Designing worked examples to teach lower primary school students fractions

Abstract

Cognitive load theory is an instructional theory which aims to generate innovative instructional methods based on the known characteristics of human cognitive architecture. The worked example effect is a well-established phenomenon in cognitive load theory, indicating advantages of explicit instruction over pure problem-solving activities for novice learners. However, it has been mostly investigated with secondary and high school students rather than younger students, such as lower primary school students. This chapter reviews the worked example effect and provides empirical evidence of applying it in teaching fractions to lower primary school students.</p