nStudy: A System for Researching Information Problem Solving
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nStudy: A System for Researching Information Problem Solving Philip H. Winne1
•
John C. Nesbit1 • Fred Popowich2
Ó Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2017
Abstract A bottleneck in gathering big data about learning is instrumentation designed to record data about processes students use to learn and information on which those processes operate. The software system nStudy fills this gap. nStudy is an extension to the Chrome web browser plus a server side database for logged trace data plus peripheral modules that analyze trace data and assemble web pages as learning analytics. Students can use nStudy anywhere they connect to the internet. Every event related to creating, modifying, reviewing, linking and organizing information artifacts is logged in fine grain with a time stamp. These data fully trace information students operate on and how they operate on it. Ambient big data about studying gathered au naturel can be tailored by configuring several of nStudy’s features. Thus the system can be used to gather data across a wide range lab studies and field trials designed to test a range of models and theories. Keywords Information problem solving Trace data Big data Online learning
Today’s secondary and post-secondary students often tackle learning projects. These major assignments typically involve researching and analyzing complex information about debatable issues. Examples include: Are genetically modified foods safe? What is the & Philip H. Winne [email protected] John C. Nesbit [email protected] Fred Popowich [email protected] 1
Faculty of Education, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
2
School of Computing Science, Simon Fraser University, 8888 University Drive, Burnaby, BC V5A 1S6, Canada
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P. H. Winne et al.
better investment in retirement, equities or bonds? What is the fairest way to aggregate votes in elections? Learning projects present multiple and challenging problems to solve about information. For example, amongst hundreds of thousands or perhaps millions of sources available in the internet, which are best to select for detailed study? Which sources are trustworthy? How should information in a selected source be mined and analyzed? How can information extracted from multiple and divergent sources be reconciled and articulated? How should a presentation—an essay, seminar presentation or infographic—be designed? How well does a draft meet requirements of the assignment? What revisions could improve it? Almost every post-secondary institution’s website we’ve surveyed offers online support and advertises workshops where, they claim, students can develop skills needed to address this array of information problems. We interpret these institutions have ample but unpublished evidence students are frequently unprepared to solve information problems. A hopeful logic underlies these institutions’ significant investments: Helping students develop expertise to solve a wide array of information problems, what we call round-trip information problem solving (IPS), wi
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