inconsistent (see reviews by In order to derive guidelines for the systematic design of elaborated informative feedback messages this body of research must be considered in detail. However, this detailed consideration is not always possible because it is rather costly. Thus, the design and implementation of informative feedback in multi-media learning environments is often more based on intuition than on psychologically well-founded design principles. The purposes of the present paper are therefore (a) to outline a conceptual framework for the design of psychologically well-founded informative tutoring feedback messages based on the large body of research on elaborated feedback and on approaches of cognitive task analysis (e.g. Jonassen, Tessmer & Hannum, 1999), (b) to illustrate how to apply these principles in order to design informative tutoring feedback messages for multimedia learning environments, and (c) to summarize the results of two evaluative studies that investigated the impact of the developed informative feedback forms on …