Help seeking, learning and contingent tutoring

The focus of this paper is the application of the theory of contingent tutoring to the design of a computer-based system designed to support learning in aspects of algebra. Analyses of interactions between a computer-based tutoring system and 42, 14and 15-year-old pupils are used to explore and explain the relations between individual di€erences in learner±tutor interaction, learners' prior knowledge and learning outcomes. Parallels between the results of these analyses and empirical investigations of help seeking in adult±child tutoring are drawn out. The theoretical signi®cance of help seeking as a basis for studying the impact of individual learner di€erences in the collaborative construction of `zones of proximal development' is assessed. In addition to demonstrating the signi®cance of detailed analyses of learner±system interaction as a basis for inferences about learning processes, the investigation also attempts to show the value of exploiting measures of on-line help seeking as a means of assessing learning transfer. Finally, the implications of the ®ndings for contingency theory are discussed, and the theoretical and practical bene®ts of integrating psychometric assessment, interaction process analyses, and knowledge-based learner modelling in the design and evaluation of computer-based tutoring are explored. # 2000 Published by Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.