PS-I fosters learning only if specific design features (contrasting cases or building instruction on student solutions) are implemented¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r? · q3
Currency · newest study 2017 · checked against its sources 2026-10-14 (automated, 1 of 1 entry) · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Across reviewed PS-I implementations, positive learning outcomes occur only when contrasting cases or instruction built on student solutions are part of the design. → Loibl 2017

Evidence¶

Loibl 2017¶

Loibl, K., Roll, I. & Rummel, N. (2017). Towards a Theory of When and How Problem Solving Followed by Instruction Supports Learning. Educational Psychology Review, 29, 693–715. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-016-9379-x

q3 · i? · review · r?

The review's synthesis of the mapped PS-I implementations associated design features with patterns in learning outcomes. It concludes that "PS-I fosters learning only if specific design features (namely contrasting cases or building instruction on student solutions) are implemented." No pooled effect size is printed in the supplied text.

"The review shows that PS-I fosters learning only if specific design features (namely contrasting cases or building instruction on student solutions) are implemented."

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• PF design fidelity predicts larger PS-I effects, with four fidelity criteria showing significant subgroup differences — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Erroneous examples improve conceptual understanding by forcing comparison with correct models. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Productive Failure Improves Conceptual Learning — related
• Example-first conditions outperformed problem-first conditions on an immediate circuit test — reports the opposite
• Comparing cases side by side improves learning and transfer by a moderate average amount, though in one algebra study it raised procedural knowledge and flexibility but not conceptual knowledge — related
• The proposed cognitive mechanisms explain both positive and negative effects of PS-I — related
• Students' generated solutions rarely matched the erroneous solutions included in the explicit instruction phase — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• PS-I sequence outperforms I-PS on conceptual knowledge only when instruction builds on student solutions — a narrower finding that bears on this claim
• Across studies, high solution rates in the initial problem-solving phase co-occur with beneficial PS-I effects and low rates with no beneficial effects, a cross-study pattern not yet tested in a shared sample — related
• Across two studies that differed in the duration of the initial problem-solving phase, the PS-I versus WS-I transfer advantage reversed — related
• PS-I research demonstrates beneficial effects on conceptual knowledge and knowledge transfer relative to I-PS — related
• PS-I instructional designs can improve conceptual understanding and transfer when design principles are met — possibly the same claim (merge candidate)