Training strategies for attaining transfer of problem-solving skill in statistics: A cognitive-load approach.

Abstract

In statistical problems, the differential effects on training performance, transfer performance, and cognitive load were studied for 3 computer-based training strategies. The conventional, worked, and completion conditions emphasized, respectively, the solving of conventional problems, the study of worked-out problems, and the completion of partly worked-out problems. The relation between practice-problem type and transfer was expected to be mediated by cognitive load. It was hypothesized that practice with conventional problems would require more time and more effort during training and result in lower and more effort-demanding transfer performance than practice with worked-out or partly worked-out problems. With the exception of time and effort during training, the results supported the hypotheses. The completion strategy and, in particular, the worked strategy proved to be superior to the conventional strategy for attaining transfer.I wish to thank the r.k. Middelbaar Technische School in Enschede, The Netherlands, in particular H. Hommel, K. Kamphuis, L. Langeler, and W. Wessels for permission and cooperation in carrying out the research in the school. I would also like to thank Jeroen van Merrienboer, Sanne Dijkstra, Hans van der Meij, and Jos Adam for valuable comments on earlier versions of this article.

Can learning from molar and modular worked examples be enhanced by providing instructional explanations and prompting self-explanations?

“…Thus, the question arises of whether the far transfer performance of students learning with modular examples can better be served by supporting their problemsolving abilities rather than their conceptual understanding. For instance, the provision of completion problems (Paas, 1992;Van Merriënboer, 1990) might be more appropriate for these students to improve their knowledge than eliciting principle-based self-explanations.…”

Effects of process-oriented worked examples on troubleshooting transfer performance

“…On the answer sheets participants also had to indicate how much mental effort they invested to complete each task, on a 9-point rating scale ranging from 1 "very, very low effort" to 9 "very, very high effort" (Paas, 1992;Paas, Tuovinen, Tabbers, & Van Gerven, 2003).…”

Integrating information from two pictorial animations: Complexity and cognitive prerequisites influence performance

“…A tentative interpretation could be that higher cognitive load measures in the "vexing image" condition were not extraneous (as in the "split screen" condition) but reflect participants' task related efforts. This cautious interpretation and the fact that the internal consistency of the NASA-TLX questionnaire (Hart & Staveland, 1988) is limited (Cronbach's alpha was .58) require further research that could make use of more elaborate measures of cognitive load (Paas, 1992;Paas, Tuavinen, Tabbers, & Van Gerven, 2003).…”