TY - JOUR
T1 - Seeking instructional specificity
T2 - An example from analogical instruction
AU - Kuo, Eric
AU - Wieman, Carl E.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2015 authors. Published by the American Physical Society.
Copyright:
Copyright 2015 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2015/11/17
Y1 - 2015/11/17
N2 - Broad instructional methods like "interactive engagement" have been shown to be effective, but such general characterization provides little guidance on the details of how to structure instructional materials. In this study, we seek instructional specificity by comparing two ways of using an analogy to learn a target physical principle: (i) applying the analogy to the target physical domain on a case-by-case basis and (ii) using the analogy to create a general rule in the target physical domain. In the discussion sections of a large, introductory physics course (N=231), students who sought a general rule were better able to discover and apply a correct physics principle than students who analyzed the examples case by case. The difference persisted at a reduced level after subsequent direct instruction. We argue that students who performed case-by-case analyses were more likely to focus on idiosyncratic problem-specific features rather than the deep structural features. This study provides an example of investigations into how the specific structure of instructional materials can be consequential for what is learned.
AB - Broad instructional methods like "interactive engagement" have been shown to be effective, but such general characterization provides little guidance on the details of how to structure instructional materials. In this study, we seek instructional specificity by comparing two ways of using an analogy to learn a target physical principle: (i) applying the analogy to the target physical domain on a case-by-case basis and (ii) using the analogy to create a general rule in the target physical domain. In the discussion sections of a large, introductory physics course (N=231), students who sought a general rule were better able to discover and apply a correct physics principle than students who analyzed the examples case by case. The difference persisted at a reduced level after subsequent direct instruction. We argue that students who performed case-by-case analyses were more likely to focus on idiosyncratic problem-specific features rather than the deep structural features. This study provides an example of investigations into how the specific structure of instructional materials can be consequential for what is learned.
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U2 - 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020133
DO - 10.1103/PhysRevSTPER.11.020133
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84951183344
VL - 11
JO - Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
JF - Physical Review Special Topics - Physics Education Research
SN - 1554-9178
IS - 2
M1 - 020133
ER -