From Example Study to Problem Solving: Smooth Transitions Help Learning

Research has shown that it is effective to combine example study and problem solving in the initial acquisition of cognitive skills. Present methods for combining these learning modes are, however, static and do not support a transition from example study in early stages of skill acquisition to later problem solving. Against this background, we propose a successive integration of problem-solving elements into example study until the learners solve problems on their own (i.e., complete example Î increasingly more incomplete examples Î problem to-be-solved). We tested the effectiveness of such a fading procedure against the traditional method of employing example-problem pairs. In a field experiment and in a more controlled lab experiment, we found that the fading procedure fosters learning, at least when near transfer performance is considered. Moreover, this effect is mediated by a lower number of errors under the fading condition as compared to the example-problem condition.