The use of positive and negative examples during instruction

This article is concerned with three main issues related to the use of positive and negative examples during instruction. The issues discussed are: sequence, quality, and quantity of positive and negative examples. Several ground rules concerning terminology and the place of examples in the instructional content have been established before elaborating on such issues. The article not only presents these issues, but also suggests some possible resolutions based upon the available research evidence and theoretical work in the field. The need to shift the emphasis from merely presenting both types of examples to the qualitative and quantitative relationships among them is stressed. It is hoped that the resolutions offered to the issues discussed will provide the intended users (teachers, instructional developers, etc.) with a natural starting point from which to master the technique of using effective positive and negative examples during instruction.

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