Can the Isolated-Elements Strategy Be Improved by Targeting Points of High Cognitive Load for Additional Practice?.

Abstract Reducing problem complexity by isolating elements has been shown to be an effective instructional strategy. Novices, in particular, benefit from learning from worked examples that contain partially interacting elements rather than worked examples that provide full interacting elements. This study investigated whether the isolating-elements strategy could be improved further by targeting points of high cognitive load for additional practice. In learning to solve algebraic problems, fifty-four 13–14 year-old students were randomly assigned to one of three learning strategies: (a) an isolated-elements strategy with targeted extra practice on key components, (b) an isolated-elements strategy with an equal amount of practice on each component, and (c) a full-worked example strategy without isolating elements. Results showed that the targeted strategy was superior to the full-worked example strategy on a number of measures, but not to the equal practice strategy. For low prior-knowledge learners the equal practice isolated format was superior.

[1]  F. Paas,et al.  Differential effects of problem-solving demands on individual and collaborative learning outcomes. , 2011 .

[2]  Jeroen J. G. van Merriënboer,et al.  Strategies for Programming Instruction in High School: Program Completion vs. Program Generation , 1990 .

[3]  Gordon D. Logan,et al.  Automatizing alphabet arithmetic: I. Is extended practice necessary to produce automaticity? , 1991 .

[4]  J. Sweller,et al.  Effects of schema acquisition and rule automation on mathematical problem-solving transfer. , 1987 .

[5]  G. A. Miller.  THE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW THE MAGICAL NUMBER SEVEN, PLUS OR MINUS TWO: SOME LIMITS ON OUR CAPACITY FOR PROCESSING INFORMATION 1 , 1956 .

[6]  R. Atkinson,et al.  Structuring the Transition From Example Study to Problem Solving in Cognitive Skill Acquisition: A Cognitive Load Perspective , 2003 .

[7]  Walter Schneider,et al.  Controlled and automatic human information processing: II. Perceptual learning, automatic attending and a general theory. , 1977 .

[8]  Michelene T. H. Chi,et al.  Expertise in Problem Solving. , 1981 .

[9]  P. Chandler,et al.  Assimilating complex information , 2002 .

[10]  Patricia D. Mautone,et al.  Pictorial aids for learning by doing in a multimedia geology simulation game. , 2002 .

[11]  Slava Kalyuga,et al.  The Expertise Reversal Effect , 2003 .

[12]  Paul Ayres.  Using subjective measures to detect variations of intrinsic cognitive load within problems , 2006 .

[13]  J. Sweller,et al.  Understanding Instructions , 2004 .

[14]  S. Derry,et al.  Learning from Examples: Instructional Principles from the Worked Examples Research , 2000 .

[15]  Paul A. Kirschner,et al.  Just-in-time information presentation: Improving learning a troubleshooting skill. , 2006 .

[16]  Michelene T. H. Chi,et al.  Eliciting Self-Explanations Improves Understanding , 1994, Cogn. Sci..

[17]  P. Kirschner,et al.  Optimizing the number of steps in learning tasks for complex skills. , 2005, The British journal of educational psychology.

[18]  K. A. Ericsson,et al.  Long-term working memory. , 1995, Psychological review.

[19]  L. R. Peterson,et al.  Short-term retention of individual verbal items. , 1959, Journal of experimental psychology.

[20]  Richard Catrambone,et al.  Designing Instructional Examples to Reduce Intrinsic Cognitive Load: Molar versus Modular Presentation of Solution Procedures , 2004 .

[21]  Richard E. Mayer,et al.  Fostering understanding of multimedia messages through pre-training: evidence for a two-stage theory of mental model construction. , 2002 .

[22]  Richard E. Clark,et al.  Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching , 2006 .

[23]  Michelene T. H. Chi,et al.  Self-Explanations: How Students Study and Use Examples in Learning To Solve Problems. Technical Report No. 9. , 1987 .

[24]  De Groot,et al.  Thought and choice in chess, 2nd ed. , 1978 .

[25]  Paul Ayres.  Systematic Mathematical Errors and Cognitive Load. , 2001, Contemporary educational psychology.

[26]  F. Paas,et al.  Instructional Efficiency: Revisiting the Original Construct in Educational Research , 2008 .

[27]  Richard E Mayer,et al.  Fostering understanding of multimedia messages through pre-training: evidence for a two-stage theory of mental model construction. , 2002, Journal of experimental psychology. Applied.

[28]  Bobby Hoffman,et al.  Cognitive efficiency: A conceptual and methodological comparison , 2012 .

[29]  J. Sweller.  Element Interactivity and Intrinsic, Extraneous, and Germane Cognitive Load , 2010 .

[30]  P. Reitsma,et al.  Learning Basic Addition Facts from Choosing between Alternative Answers. , 2010 .

[31]  Jeroen J. G. van Merriënboer,et al.  Strategies for computer-based programming instruction: Program completion vs. program generation. , 1992 .

[32]  R. Catrambone.  The subgoal learning model: Creating better examples so that students can solve novel problems. , 1998 .

[33]  John Sweller,et al.  Interactions between the isolated–interactive elements effect and levels of learner expertise: experimental evidence from an accountancy class , 2010 .

[34]  John Sweller,et al.  Cognitive Load Theory , 2020, Encyclopedia of Education and Information Technologies.

[35]  John Sweller,et al.  The impact of sequencing and prior knowledge on learning mathematics through spreadsheet applications , 2005 .

[36]  F. Paas,et al.  Cognitive Architecture and Instructional Design , 1998 .

[37]  Fred G. W. C. Paas,et al.  The Efficiency of Instructional Conditions: An Approach to Combine Mental Effort and Performance Measures , 1992 .

[38]  N. Cowan.  The magical number 4 in short-term memory: A reconsideration of mental storage capacity , 2001, Behavioral and Brain Sciences.

[39]  S. West,et al.  Experimental personality designs: analyzing categorical by continuous variable interactions. , 1996, Journal of personality.

[40]  J. Sweller,et al.  Locus of Difficulty in Multistage Mathematics Problems , 1990 .

[41]  F. Paas,et al.  Variability of Worked Examples and Transfer of Geometrical Problem-Solving Skills: A Cognitive-Load Approach , 1994 .

[42]  J. Sweller,et al.  The Use of Worked Examples as a Substitute for Problem Solving in Learning Algebra , 1985 .

[43]  P. Chandler,et al.  Why Some Material Is Difficult to Learn , 1994 .

[44]  F. Paas,et al.  Instructional control of cognitive load in the training of complex cognitive tasks , 1994 .

[45]  Paul Ayres.  Impact of Reducing Intrinsic Cognitive Load on Learning in a Mathematical Domain. , 2006 .