This study investigated the usefulness of providing successful and unsuccessful example solutions in enhancing students' technological problem-solving efficiency. Prior research exploring worked example solutions indicated improved problem-solving efficiency when solutions were structured in a fashion that decreased the amount of extraneous cognitive load and increased the amount of germane cognitive load as specified by cognitive load theory. Fifty-one 7th and 8th grade students enrolled in technology education courses were selected from one school in the southwest region of Virginia. Participants completed three technological problem-solving tasks that included elevated load, cantilevered weight, and energy absorption using supply kits containing simple modeling materials. Problem-solving efficiency was determined by combining the amount of elapsed time across all three tasks. A 3 x 3 mixed factorial ANOVA was used to analyze the data. Data analysis revealed trends similar to worked example research in mathematics and science, but no significant difference among the three groups was found in this study. / Ph. D.

Educators in the current era face more pressure to meet learners' growing digital age learning needs, which may require fostering more vital computational thinking skills. To ensure the desired learning outcomes are attained, it is critical to know how to provide the appropriate type of guidance and assistance. The findings of this research may be significant to computer science instructors and instructional designers interested in fostering computational thinking skills and improving programming skills by designing effective worked examples. Following the integrative review methodology, the study examined the current literature on worked examples in a programming setting to determine the compelling designs of worked examples. In addition, this study examined the most employed instructional design principles in developing effective worked examples and explored factors and circumstances that may have impacted the effectiveness of those designs. This study's findings indicated several successful designs of worked examples to promote computational thinking skills in programming problems / Doctor of Philosophy / Educators focus on fulfilling learners' expanding digital age learning requirements, which may require developing more critical computational thinking skills. It is vital to understand how to give appropriate guidance and support to achieve the intended learning results in programming courses. The outcomes of this study may be helpful to computer science educators and instructional designers who aim to support learners in gaining more advanced computational thinking skills. The study used the integrative review approach to investigate the current literature on worked examples in a programming context to discover the compelling designs of worked examples. The study provides information about the factors that may affect the design in addition to discuss several instructional design principles in regard to worked examples. The outcomes of this study showed numerous successful designs of worked examples that are helping in enhancing computational thinking skills in programming tasks.

Empirical studies have shown that learning from worked examples is an effective learning strategy. A worked example provides step-by-step explanations of how a problem is solved. Many studies have compared learning from examples to unsupported problem solving, and suggested presenting worked examples to students in the initial stages of learning, followed by problem solving once students have acquired enough knowledge. Recently, researchers have started comparing learning from examples to supported problem solving in Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITSs). ITSs provide multiple levels of assistance to students, adaptive feedback being one of them. The goal of this research is to investigate using examples in constraint-based tutors by adding examples into SQL-Tutor. SQL-Tutor is a constraint-based tutor that teaches the Structured Query Language (SQL). Students with different prior knowledge benefit differently from studying examples; thus, another goal of the research is to propose an adaptive model that considers the student’s prior knowledge for providing worked examples. Evaluation of this research produced promising results. First, a fixed sequence of alternating examples and problems was compared with problems only and examples only. The result shows that alternating examples and problems is superior to the other two conditions. Then, a study was conducted, in which a fixed sequence of alternating worked examples and tutored problem solving is compared with a strategy that adapts the assistance level to students’ needs. The adaptive strategy determines the type of the task (a worked example, a faded example or a problem to be solved) based on how much assistance the student received in the previous problem. The results show that students in the adaptive condition learnt significantly more than their peers who were presented with the fixed sequence of worked examples and problem solving. The final study employed eye tracking and demonstrated that novices and advanced students study SQL examples differently. Such information can be used to provide proactive rather than reactive feedback messages to students’ actions.

Researchers and instructors have only recently embraced the role of errors as vehicles for learning in the algebra classroom. Studying a mixture of correct and incorrect worked examples has been shown to be beneficial relative to correct worked examples alone. This study examines the effectiveness of having students generate, or anticipate, errors another student might make. Five Algebra 1 sections at a suburban mid-Atlantic public high school participated amid an early equation-solving unit. During teacher-led instruction, all five sections examined 2-3 correct worked examples. The final example varied across conditions. One section received an additional correct worked example. Two sections examined an incorrect worked example. The remaining two sections engaged in an error anticipation exercise where the teacher wrote an equation on the board and asked the students to predict errors another student might make in solving. The study measured conceptual and procedural knowledge, encoding ability, and student-generated errors. Although no meaningful significant differences were found, students in the error anticipation condition saw no difference in performance in conceptual and procedural items versus those who examined incorrect worked examples. Analysis that combined the error anticipation and incorrect worked examples conditions showed that those students trended toward outperforming those who examined correct examples only on procedural items. These results support further examination of error anticipation as a worthwhile instructional activity. / Math & Science Education

