Learning programming from erroneous worked-examples. Which type of error is beneficial for learning?

Learning from erroneous worked examples could enhance learning in contrast to problem-solving tasks. The type of error was hypothesized to be a moderator and accuracy of error detection and correction a mediator of this effect. This study examines the influence of simple syntactic (the structure of the code) and complex semantic (the logic or content of the code) errors in a programming scenario. Overall, 128 students were assigned to a two (syntactic errors: yes vs. no) × two (semantic errors: yes vs. no) factorial between-subjects design. Students’ accuracy in error detection and correction, learning performance, mental load, and mental effort were measured. Results showed that learners receiving syntactic errors detected and corrected errors with higher accuracy which leads to higher learning performance. Semantic errors did not influence learning-related variables since semantic errors were too difficult for novice learners to detect and fix. The postulated moderation and mediation could be supported.     

Instruction-first and problem-solving-first approaches: alternative pathways to learning complex tasks

According to cognitive load theory, using worked examples is an effective and efficient instructional strategy for initial cognitive skill acquisition for novice learners, as it reduces cognitive load and frees up cognitive resources to build task competence. Contrary to this, productive failure (as well as invention learning, desirable difficulties and other problem-solving-first) frameworks suggest that scaffolded problem-solving activities (a generation phase) preceding explicit instruction enhance learners’ performance. The reported experimental study investigated the effectiveness of different levels of instructional guidance provided to students during the learning phase preceding explicit instruction in standard solution procedures in enhancing students’ engagement and transfer problem-solving skills. Specifically, the study compared partially-guided or unguided attempts at generating problem solutions as opposed to comprehensive guidance, in the form of a worked example. Levels of experienced cognitive load and learner motivation were evaluated in addition to delayed post-test performance scores. There were no differences between the three groups on the transfer post-test outcomes, even though the condition with fully-guided worked examples prior to the explicit instruction expectedly reduced cognitive load relative to the conditions without such guidance. There were also differences between the conditions on some sub-dimensions of the motivation scale. In general, the findings indicate that similar overall outcomes (delayed transfer performance) could be achieved by different sequences of instructional tasks aimed at achieving different sets of specific goals.     

Simulations with Elaborated Worked Example Modeling: Beneficial Effects on Schema Acquisition

Worked examples have been effective in enhancing learning outcomes, especially with novice learners. Most of this research has been conducted in laboratory settings. This study examined the impact of embedding elaborated worked example modeling in a computer simulation practice activity on learning achievement among 39 undergraduate students within a classroom environment. The students from one introductory forensic science course were randomly assigned to one of two groups that worked through computer-based simulations containing worked example modeling conditions presented in varied order. The computer software administered the modeled simulations, prior knowledge test, pretest, posttests, and a second domain test. Findings from this study suggest that embedded worked example modeling within practice simulations can be an effective method for transfer of learning with novice learners. This article describes the dissertation study completed by Debra K. Meier under the guidance of David W. Brooks at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.     

Distributed by Design: On the Promises and Pitfalls of Collaborative Learning with Multiple Representations

This article presents a designed learning environment intended to engage students in learning about the relationships among multiple representations as they work together on a shared task. Over the course of several extended problem-solving sessions, groups developed several successive alignments of participants and representations as they learned to solve increasingly difficult tasks. Our findings highlight the emergent and often unexpected meanings that learners established for representational tools as their groups reorganized into increasingly effective problem-solving ensembles. Our findings echo those of prior research regarding learners' considerable competence and creativity in interpreting and applying distributed representational tools, as well as the careful coordination among learners involved in establishing and acting on those interpretations. Challenges in this design space include instances in our data where students capitalized on connections among representations without really trying to understand those connections, temporarily undermined the distributed character of the representations, and worked more efficiently by reducing the number of participants actively involved in breaking codes. Our findings indicate that managing these challenges requires presenting groups with regular opportunities to reconsider and reorganize their roles, and to experiment with different meanings and uses of flexible tools in the context of tasks with carefully sequenced levels of difficulty.     

