Prior knowledge score did not significantly moderate the sequence effect within either experiment, though each experiment covered a restricted prior-knowledge range¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Supplementary moderation analyses found prior knowledge was not a significant moderator of instructional-sequence effects in either experiment. → Cheng-Wen He 2025

Evidence¶

Cheng-Wen He 2025¶

Cheng-Wen He, Logan Fiorella, Paula P. Lemons. (2025). Does Instruction-First or Problem-Solving-First Depend on Learners' Prior Knowledge? Educational Psychology Review. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-025-09993-3

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Supplementary analyses reported in a footnote tested whether prior knowledge score moderated the sequence effects in each experiment. The authors caution the analysis "is limited because the students in each experiment had a restricted range of prior knowledge scores".

"The results indicated that prior knowledge was not a significant moderator in either experiment."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

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

Related Claims¶

• 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 — reports the opposite
• No significant differential treatment effects by prior (Grade 4) achievement level or gender; the Grade 4 Level 3 subgroup difference was marginal (p = .053) — related
• GPA and prior topic knowledge do not moderate the performance effect of LLM-assisted self-study — related
• Neither instructional sequence produced significant far-transfer effects in either experiment — related