The present study combined subgoal learning and self-explanation frameworks to improve problem solving performance. Subgoal learning has been used to promote retention and transfer in procedural domains, such as programming. The primary method for learning subgoals, however, has been through passive learning methods, and passive learning methods are typically less effective than constructive learning methods. To promote constructive methods of learning subgoals, a subgoal learning framework was used to guide self-explanation. Self-explanation is an effective method for engaging learners to make sense of new information based on prior knowledge and logical reasoning. Self-explanation is typically more effective when learners receive some guidance, especially if they are novices, because it helps them to focus their attention on relevant information. In the present study, only some of the constructive learning methods produced better problem solving performance than passive learning methods. Learners performed best when they learned constructively and either received hints about the subgoals of the procedure or received feedback on the self-explanations that they constructed, but not when they received both hints and feedback. When students received both types of guidance, they did not perform better than those who learned subgoals through passive learning methods. These findings suggest that constructive learning of subgoals can further improve the benefits of learning subgoals, but there is an optimal level of guidance for students engaging in constructive learning. Providing too much guidance can be as detrimental as providing too little. This nuance is important for educators who engage their students in constructive learning and self-explanation to recognize and promote the best results.

<div> <div> <div> <p>Recent research asserts that the mnemonic benefits gained from retrieval-based learning vanish for complex materials. Subsequently, it is recommended that students study worked examples when learning about complex, problem-centered tasks. The experiments that have evaluated the effectiveness of studying worked examples tend to overlook the mental processing that students engage in when completing retrieval-based learning activities. In contrast, theories of transfer-appropriate processing emphasize the importance of compatibility between the cognitive processing required by the test and the cognitive processing that is activated during learning. For learners to achieve optimal test performance, according to transfer-appropriate processing, they need to study in such a way that they are engaging in the same mental processing that will be required of them when tested. This idea was used to generate testable predictions that compete against the claim that the retrieval practice effect disappears for complex materials, and these competing predictions were evaluated in three experiments that required students to learn about the Poisson probability distribution. </p><p><br></p> <p>In Experiment 1, students learned the general procedure for how to solve these problems by either repeatedly recalling the procedural steps or by simply studying them. The retrieval practice condition produced better memory for the procedure on an immediate test compared to the study only condition. In Experiment 2, students engaged in the same learning activities as Experiment 1, but the test focused on their problem- solving ability. Students who practiced retrieval of the procedural steps experienced no benefit on the problem-solving test compared to the study only condition. In Experiment 3, students learned to solve Poisson probability problems by studying four worked examples, by studying one worked example and solving three practice problems, or by studying one worked example and solving three practice problems with feedback. Students were tested on their problem-solving ability one week later. The problem- solving learning activities outperformed the worked example condition on the final problem-solving test. Taken together, the results demonstrate a pronounced retrieval practice effect but only when the retrieval-based learning activities necessitated the same mental processing that was required during the final assessment, providing support for the transfer-appropriate processing account.</p></div></div></div>

The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of a simulation with workedexamples on the creation of episodic memories and the troubleshooting ability of maintenance technician students. Previous research shows that domain knowledge, conceptual knowledge, strategic knowledge, and episodic memories are all required to successfully troubleshoot. While domain, conceptual, and strategic knowledge can all be taught using traditional instruction, episodic memories require students to experience the actual troubleshooting of a fault. Simulations and worked examples are two instructional methods that have proven effective at teaching troubleshooting. This research specifically examined how a simulation combined with worked examples would affect 1) immediate troubleshooting abilities, 2) the creation of episodic memories, and 3) delayed troubleshooting abilities. This study was conducted in two stages and administered via a learning management system due to COVID-19 restrictions. The first stage included a pre-test, a training session using the simulation with worked examples, and an immediate post-test for near and far transfer of troubleshooting abilities. The second stage occurred one week later and included the final posttest for near and far transfer of troubleshooting abilities and creation of episodic memories. Answers to four troubleshooting questions on each of the pre-test and immediate and delayed post-tests were collected to determine any differences in the immediate and retained troubleshooting abilities. Answers to the solution mapping questions were collected to determine the creation of episodic memories. A repeated measure analysis of variance was conducted in SPSS to analyze the results of the troubleshooting pre- and post-tests. A correlational coefficient was used to determine any interaction between episodic memories and delayed troubleshooting abilities. Previous experience levels and participants’ major of study were also examined to determine their effect on the results. The findings show the simulation with worked examples had a statistically significant effect on delayed troubleshooting abilities and the created episodic memories had a positive correlation with the delayed troubleshooting, both with a medium effect size. However, the simulation with worked examples had no statistically significant effect on immediate troubleshooting abilities. Levels of previous experience and participants’ major of study had little effect on the results.

