Aptitude-by-treatment interactions for instructional structure show mixed support: crossovers in some studies, nulls in others¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2009 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Some studies found ability-by-structure crossovers (low-ability learners better with high structure, high-ability with low structure), while other studies in different domains found no interaction. → Pashler 2009

Evidence¶

Pashler 2009¶

Pashler, H., McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R. (2009). Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, Volume 9 Number 3. https://journals.sagepub.com/

q2 · i? · review · r3

Narrative review of the aptitude-by-treatment interaction literature, citing Cramer, Post, and Behm (1989) finding a crossover for fourth-grade fractions instruction and Freebody and Tirre (1985) for reading programs, against null interactions in Janicki and Peterson (1981) and Greene (1980). The review reports support was not consistent across domains and measures.

"However, other studies that examined different content domains and used different assessment instruments did not always support the idea that high-ability students are better off with less structured instruction, whereas low-ability students profit more from higher-structured instruction."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

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• Empirical patterns of the expertise reversal effect fit those found in Aptitude Treatment Interaction studies initiated in the mid-60s — related
• In the few studies that split by ability, learning techniques helped low-ability students and not high-ability students — related
• Advance organizers produce a small average learning benefit, larger for high-ability than for low-ability learners — related
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