Generally no feedback on wrong choices?

Submitted by rakewi on Thu, 11/11/2021 - 18:11
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General discussion

We are building a feature-rich learning course exclusively using H5P. While a lot of things work like a charm, we noticed that virtually all of the interactive tests and exercises - such as single and multiple choice, drag and drop, image pairing etc. - have no way of providing learners with feedback on wrong answers. We are a bit puzzled about this, as we view feedback on wrong answers as one of the most crucial elements in learning. Without these, it would become try and error, with no reflection as to why a particular choice was not correct.

The external Fill In The Blanks provides such an option, so it is clearly possible within the H5P framework.

Are we overlooking something? Or is this currently not supported in these elements?

serettig's picture

serettig

Thu, 11/11/2021 - 19:24

Hi,

You're right: there are only very limited feedback options in many content types. There are a few ones that allow you to give fine-grained feedback (e.g. Multiple Choice and Find the Hotspots), but in general answer evaluation is only correct - incorrect and a total feedback message depending on the score. I totally agree that this is very important for learning and that's why I wrote the Advanced Fill in the Blanks content type you mention. (Unfortunately, I don't have enough time to improve or extend it at the moment.) It's not perfect, but a start.

I believe there are several reasons that there are few content types that support individual feedback:
1. It makes authoring tools more complex as you have to include the various feedback texts and the conditions they should be displayed in. The H5P core team already considers Advanced Fill the Blanks a complex editor... I don't agree here, but it's a fact that you'd lose some of the simplicity of the editing experience if you add individual feedback on a  single item scope. 
2. Many digital tools are used for assessment / tests and not for learning. This is particularly true in countries that have a long testing traditions.
3. The H5P core team aren't educators but software developers. From my experience as an IT manager I have the impression that software developers tend to underestimate the importance of certain features that are complex to implement (see reason 1). There are very few website or apps that go beyond the "correct / incorrect" answer style.
4. Creating individual feedback is very time consuming and requires lots of effort by the content creator. In practice, most content won't be like that as it is created under time pressure. That's why authoring tools don't even bother with this feature. 

Even if I don't have the time to develop content types at the moment, I'd be interested in your thoughts how H5P should get more feedback options. Maybe someone else will pick this up or I have some time in the future to revisit the issue...

Best
Sebastian

otacke's picture

otacke

Thu, 11/11/2021 - 21:14

Hi Sebastian!

Very well written answer, thanks! And I agree, I'd also like to interested in thoughts about how H5P should get more feedback options.

Cheers,
Oliver