A test of the testing effect: Acquiring problem-solving skills from worked examples.

Van Gog, T., & Kester, L. (2012). A test of the testing effect: Acquiring problem-solving skills from worked examples. Cognitive Science, 36, 1532-1541. doi:10.1111/cogs.12002The „testing effect‟ refers to the finding that after an initial study opportunity, testing is more effective for long-term retention than restudying. The testing effect seems robust and is a finding from the field of cognitive science that has important implications for education. However, it is unclear whether this effect also applies to the acquisition of problem-solving skills, which is important to establish given the key role problem solving plays in for instance math and science education. Worked examples are an effective and efficient way of acquiring problem-solving skills. Forty students either only studied worked examples (SSSS) or engaged in testing after studying an example by solving an isomorphic problem (STST). Surprisingly, results showed equal performance in both conditions on an immediate retention test after five minutes, but the SSSS condition outperformed the STST condition on a delayed retention test after one week. These findings suggest the testing effect might not apply to acquiring problem-solving skills from worked examples.This research was funded by a Veni Grant from the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO) awarded to Tamara van Gog (# 451-08-003). During the realization of this work, Liesbeth Kester was also supported by a Veni grant from NWO (# 451-07-007)

Cognitive tasks and learning

Kester, L., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012). Cognitive tasks and learning. In N. Seel (Ed.), Encyclopedia of the sciences of learning (pp. 619-622). New York, NY: Springer.Cognitive tasks are those undertakings that require a person to mentally process new information (i.e., acquire and organize knowledge / learn) and allow them to recall, retrieve that information from memory and to use that information at a later time in the same or similar situations (i.e., transfer)

Cognitive load theory and multimedia learning, task characteristics, and learning engagement: The current state of the art

Kirschner, F., Kester, L., & Corbalan, G. (2011). Cognitive load theory and multimedia learning, task characteristics, and learner engagement: The current state of the art. Computers in Human Behavior, 27, 1-4. doi:10.1016/j.chb.2010.05.003This special issue consists of 16 empirical papers, as well as a discussion based on the Third International Cognitive Load Theory Conference held at the Open Universiteit (Heerlen, The Netherlands) in 2009. All papers focus on improving instructional design from a cognitive load theory (CLT: Sweller, 1988; Sweller, Van Merriënboer, & Paas, 1998; Van Merriënboer & Sweller, 2005) perspective. They cover a wide variety of topics in which learner characteristics, tasks characteristics, and the interaction between both are studied in, new, innovative, but also traditional ways, thereby providing an overview of the current state of the art on CLT research. The overarching goal of all studies is to gain more understanding and insight into the optimal conditions under which learning can be successful, and students will be able to apply their acquired knowledge and skills in new or familiar problem solving situations. Together, the papers comprise three ways in which this overarching goal is reached: (1) by studying multimedia learning environments, (2) by studying different characteristics of a learning task and, (3) by studying how learners can be actively engaged in the learning process. Although, the research focus of most papers fit nicely within these research topics, some overlap is inevitable. The categorization has been made on the basis of the most prominent research focus and findings of each study

Effects of Worked Examples, Example-Problem Pairs, and Problem-Example Pairs Compared to Problem Solving

Van Gog, T., Kester, L., & Paas, F. (2010, August). Effects of worked examples, example-problem pairs, and problem-example pairs compared to problem solving. Paper presented at the Biannual EARLI SIG meeting of Instructional design and Learning and instruction with computers, Ulm, Germany.Research has demonstrated that instruction that relies more heavily on example study is more effective for learning than instruction consisting of problem solving. However, ‘a heavier reliance on example study’ has been implemented in different ways, using worked examples only, example-problem pairs, or problem-example pairs. Despite a large amount of research on example-based learning, these three strategies have not been compared to each other and to problem solving in a single study. Moreover, effects on cognitive load of these different strategies have not yet been systematically compared. Therefore, this study investigated the effects on cognitive load and learning of example study only, example-problem pairs, problem-example pairs, and problem solving only. Results show that it is not strictly necessary to alternate example study and problem solving: example study only and example-problem pairs were more effective and efficient than problem solving only and problem-example pairs

