E-learning System to foster Inferential Skills Using Story Boards

Abstract

E-learning systems have been developed since 1960s, and with ubiquitous learning more easily available with the Internet and smartphones, they have become part of usual learning processes. However, most of them are related to repetition and memorization in language learning, arithmetic calculations, and other simple knowledge-based subjects. On the other hand, 21st-century skills have been advocated, where more abstract level skills are expected to be learned. Among them is thinking skills. Thinking skills are further categorized into several types, but one of the common basic skills is the inferential skill with which learners successfully employ their existing knowledge to find hidden relations, possible outcomes, prospective implications, etc. Thus, e-learning systems to foster the inferential skill are expected. In this research, I develop a prototypical web-based e-learning system to foster the inferential skill. The system employs story boards in the form of four-panel cartoons where learners are supposed to fill a blank using their inferential skills, and their mastery is measured to expose them to similar but different situational story boards. The effectiveness of this method and system is experimentally measured. The results from the experiments demonstrated a change for the better after the learners learned through an e-learning system. This system can be used as a guide for developing learning media that promotes inference skills in other situations.