Delayed Learning Effects with Erroneous Examples: a Study of Learning Decimals with a Web-Based Tutor

• Published in: International journal of artificial intelligence in education Vol. 25; no. 4; pp. 520 - 542
• Main Authors: McLaren, Bruce M., Adams, Deanne M., Mayer, Richard E.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer New York 01.12.2015; Springer; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Arithmetic; Artificial Intelligence; Cognitive tasks; Computer Interfaces; Computer Science; Computers and Education; Decimals; Educational Technology; Errors; Feedback; Grade 4; Grade 6; Hypotheses; Instructional Effectiveness; Intelligent Tutoring Systems; Knowledge; Learning; Mathematics; Mathematics Instruction; Medical research; Metacognition; Middle School Students; Pretests Posttests; Problem Solving; Student Attitudes; Students; Surgeons; Teaching Methods; Thinking Skills; Usability; User Interfaces and Human Computer Interaction; Web Based Instruction; Mathematics learning; Problem solving; Intelligent tutoring systems; Erroneous examples
• ISSN: 1560-4292; 1560-4306
• DOI: 10.1007/s40593-015-0064-x

Erroneous examples – step-by-step problem solutions with one or more errors for students to find and fix – hold great potential to help students learn. In this study, which is a replication of a prior study (Adams et al. 2014 ), but with a much larger population (390 vs. 208), middle school students learned about decimals either by working with interactive, web-based erroneous examples or with more traditional supported problems to solve. The erroneous examples group was interactively prompted to find, explain, and fix errors in decimal problems, while the problem-solving group was prompted to solve the same decimal problems and explain their solutions. Both groups were given correctness feedback on their work by the web-based program. Although the two groups did not differ on an immediate post-test, the erroneous examples group performed significantly better on a delayed test, given a week after the initial post-test ( d  = .33, for gain scores), replicating the pattern of the prior study. Interestingly, the problem solving group reported liking the intervention more than the erroneous examples group ( d  = .21 for liking rating in a questionnaire) and found the user interface easier to interact with ( d  = .37), suggesting that what students like does not always lead to the best learning outcomes. This result is consistent with that of desirable difficulty studies, in which a more cognitively challenging learning task results in deeper and longer-lasting learning.