How to sequence video modeling examples and inquiry tasks to foster scientific reasoning

Scientific reasoning skills can be acquired through technology-enhanced inquiry tasks or video modeling examples showing how to conduct virtual experiments. However, inquiry tasks can be cognitively demanding for novice learners, whereas video modeling examples can induce overconfidence. The present study investigated the effectiveness of both approaches in isolation and combination. We compared the effects of four groups (example-example, example-task, task-example and task-task) on learning outcomes, perceived difficulty and mental effort, judgments of learning, and monitoring accuracy among 107 seventh graders. In line with our hypotheses, watching a video modeling example first led to lower mental effort, better learning outcomes, and higher judgments of learning than solving an inquiry task first. Contrary to our hypotheses, all groups underestimated their performance. Results for mental effort and learning outcomes corroborate research on worked examples, whereas results for judgments of learning and monitoring accuracy indicate an underconfidence-with-practice effect.     

The consequences of fading instructional guidance on delayed performance: the case of financial services training

Empirical studies within a cognitive load framework have determined that for novice learners, worked examples provide appropriate levels of instructional guidance. As learners advance in specific subject domains, worked examples should be gradually replaced by practice problems with limited guidance. This study compared performance, both immediately post‐instruction and delayed, following instruction under different conditions: using example–problem pairs, using gradual fading of worked examples, and using pure problem‐solving. The study was conducted with employees of a financial services company in a classroom environment. Results indicated that the fading condition consistently outperformed the example–problem and problem‐solving conditions, and the advantage of this condition was enhanced, with statistically significant differences in performance, in delayed and transfer posttest performance.     

Differential effects of problem-solving demands on individual and collaborative learning outcomes

The effectiveness and efficiency of individual versus collaborative learning was investigated as a function of instructional format among 140 high school students in the domain of biology. The instructional format either emphasized worked examples, which needed to be studied or the equivalent problems, which needed to be solved. Because problem solving imposes a higher cognitive load for novices than does studying worked examples it was hypothesized that learning by solving problems would lead to better learning outcomes (effectiveness) and be more efficient for collaborative learners, whereas learning by studying worked examples would lead to better learning outcomes and be more efficient for individual learners. The results supported these crossover interaction hypothesis. Consequences of the findings for the design of individual and collaborative learning environments are discussed.     

The factors influencing the outcome of solving story problems in a web-based learning environment

The aim of the present study was to investigate those factors influencing performance in solving story problems in a web-based environment. A situational simulation, “Hiking across Estonia,” was explored by two samples of voluntary groups of students, comprising 65 and 50 groups, respectively. They solved 25 ecological and environmental story problems and filled in a pre-test and post-test that evaluated problem-solving skills. The groups were clustered according to their characteristics and performance into five clusters: “slow learners,”“quick learners,”“successful learners,”“smart learners,” and “ineffective learners.” The clusters were provided with different types of supportive notes and the sequence of problems was rearranged according to the students' initial results in the first four problem-solving tasks. These treatments demonstrated statistically significant improvements in the outcome in solving story problems in small groups. The main factors determining the effectiveness of problem solving were: (i) time spent on learning; (ii) initial skills in problem-solving; (iii) the presence of support in enhancing situation awareness; (iv) graduated problem tasks sequenced on the basis of complexity and difficulty; (v) ratio of genders in a learning group. However, the importance of these factors depended on the cluster and, therefore, it can be concluded that the design of problem-solving instruction has to be adapted according to the clusters' characteristics.     

