Inquiry-based learning and retrospective action: Problematizing student work in a computer-supported learning environment

We examined student performance in a computer-supported learning environment after students undertook, among others, a graphing task within an inquiry context. Students were assigned in two conditions: (a) Students were given one variable, and they had to select the second one to construct their graph; (b) students were given four variables, and they had to select two to construct their graph. Both conditions problematized student work by triggering retrospective action, where students returned to previous stages of the learning activity sequence. Retrospective action correlated positively to knowledge gains in Condition 2, where students were more likely to revisit earlier stages of their inquiry. Time-on-task, when students passed through learning tasks for the first time, correlated negatively with retrospective action (second pass), which indicated that there was a minimum amount of time needed to effectively execute tasks. Trade-offs between time-on-task (first pass) and retrospective action demarcate a novel field of research.