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Research on interactive learning space classrooms has reported that instructors and students find them engaging, and engagement is expected to increase learning outcomes. Positive findings about interactive classrooms, though, are often confounded with active learning pedagogy since instructors who teach in interactive classrooms tend to also promote active learning pedagogy. More research is needed to tease apart learning gains from the instructional design, classroom context, and the related incorporation of technology. This study examined the relationship between learning gains and classroom context (traditional and interactive learning space) in a pretest/posttest design and reviewed student survey responses about learning experiences. Participants were enrolled in one of two sections of a course. Both groups were taught by the same instructor using active learning pedagogy with the same activities, materials, and assignments. The results showed that classroom context did not result in differences in students learning overall. Some findings pointing to subtle differences, however, indicate that the interactive classroom could have made the classroom instruction more effective and efficient.

Only a few characteristics of picture-based narrative prompts have been studied to determine what features affect task performance. Thus, it is not easy to identify equivalent narrative prompts or identify features that are impactful. Tavakoli and Foster (2008) and Tavakoli (2009) examined the impact of prompt on the language produced by English learners during a picture-based narrative task in respect to narrative structure and storyline complexity. This study investigates if prompts within these known categories elicit similar performance. Considering the findings based on different prompts in Tavakoli and Foster, as well as in Robinson's (2011) Triadic Componential Framework for pedagogical tasks, we added another feature, number of elements. All of the prompts in this study had a tight sequential structure (±causal reasoning), similar storyline complexity (±intentional reasoning), and similar main characters and props (±elements). Although the accuracy and complexity in the ESL narratives were similar across prompts, there were some unexpected differences in fluency and lexis. Potential explanations of the variation in these subareas of language performance are discussed. Overall, this study highlights the importance of piloting research and testing materials and of investigating features that constitute task complexity.

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