Age moderates discovery-learning effects: the explicit-instruction advantage over unassisted discovery is larger for adolescents than adults, and the enhanced-discovery benefit larger for adults than children¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · quant-synthesis r2 · q3 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2011 · checked against its sources 2026-10-15 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

Reading the evidence codes

q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.

This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.

q3 i2 In the unassisted meta-analysis, the effect size for adolescents (d = -0.53) was significantly greater than for adults (d = -0.26); in the enhanced meta-analysis, adults' effect size exceeded children's, Q(1) = 7.64, p < .01; the larger-looking adult-adolescent difference was not significant. → Alfieri 2011

Evidence¶

Alfieri 2011¶

Alfieri, L., Brooks, P. J., Aldrich, N. J., & Tenenbaum, H. R. (2011). Does Discovery-Based Instruction Enhance Learning? Journal of Educational Psychology, 103(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0021017

q3 · i2 · quant-synthesis · r2

Age moderator analysis in the unassisted-discovery meta-analysis, Q(2) = 12.29, p < .01. All age groups showed significant advantages for explicit instruction; the quote shows the effect size favoring explicit instruction was larger for adolescents (d = -0.53) than for adults (d = -0.26).

"Post hoc comparisons revealed that the mean effect size for adolescents ( d = –0.53) was significantly greater than the mean effect size for adults ( d = –0.26), Q(1) = 10.41, p = .001."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

For whom, in which domain and on which measure does the cost of unassisted discovery (and the benefit of enhanced discovery) change? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 2 narrower claims that bear on it: 1 distinct studies (1 quant-synthesis), q3, 1 of 1 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Study	Design	Effect as recorded	Bears on this claim through
Alfieri 2011	q3 · quant-synthesis · r2	i2; i3; i1	this claim; The advantage of explicit instruction over unassisted discovery is largest in the verbal/s (qualifies); Dependent measure moderates discovery effects: acquisition scores amplify the explicit-ins (qualifies)

Discussion¶

Unassisted discovery produces less learning than explicit instruction, while discovery enhanced with guidance outperforms other instruction — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it
Dependent measure moderates discovery effects: acquisition scores amplify the explicit-instruction advantage, and reaction-time measures reverse the enhanced-discovery advantage — related
The advantage of explicit instruction over unassisted discovery is largest in the verbal/social skills domain — related

Page metadata

Field	Value
`type`	`claim`
`id`	`age-moderates-discovery-effects`
`title`	`Age moderates discovery-learning effects: the explicit-instruction advantage over unassisted discovery is larger for adolescents than adults, and the enhanced-discovery benefit larger for adults than children`
`description`	`Age moderates discovery-learning effects: the explicit-instruction advantage over unassisted discovery is larger for adolescents than adults, and the enhanced-discovery benefit larger for adults than children`
`status`	`review`
`evidence_strength`	`moderate`
`newest_evidence`	`2011`
`source_checked`	`2026-10-15`
`generated`	by `process:wiki-ingest` on `2026-10-13`
`trust`	unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
`sources`	1 — `alfieri-2011`

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