Textual instructional prompts yield significantly higher near-transfer posttest performance than pictorial prompts for novice circuit-analysis learners¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · causal r2 · q2 · i2 medium
Currency · newest study 2004 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person
Evidence quality · No study behind this claim is a peer-reviewed article with a DOI: it rests on an ERIC document (a report, conference paper or thesis). It is kept because 2 design pages cite it; treat it as a lead to check, not an established finding.

Subclaims¶

q2 i2 On the near-transfer posttest, participants with text-based prompts scored significantly higher (M = 9.08) than those with pictorial prompts (M = 6.89), with Cohen's f = .37. → Reisslein 2004

Evidence¶

Reisslein 2004¶

Reisslein, J., Atkinson, R. K., & Reisslein, M. (2004). Exploring the Presentation and Format of Help in a Computer-Based Electrical Engineering Learning Environment. Arizona State University. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED484994

q2 · i2 · causal · r2

In the 2x2 factorial experiment with 51 high school students without prior circuit-analysis knowledge, an ANOVA on near-transfer posttest scores found a significant prompt-format effect, "F(1,47) = 6.50, MSE = 9.69, p = .01", with Cohen's f = .37 approaching a large effect.

"This difference on the near transfer posttest scores was statistically significant F(1,47) = 6.50, MSE = 9.69, p = .01. Cohen's f statistic for these data yields an effect size estimate of .37 for the near -transfer posttest problems, which approaches a large effect."

Studies bearing on this claim¶

In what form, and under whose control, should prompts be given? This table gathers the studies behind this claim and the 5 narrower claims that bear on it: 1 distinct studies (1 causal), q2, 1 of 1 with an effect size coded. One row per study, codes as each entry records them; no effect is averaged and no verdict is drawn. Built by scripts/synthesize_claim.py from eval/synthesis/; a row that looks wrong is fixed on the claim it comes from.

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• Textual prompts produce higher first-attempt practice accuracy, while pictorial prompts produce higher second-attempt accuracy — related
• Self-regulated vs. externally regulated prompt presentation shows no significant effect on posttest performance and no interaction with prompt format — related
• Textual prompts yield significantly stronger continuing motivation than pictorial prompts — related
• Learners report more positive attitudes toward externally regulated prompts than self-regulated prompts — related
• In one 51-learner experiment on help formats in computer-based electrical engineering instruction, far-transfer scores were at the floor in every condition, and time spent on instruction did not differ significantly between conditions — related