Collaborative and individual problem solving in traditional PF do not differ in conceptual knowledge after instruction¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2023 · checked against its sources 2026-10-19 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Tenth-grade students in the collaborative PF condition did not outperform individually working students on the conceptual knowledge post-test; the total effect of condition was not statistically significant. → Charleen Brand 2023

Evidence¶

Charleen Brand 2023¶

Charleen Brand, Christian Hartmann, Katharina Loibl, Nikol Rummel. (2023). Do students learn more from failing alone or in groups? Insights into the effects of collaborative versus individual problem solving in productive failure. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-023-09619-7

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Randomized experiment with 137 tenth-grade students (PF COLL n = 87 analysed, of 105 initially assigned to 35 groups of three; PF IND n = 50) in the traditional variance PF setting. The mediation analysis found "both conditions did not differ in conceptual knowledge acquisition" (total effect c = 0.57, p = 0.241).

"the total effect of the conditions on conceptual knowledge was not statistically significant, c = 0.57, SE = 0.48, t = 1.17, p = 0.241, p’ = 1.00, 95% CI [− 0.39, 1.53]. That is, both conditions did not differ in conceptual knowledge acquisition"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Collaboration — predictor: learners who differ on it differ in outcomes

Related Claims¶

• Awareness of knowledge gaps and curiosity do not mediate the effect of collaboration on conceptual knowledge in PF — related
• Solution quality does not mediate the effect of collaboration on conceptual knowledge in PF — related
• Solution quality correlates with conceptual knowledge and gap awareness only for individual problem solvers — related
• Productive Failure Improves Conceptual Learning — a broader claim this one bears on
• Solution quantity does not mediate the effect of collaboration on conceptual knowledge in PF — related
• Productive failure students significantly outperformed lecture-practice and facilitated complex problem solving students on well-structured and higher-order application post-test problems — reports the opposite
• Observing the complete problem-solving-and-failing process (VF-process) was more effective for conceptual knowledge acquisition than generating one's own failed solutions (PF) prior to instruction — related
• Prior knowledge moderated the VF-process advantage over PF: the benefit of observing the process grew with prior knowledge, while prior knowledge did not affect post-test performance in the PF condition — related