| | 2 | |
| | 3 | == Micro-experiments == |
| | 4 | |
| | 5 | Suppose you have two alternative lessons for a given concept. |
| | 6 | They may be completely different, |
| | 7 | or they may differ in appearance. |
| | 8 | Which is better? |
| | 9 | Or is each better for some identifiable subset of students? |
| | 10 | To investigate, create a '''micro-experiment''' |
| | 11 | in which students are randomly shown one lesson or the other, |
| | 12 | and then perform an exercise. |
| | 13 | {{{ |
| | 14 | function show_lesson() { |
| | 15 | return select( |
| | 16 | name('show_lesson'), |
| | 17 | valuator('rand'), |
| | 18 | lesson( |
| | 19 | filename('lesson1.php') |
| | 20 | ), |
| | 21 | lesson( |
| | 22 | filename('lesson2.php') |
| | 23 | ), |
| | 24 | } |
| | 25 | ); |
| | 26 | |
| | 27 | return sequence( |
| | 28 | name('course'), |
| | 29 | show_lesson(), |
| | 30 | exercise( |
| | 31 | filename('exercise.php') |
| | 32 | ) |
| | 33 | ); |
| | 34 | }}} |
| | 35 | |
| | 36 | This uses a new control structure, '''select()'''. |
| | 37 | This takes a 'valuator' function (in this case, random) |
| | 38 | and a set of units. |
| | 39 | It shows the unit for which the valuator function has the largest value. |
| | 40 | |
| | 41 | == Lesson comparison == |
| | 42 | |
| | 43 | After a number of students have passed through the micro-experiment, |
| | 44 | you may have enough data to conclude something about your lessons. |
| | 45 | To do this, go to the course Control Panel |
| | 46 | and click Lesson Compare. |