No significant interaction between prior knowledge and task difficulty was observed in a worked-example algebra study¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? No significant prior knowledge by task difficulty interaction was observed; equivalence was not tested. → Gupta 2020

Evidence¶

Gupta 2020¶

Gupta, U., & Zheng, R. Z. (2020). Cognitive Load in Solving Mathematics Problems: Validating the Role of Motivation and the Interaction Among Prior Knowledge, Worked Examples, and Task Difficulty. European Journal of STEM Education, 5(1), 05. https://doi.org/10.20897/ejsteme/9252

q3 · i? · causal · r?

In a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial experiment with college students solving simultaneous equations, the research question 2 analysis reported: "No significant interaction was observed between prior knowledge and task difficulty". No test statistic or effect size is printed for this null result.

"Prior knowledge and task difficulty . No significant interaction was observed between prior knowledge and task difficulty."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Prior Knowledge — moderator: an instructional effect differs with it

Related Claims¶

• Instructional guidance that helps novices can become redundant or counterproductive as expertise grows. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Worked-example guidance becomes less effective as learner expertise increases. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Prior knowledge, worked-example type (full vs completion) and task difficulty show a significant three-way interaction on an algebra posttest, but not on self-reported cognitive load — related
• Prior knowledge and worked-example type (full vs completion) interact significantly on self-reported germane cognitive load, but not on intrinsic or extraneous load — related
• Task difficulty (easy vs difficult simultaneous-equation problems) has significant main effects on intrinsic and extraneous cognitive load, but not on germane load — related
• Studying worked examples improves novices' algebra performance on problems with the same structure as the examples — related
• Cognitive load when studying depended on instructional method (highest in the worked-out examples condition), but no prior knowledge or test-phase effects emerged — related
• Coping versus mastery model benefits depend on task difficulty and observers' prior success — related
• For recall performance, the study found no significant three-way interaction between modeling condition, prior knowledge activation and domain knowledge, so the model-observer similarity hypotheses were not supported. — related
• High- and low-prior-knowledge learners differ significantly on an algebra posttest and on intrinsic and germane cognitive load, but not on extraneous load — related