Combining shared control with variability over surface features: Effects on transfer test performance and task involvement

Corbalan, G., Kester, L., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (2009). Combining shared control with variability over surface features: Effects on transfer test performance and task involvement. Computers in Human Behavior, 25, 290-298.Positive effects of learner control decrease when learners do not perceive the control given to them, make suboptimal choices, or are cognitively overloaded by the amount of choice. This study proposes shared control (i.e., learners choose from a pre-selection of suitable tasks) over highly variable tasks to tackle these problems. Ninety-four students participated in a 2 x 2 factorial experiment with the factors control (system, shared) and variability of surface features (low, high). Results show superior effects on training performance, transfer test performance, and task involvement of shared control when learners can choose from pre-selected tasks with surface features that are different from the surface features of previous tasks

Learning from Questions During a Museum Visit

Dirkx, K. J. H., Kester, L., & Kirschner, P. A. (2013, 30 August). Learning from Questions During a Museum Visit. Paper presented at the meeting of the European Association for Research on Learning and Instruction, Munich, Germany.This paper describes the results of a museum study involving worksheets

Het effect van verschillende vormen van hiërarchische structuren op hypertext-gebaseerd leren

Bezdan, E., Kester, L., & Kirschner, P. A. (2010, 23 Juni). Het effect van verschillende vormen van hiërarchische structuren op hypertext-gebaseerd leren. Poster gepresenteerd tijdens de Onderwijs Research Dagen, Enschede, Nederland.De leeruitkomsten van hypertext-gebaseerd leren zijn in grote mate afhankelijk van zowel de voorkennis van de lerende als van de topografische kenmerken van de verschillende soorten hypertext, zoals het aantal hyperlinks in het hypertext document of de grafische organizer die aangeboden wordt om navigatie te ondersteunen . Het type grafische organizer, in het bijzonder, lijkt een differentieel effect te hebben op de leerresultaten van verschillende groepen van lerenden. Zo zijn hiërarchische organizers het effectiefst bij lerenden met weinig voorkennis. Er is echter minder duidelijkheid over de vraag in hoeverre hiërarchische organizers dan wel hiërarchische structurering van het hypertext document via hyperlinks vergelijkbare of juist verschillende leereffecten hebben. In deze poster wordt de opzet van een experiment gepresenteerd dat als doel heeft deze vraag te beantwoorden

The Testing Effect for Learning Principles and Procedures from Texts

The authors explored whether a testing effect occurs not only for retention of facts but also for application of principles and procedures. For that purpose, 38 high school students either repeatedly studied a text on probability calculations or studied the text, took a test on the content, restudied the text, and finally took the test a second time. Results show that testing not only leads to better retention of facts than restudying, but also to better application of acquired knowledge (i.e., principles and procedures) in high school statistics. In other words, testing seems not only to benefit fact retention, but also positively affects deeper learning

Het effect van herhaalde versus nieuwe vragen in het testing-effect

Dirkx, K. J. H., Kester, L., & Kirschner, P. A. (2012, 22 June). Het effect van herhaalde versus nieuwe vragen in het testing-effect. [The effects of repeated versus new questions in the testing-effect]. Poster session presented at the meeting of the Onderwijs Research Dagen [Educational Research Days], Wageningen, The Netherlands.Het meeste onderzoek binnen het testing-effect heeft onderzocht of tussentijds toetsen helpt bij het leren, maar maakte daarbij gebruik van dezelfde vragen op de tussentijds als op de eindtoets. Vanuit een onderwijskundig perspectief is het echter relevant om te onderzoeken of tussentijds toetsen ook effect heeft op nieuwe vragen. Uit het huidige onderzoek lijkt naar voren te komen dat het testing-effect niet verder gaat dan het onthouden en toepassen van de kennis die al een keer getoetst is