Informed parent advocates are essential to planning the educational outcomes of their children with special needs in the K through 12 public school system. However, inappropriate instructional techniques used in advocacy training may reduce trainees' learning outcomes by adding complexity and increasing cognitive load. This study examined whether using worked examples to break down complex problems into component parts to build long term schema could lower cognitive load and thus improve learning outcomes for parent advocacy trainees. Based on cognitive load theory, this 2 x 3 factorial design study examined the efficacy of noninteractive video lessons for parent trainees using worked examples to reduce extraneous cognitive load. Research questions explored the relationships between the independent variables of using worked examples and parents' perceived class relevance on the dependent variable, change in cognitive load of parent trainees, as well as the interaction between training type and perceived class relevance. Two groups of 65 adults in advocacy training (N = 130) participated in a video lesson in either the worked examples or nonworked examples format as part of their advocacy training. The NASA Task Load Index and the Perceived Class Relevance Survey instruments were used to measure cognitive load of trainees and perceptions of training relevance. Key findings included a significant main effect between the use of worked examples and change in cognitive load and significant interaction effects with the perception of class relevance. Training was developed for advocacy trainers in the use of worked examples for learners new to a domain. Implications for social change include improved learning outcomes for parents who must learn IEP terminology in beginning classes to effectively advocate for their children.

This study was designed to compare the effects of the use of worked examples and self-explanation on motivation for male and female students. More specifically, the present study examines whether there are differences between males and females with regards to their achievement goals and if gender plays a role in how students respond to questions about their motivation in the presence of other male or female students. Comparisons of student responses on Achievement Goal Questionnaire-Revised (AGQ-R) and the Patterns of Adaptive Learning Scales (PALS) were also conducted. Participants were 147 seventh-, eighth- and ninth-grade non-honors Algebra I students (82 girls and 65 boys) from three schools and eight classrooms within the same school district on the east cost of the United States of America. Results replicated the finding that females have more mastery goals than males, however no gender differences were found for either performance. In addition, it appears that students respond differently to some questions about their motivation in the presence of other male or female students. Finally, the AGQ-R and the PALS appear to be consistent representations of students' achievement goals. / School Psychology

Learning from worked examples typically involves study activities, involving reading such materials carefully and attempting to understand the information presented. Considerable evidence has amassed regarding the benefits for novices of studying appropriately constructed worked examples paired with practice questions. However, prior research from the cognitive and sports psychology literatures suggests mental practice of worked examples may be an effective adjunct to studying such materials. Meta-analyses of these literatures suggest the utility of mental practice depends upon the degree of cognitive elements contained within a task, and also suggest that some prior knowledge of a task is necessary for mental practice to be effective. The present series of studies aimed to identify conditions under which mental practice is effective in educationally realistic, highly cognitive domains. Based on the above meta-analytic results, mental practice was hypothesised to enhance learning over further study in highly cognitive domains, but only when students either had sufficient prior knowledge, or were able to develop such knowledge over the course of an instructional intervention. Study activities were primarily expected to support knowledge acquisition, while imagining-based activities (mental practice) were expected to support knowledge automation. The experiments herein thus investigated interactions between levels of prior knowledge, complexity of instructional material, and levels of learning from imagination versus conventional study strategies. In Experiment 1, under conditions of low prior knowledge and complex material (HTML), students who studied worked examples outperformed those who imagined. Experiment 2, using simplified but still complex materials and a similar participant pool, found no differences between conditions, but Experiment 3, using stricter experimental design, found a study effect. In Experiment 4, an imagination effect was found under high prior knowledge. Experiment 5, using less experienced learners, suggested those who studied outperformed those whom imagined on acquisition questions. Experiment 6 found a sequence of study then imagination is more effective than imagination then study. The results have broad application for effective sequencing of these instructional strategies, but development of an accurate metric for imagination "readiness" is required to advance theory and practice, and more evidence is needed for a schema automation explanation of mental practice effects.