Learning from examples depends on the explaining mode: prompting principle-based self-explanations and guided comparison of examples improves transfer¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · review r2 · q2
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-22 (automated, 2 of 2 entries) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Prompting high school learners to self-explain probability worked examples by identifying the underlying principle led to greater transfer than no self-explanation prompting (Atkinson et al., 2003, as reported). → Fiorella 2023 q2 i? Learners explicitly prompted to compare two cases sharing an underlying strategy were much more likely to use that strategy in transfer than learners who studied cases separately (Gentner et al., 2003, as reported). → Fiorella 2023 (2)

Evidence¶

Fiorella 2023¶

Fiorella, L. (2023). Making Sense of Generative Learning. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09769-7

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review attributing this to Atkinson et al. (2003) on worked-example self-explanation prompting; the review also cites Catrambone (1996) on subgoal-grouped solution steps improving self-explanation quality and transfer. No effect size printed.

"prompting high school learners to self-explain probability worked examples by identifying the underlying principle (e.g., principle of complementarity, multiplication principle, addition principle) led to greater transfer to new problems then learners who did not receive prompting to self-explain."

Fiorella 2023 (2)¶

Fiorella, L. (2023). Making Sense of Generative Learning. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-023-09769-7

q2 · i? · review · r2

Narrative review attributing this to Gentner et al. (2003): college students learned negotiation-strategy cases and were prompted to compare or study them separately. The review adds that identifying the underlying principle was strongly associated with transfer. No effect size printed.

"Learners who received explicit prompting to compare two cases involving the same underly- ing strategy were much more likely to use that corresponding strategy in a subse- quent transfer scenario than those who studied the cases separately."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Prompting learners to self-explain improves understanding and problem solving on immediate tests by a moderate average amount, with little evidence yet on delayed or classroom gains. — a broader claim this one bears on
• Students who self-explain worked examples learn more effectively than those who do not, and the quality of self-explanations relates to explaining deep structure — a broader claim this one bears on
• Static self-explanation prompts in the Geometry Cognitive Tutor produced greater gains on Reason and Not Enough Info test items than problem-solving practice alone — related
• Backward fading and principle prompts supported transfer in probability learning — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)
• Students using a worked-example revised probability textbook improved more in probabilistic reasoning than students using the standard textbook — related
• Adding a self-explanation feature to a base game improved transfer performance — related