Cognitive load theory and aging: effects of worked examples on training efficiency

Cognitive load theory (CLT) is aimed at developing training material that efficiently makes use of the available cognitive processing capacity and stimulates the learner's ability to use acquired knowledge and skills in new situations. It is claimed that CLT-based training formats meet the cognitive abilities of elderly learners particularly well. That is, cognitive aging brings about several declines of working memory, which impede the acquisition of complex cognitive skills. By making an optimal use of the ‘remaining’ cognitive resources, learning can be enhanced. For that purpose, CLT provides a promising range of training formats that have proven their effectiveness relative to conventional formats in young adults. This article presents an experimental study (N=54) aimed at the efficiency of worked examples as a substitute for conventional practice problems in training both elderly and young adults. According to CLT, studying worked examples is a more efficient means of training complex skills than solving conventional problems. As predicted, the results show that — with respect to the elderly — the efficiency of studying worked examples is higher than the efficiency of solving conventional problems in that less training time and cognitive load leads to a comparable level of performance.     

Designing Instructional Examples to Reduce Intrinsic Cognitive Load: Molar versus Modular Presentation of Solution Procedures

It is usually assumed that successful problemsolving in knowledge-rich domains depends onthe availability of abstract problem-typeschemas whose acquisition can be supported bypresenting students with worked examples.Conventionally designed worked examples oftenfocus on information that is related to themain components of problem-type schemas, namelyon information related to problem-categorymembership, structural task features, andcategory-specific solution procedures. However,studying these examples might be cognitivelydemanding because it requires learners tosimultaneously hold active a substantial amountof information in working memory. In ourresearch, we try to reduce intrinsic cognitiveload in example-based learning by shifting thelevel of presenting and explaining solutionprocedures from a `molar' view – that focuseson problem categories and their associatedoverall solution procedures – to a more`modular' view where complex solutions arebroken down into smaller meaningful solutionelements that can be conveyed separately. Wereview findings from five of our own studiesthat yield evidence for the fact thatprocessing modular examples is associated witha lower degree of intrinsic cognitive load andthus, improves learning.     

“It came alive outside my head.” Developing literacies through comparison: the reading of classic text and moving image

This article reports on a term's work with students in Initial Teacher Education (ITE) in which the adult classic text Silas Marner was studied in both written and film form ( Eliot, 1994 ; BBC/Fo, 1985 ). Through an extended consideration of the structures employed by different forms of narrative, students were invited to consider the knowledge and skills they brought to the development of their own response to different texts. Concurrently they were encouraged to consider the needs of their prospective pupils, as expert readers of moving image, and as novice readers of classic fiction. Crucial to the teaching and learning experience was the consideration of the different, expanding notions of literacy, including visual literacy, tele‐literacy and moving‐image literacy. A key consideration was the interrelationship between these, with narrative as the key link, and the exploration of how these literacies could be mutually supportive within the framework of ‘school’ literacy. The importance of paying explicit attention to the pedagogical practices that foster an engagement with and development of these different literacies was highlighted, as was the need to experience the reading of whole texts in order to foster the development of response.     

音图符号交互模式与多模态视听学习

便携式视频播放设备的普及应用推动了多模态外语视听学习的开展,但由于学习者不熟悉视、听两类符号间的交互关系,干扰现象时有发生。基于Meinhof和Salomon的符号学研究成果,本文总结出五类视听交互类型,并结合示例文章提出应加强学习者视觉素养培养和视听策略运用。     

Process-Oriented Worked Examples: Improving Transfer Performance Through Enhanced Understanding

The research on worked examples has shown thatfor novices, studying worked examples is oftena more effective and efficient way of learningthan solving conventional problems. Thistheoretical paper argues that addingprocess-oriented information to worked examplescan further enhance transfer performance,especially for complex cognitive skills withmultiple possible solution paths.Process-oriented information refers to theprincipled (``why'') and strategic (``how'')information that experts use when solvingproblems. From a cognitive load perspective,studying the expert's ``why'' and ``how''information can be seen as constituting agermane cognitive load, which can fosterstudents' understanding of the principles of adomain and the rationale behind the selectedoperators, and their knowledge about howexperts select a strategy, respectively. Issueswith regard to the design, implementation, andassessment of effects of process-orientedworked examples are discussed, as well as thequestions they raise for future research.     

