Heuristic trees and their fruits

Abstract

Heuristic trees are hint cards for problem-solving, structured in a tree shape, following specific design principles. Cards near the trunk of the tree show help in a compressed form, and the next cards along the branches decompress the content. Students’ use of heuristic trees, implemented in a digital environment, has been studied for several years, and this paper reviews the results of these efforts. In particular, we address how the use of heuristic trees impacts students’ engagement, ownership of solutions, problem-solving ability, and metacognitive skills, such as process-structuring and help-seeking.