Of eight PF-similar studies of problem solving prior to instruction in non-STEM or domain-general settings, only Schwartz and Bransford (1998) found a positive learning effect¶
Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causalr?·q2
Currency · newest study 2020 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Subclaims¶
Reading the evidence codes
q is the design tier, i the impact, n the sample, and the kind with its r
the rigour judged within that kind: what each code means.
This claim: no standardized effect is recorded in observations/ for it yet, so no benchmark reading is possible.
q2 i? The article's overview of eight non-STEM or domain-general PF-similar studies reports that most showed no or a negative effect, with only Schwartz and Bransford (1998) finding a positive effect. → Valentina Nachtigall · Katja Serova · Nikol Rummel 2020
Evidence¶
Valentina Nachtigall · Katja Serova · Nikol Rummel 2020¶
Valentina Nachtigall · Katja Serova · Nikol Rummel. (2020). When failure fails to be productive: probing the effectiveness of productive failure for learning beyond STEM domains. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-020-09525-2
q2 · i? · causal · r?
This is the article's narrative review Tab. 2 summary of PF-similar studies in psychology, educational psychology, dental hygiene/surgery, and the Control of Variables Strategy. The review reports that "only the two by Schwartz and Bransford (1998) found a positive effect", while others showed equality with or inferiority to control conditions.
"Of all eight studies, only the two by Schwartz and Bransford (1998) found a positive effect of problem solving prior to instruction on student learning (see Table 2)."
Discussion¶
Related Claims¶
- PF students did not outperform DI students when learning social science research methods in two quasi-experimental studies with 10th graders, failing to replicate the STEM-domain PF effect — related
- Productive Failure Improves Conceptual Learning — a broader claim this one bears on
- Productive failure before instruction outperforms instruction followed by problem-solving — related
- PF students outperformed direct-instruction students on conceptual understanding and transfer without compromising procedural fluency — related
- Conceptual replication failure can stem from inadequate theory and, once discovered, becomes a component of subsequent theory development — related
Page metadata
| Field | Value |
|---|---|
type |
claim |
id |
pf-similar-studies-mostly-null-negative |
title |
Of eight PF-similar studies of problem solving prior to instruction in non-STEM or domain-general settings, only Schwartz and Bransford (1998) found a positive learning effect |
description |
Of eight PF-similar studies of problem solving prior to instruction in non-STEM or domain-general settings, only Schwartz and Bransford (1998) found a positive learning effect |
status |
review |
evidence_strength |
weak |
newest_evidence |
2020 |
generated |
by process:wiki-ingest on 2026-10-18 |
trust |
unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content |
sources |
1 — valentina-nachtigall-katja-serova-nikol-rummel-2020 |
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