Concreteness fading studies in mathematics show mixed transfer results, with some studies favoring fading and others favoring generic symbols or reversed sequences¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · theoretical r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2021 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? In Fyfe et al.'s study with second and third graders learning equivalence, children in the concreteness fading condition showed the best transfer performance. → Tommi Kokkonen & Lennart Schalk 2021 q2 i? Kaminski et al. concluded that learning with only generic symbols resulted in better transfer than a concreteness fading sequence, but De Bock et al.'s replication found concreteness fading led to worse transfer than sequential concrete or idealized conditions, while McNeil and Fyfe's three-step replication found concreteness fading produced the best transfer. → Tommi Kokkonen & Lennart Schalk 2021 (2)

Evidence¶

Tommi Kokkonen & Lennart Schalk 2021¶

Tommi Kokkonen & Lennart Schalk. (2021). One Instructional Sequence Fits all? A Conceptual Analysis of the Applicability of Concreteness Fading in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Education. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09581-7

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

Narrative review of Fyfe et al.'s study in which second and third graders learned equivalence under concrete, idealized, concreteness fading, and concreteness introduction conditions. The review reports "Children in the concreteness fading condition show the best transfer performance." No effect sizes are printed in the reviewed account.

"Children in the concreteness fading condition show the best transfer performance."

Tommi Kokkonen & Lennart Schalk 2021 (2)¶

Tommi Kokkonen & Lennart Schalk. (2021). One Instructional Sequence Fits all? A Conceptual Analysis of the Applicability of Concreteness Fading in Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, and Biology Education. Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-020-09581-7

q2 · i? · theoretical · r3

Narrative review of undergraduate studies on the commutative group of order three. The review reports Kaminski et al.'s conclusion favoring generic symbols, De Bock et al.'s replication finding concreteness fading led to worse transfer than two concrete or two idealized representations, and McNeil and Fyfe's three-step replication finding "Concreteness fading results in the best transfer performance."

"Kaminski et al. ( 2008) conclude that learning with only the generic symbols of the target concept results in better transfer than does a concreteness fading sequence."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Four sequences of macro, micro, and symbolic chemistry representations produced no statistically significant differences in students' learning performance — related
• Physics studies show no clear-cut advantage for concreteness fading, with some results favoring concrete-only or reversed (concreteness introduction) sequences — related
• A systematic review argues that concrete materials aid mathematics and science learning when they are explicitly and gradually connected to the abstract symbols they represent — a broader claim this one bears on
• A conference paper reports that, in McNeil and Fyfe (2012), undergraduates taught with concreteness fading outperformed those taught in generic or concrete conditions — related
• Transfer-outcome format can favor symbolic controls over manipulative conditions (transfer-appropriate processing), potentially explaining inconsistent transfer findings — related
• Learning number symbols from multiple concrete representations carries a cost compared with consistent single representations, whether concrete or abstract — related