Eliciting an accurate and detailed account of an event (such as abuse) from a child is a complex process that involves several skills and competencies which have been well articulated in the literature. Overall, experts agree that the most critical skill is the ability to maintain the use of non-leading, open-ended questions; such questions elicit elaborate responses but do not dictate or suggest what information is required.

Experts in investigative interviewing are also in agreement about what is generally needed to promote the use of open-ended questions. As with most practical skills, regular practice in the use of open-ended questions and expert feedback is critical. The impact of practice and feedback has been indicated in studies showing better use of open-ended questions among interviewers who received these elements on an ongoing basis (i.e., after the initial training program ceased) compared to those who did not.

However, research in relation to interviewer training is still in its infancy and further research is needed to define the relative effectiveness of the various training elements as well as the precise way in which feedback and practice exercises should be delivered.

The importance of, and urgent need for, further guidance in this area is heightened by the finding that most investigative interviewers have tremendous difficulty maintaining open-ended questions with children. Most of the prior evaluation research in the U.K., U.S., and Australia has revealed rates of open-ended questions of approximately 25%; research has shown that this low rate would be minimising the chance of successful prosecution.

Learning the precise skill of maintaining open-ended questions can be conceptualised as involving several discrete sub-skills. These include: knowing what an open-ended question is, and why it is important; recognising various types of open-ended questions; choosing the most effective open-ended question at the appropriate point in the interview; and being able to vocalise the right open-ended question.

The learning materials in our multimedia environment are organised into four modules that build upon each other with increasing complexity.

Learners encounter authentic and complex problems in the learning environment in the same way teachers would in classroom situations except that they have the scaffolding support they need in place such as the supportive information and the just-in-time information.

The learning environment is web based and was developed with Adobe Flash and a MySQL Database. It has been created to run on all standard browsers and is available for participants on the university website.

The multimedia learning environment offers help sites, glossaries, and Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs). We also use software examples and hands on software exercises to promote the necessary technical skills needed to use interactive whiteboards.

But equally as important as the technical know how are the pedagogical context and the didactical strategies to apply when using the interactive whiteboard. As situated learning research has shown, case studies especially have the ability to introduce the learner to a certain situation or context and to show them how to reflect on the case situation from various perspectives.

This multimedia learning environment integrates a wide range of case studies reflecting various perspectives from experienced teachers who have used interactive whiteboards for several years to those who are less experienced and represent a novice point of view.

Just-in-time information is available at the right moment of need to solve practical routine problems, for example, in providing short information on how to take certain procedural steps in the software. Just-in-time information is connected to each individual student’s authentic learning task.

Supportive information helps to develop mental models and cognitive strategies. Supportive information is necessary for the non-recurrent aspects in the multimedia environment and is provided in the form of classroom videos and audio files containing the “theory”.

The multimedia learning environment therefore offers a mix containing video and audio resources as well as more traditional online texts.

The learner can get more fundamental information about the situation or problem from these resources. Supportive information is valid and pinpointed to all the learning tasks in the one module.

In our multimedia environment defined as authentic, whole-task experiences, which include worked examples in the form of case studies, were provided. Learning tasks come in a specific order that is based on the scaffolding principle. For example, learners get a first learning task in which a video of an experienced teacher using the whiteboard in a classroom is shown.

This worked out example generates the first mental model for the learner of what constitutes effective practice. The second learning task can be an imitation problem in which an example is shown that the learner consequently has to imitate in a different context. The third learning task can finally be a conventional problem in which the learners have to perform the task or solve the problem themselves.

we first made a mind map of an expert teacher using an interactive whiteboard in actually undertaking their work in a real classroom. We analysed how the expert develops their lessons and prepares themselves while also video recording the actual classroom usage of the interactive whiteboard.

The authentic learning tasks constructed deal with the development, preparation, and usage of the interactive whiteboard in a classroom. In the design process, we gathered detailed input from actual teaching experts in an actual job situation (as the 4CID model suggests).