Order of worked examples and problem solving had no significant effect on application and transfer scores in experimental design or graphing¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · causal r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2025 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q3 i? In experimental design, a MANCOVA on application and transfer scores with pre-test as covariate found no significant main effect of condition (WE→PS, PS→WE, WE || PS). → Eman Ganaiem 2025 q3 i? In graphing, the same MANCOVA likewise found no significant main effect of condition on application and transfer scores. → Eman Ganaiem 2025 (2)

Evidence¶

Eman Ganaiem 2025¶

Eman Ganaiem, Ido Roll. (2025). Investigating the order of example-problem sequences when learning experimental design and graphing competencies. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-025-09750-7

q3 · i? · causal · r2

Randomized pre-treatment-post experiment with 113 seventh-grade students in the experimental design topic, assigned to WE→PS, PS→WE, or WE || PS. MANCOVA with pre-test covariate showed "no significant main effect for condition" (p = 0.963, partial η² = 0.003).

"Results show there is no significant main effect for condition: Wilk's Λ = 0.994, F (4, 212) = 0.15, p = 0.963, partial η 2 = 0.003."

Eman Ganaiem 2025 (2)¶

Eman Ganaiem, Ido Roll. (2025). Investigating the order of example-problem sequences when learning experimental design and graphing competencies. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-025-09750-7

q3 · i? · causal · r2

MANCOVA on graphing application and transfer scores for 120 seventh-grade students randomized across the same three conditions found "no significant main effect for the condition" (p = 0.458, partial η² = 0.016).

"there was no significant main effect for the condition: Wilk's Λ = 0.969, F (4, 226) = 0.911, p = 0.458, partial η 2 = 0.016."

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Algebraic Thinking — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Student attributes showed no main effects on outcomes except interest in science in graphing, and did not interact with sequence — related
• Students improved significantly from pre- to post-test in both topics, with a medium effect in experimental design and a small effect in graphing — related
• Prior knowledge strongly predicts post-test application and transfer scores in both topics — related
• No significant interaction between condition and pre-test knowledge on learning outcomes in either topic — related
• Sequence of worked examples and problems had no significant effect on self-reported cognitive load, but higher prior knowledge was associated with lower load in experimental design — related
• Micro productive failure (problem solving before instruction) improved sixth-graders' isomorphic algebraic procedural problem solving, with the advantage stable across one-day and one-week delays — related
• Example-first conditions outperformed problem-first conditions on an immediate circuit test — related
• Practice-problem performance favored PS-I overall, but the advantage was concentrated on the first two worksheets (d = 0.52) — related
• Neither instructional sequence produced significant far-transfer effects in either experiment — related
• For introductory biology students with low topic-specific prior knowledge, problem-solving-first (PS-I) outperformed instruction-first (I-PS) on a near-transfer test — related
• Problem order produced an order effect: solving basketball problems first improved performance on all problems, while school problems first lowered performance
• For biochemistry students with relatively higher topic-specific prior knowledge, instruction-first (I-PS) outperformed problem-solving-first (PS-I) on a near-transfer test — related
• Domain-specific knowledge gains from the learning session were large but comparable across the three experimental conditions — related
• Retrieval-practice-first sequences show small advantages over generative-first in some conditions — related