The expertise reversal effect and worked examples in tutored problem solving

Prior research has shown that tutored problem solving with intelligent software tutors is an effective instructional method, and that worked examples are an effective complement to this kind of tutored problem solving. The work on the expertise reversal effect suggests that it is desirable to tailor the fading of worked examples to individual students’ growing expertise levels. One lab and one classroom experiment were conducted to investigate whether adaptively fading worked examples in a tutored problem-solving environment can lead to higher learning gains. Both studies compared a standard Cognitive Tutor with two example-enhanced versions, in which the fading of worked examples occurred either in a fixed manner or in a manner adaptive to individual students’ understanding of the examples. Both experiments provide evidence of improved learning results from adaptive fading over fixed fading over problem solving. We discuss how to further optimize the fading procedure matching each individual student’s changing knowledge level.     

Employing subgoals in computer programming education

The rapid integration of technology into our professional and personal lives has left many education systems ill-equipped to deal with the influx of people seeking computing education. To improve computing education, we are applying techniques that have been developed for other procedural fields. The present study applied such a technique, subgoal labeled worked examples, to explore whether it would improve programming instruction. The first two experiments, conducted in a laboratory, suggest that the intervention improves undergraduate learners’ problem-solving performance and affects how learners approach problem-solving. The third experiment demonstrates that the intervention has similar, and perhaps stronger, effects in an online learning environment with in-service K-12 teachers who want to become qualified to teach computing courses. By implementing this subgoal intervention as a tool for educators to teach themselves and their students, education systems could improve computing education and better prepare learners for an increasingly technical world.     

Effects of worked examples on step performance in solving complex problems

The instructional effect of worked examples has been investigated in many research studies. However, most of them evaluated the overall performance of the participants in solving post-intervention problems, rather than individual step performance in multi-step problems. The two experiments reported in this article investigated the relations between using worked examples and individual step performance in solving isomorphic problems. In Experiment 1, the effect of worked examples was found for overall performance for novice learners, whereas this effect was gradually reduced from Step 1 (the most difficult one) at which the effect was the strongest, to Step 3 (the easiest one) at which the effect was the weakest or even disappeared. In Experiment 2, relatively more knowledgeable participants learned the same sets of materials, and no effect of worked examples was found for either overall performance or individual step performance. Learner levels of expertise and levels of element interactivity were used to explain the results.     

Early childhood literacy: Creating a better world

Abstract

Problem‐posing teaching using multicultural children's literature nourishes an integrated literacy curriculum that supports young children's meaningful learning. This method encourages integrated learning that is both developmentally and culturally meaningful through interacting with story, reading literature, and participating in related learning activities. The problem‐posing method was developed by Paulo Freire [Education for Critical Consciousness, Seabury, New York] and critical pedagogists. The method leads students of any age, experience or ability level to base new learning on personal experience in a way that encourages critical reflection. This method has not been widely used with younger learners, but lends itself well to integrated early childhood literacy development.

This article shows selected qualitative data samples from case studies of early childhood teacher education students as they experience the method in a literacy course and as they use the method with young children. A critical analysis of the students’ work draws out key points regarding literacy development in a rapidly changing world. The teacher education students’ work provides an arena for developing the theory further as they implement theoretically‐based pedagogy with young learners. Data reveal issues regarding critical literacies and postmodern approaches to early childhood education.     

Developing a Preschool Play-based Curriculum

The importance of play on a young child's development cannot be understated. Play gives children opportunities to understand the world, interact with others, express and control emotions, develop symbolic capabilities, attempt novel or challenging tasks, solve problems, and practice skills. Play may contribute to the development of posture, movement, and self-sufficiency. There also appears to be a positive relationships between the frequency and complexity of young children's play and IQ, problem-solving, creativity, language and literacy, and social competence. This paper provides a review of the literature and describes the development of a preschool play-based curriculum for children with disabilities.