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PS-I error-based learning materials on thermal insulation (wool vs. down) with four condition variants

Design · All designs
Evidence · 1 claim (1 mixed) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 0 of 1 report an effect size · 1 claim rests on one study

Description

Worksheet-based learning materials developed by the research team, based on prior work by Schmidt (2016), in which "students worked on three experiments in total throughout the PS- and I-phases." The materials taught the CVS by "having them compare the insulating capacity of wool and down," with four PS-phase variants: planning and conducting an experiment (self-generated errors), analyzing two erroneous experiments with a checklist (vicarious errors), both (combination), or analyzing two correct experiments (no-errors). An instruction phase followed with a correct experiment, CVS explanation, and error-reflection tables. Materials were piloted with n = 65 students and provided as translated online material.

Design Implications

Context

Requirements

  • Pre-trained pre-service teacher pairs supported delivery; materials were designed to be primarily self-explanatory
  • A filler task was added for vicarious and no-errors groups to ensure comparable session durations

Constraints

  • The term "error" refers exclusively to violations of the CVS; experiments with errors unrelated to CVS led to exclusion from analysis
  • Delayed-test data were excluded due to COVID-19 school lockdowns

Target Learners

  • 7th- and 8th-grade middle school students in an urban region of Austria

Learning Goals

  • designing unconfounded experiments by systematically manipulating the independent variable while holding other variables constant

Claims

Examples

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Key Sources

  • Hämmerle, L., Kuhlmann, S. L., Krause-Wichmann, T., & Möller, A. (2026). Learning the control-of-variables strategy through self-generated and vicarious errors: the mediating roles of affect, motivation, cognitive load, and error awareness. Instructional Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-026-09822-2
Page metadata
Field Value
type design
id ps-i-wool-down-error-learning-materials
title PS-I error-based learning materials on thermal insulation (wool vs. down) with four condition variants
description Worksheet-based learning materials developed by the research team, based on prior work by Schmidt (2016), in which "students worked on three experiments in total throughout the PS- and I-phases." The materials taught...
status review
generated by process:settle-candidates on 2026-10-18
trust unverified — no one has confirmed this page's content
sources 1 — hämmerle-2026

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