Experts work forwards from givens while novices work backwards via means-ends analysis¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q2
Currency · newest study 1998 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Physics problem-solving studies found experts tend to work forwards from given information to the goal, whereas novices use a working-backwards strategy based on means-ends analysis. → Marcus 1998

Evidence¶

Marcus 1998¶

Marcus, N. (1998). Understanding Instructions. PhD thesis, University of New South Wales. https://hdl.handle.net/1959.4/70247

q2 · i? · causal · r?

The thesis reports, citing Larkin, McDermott, Simon, and Simon (1980) and Simon and Simon (1978), thinking-aloud comparisons of experts and novices on physics problems. Novices select equations containing the goal and set subgoals, using means-ends analysis, while schema-driven experts proceed directly forward.

"Overall, they found that experts tend to "work forwards" from the given information to the goal."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Prior Knowledge — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Experts categorise problems by solution principles while novices categorise by surface features — related
• Novices and experts differ in problem representation: novices segment the problem and use surface analogies, while experts apply general underlying principles — related