Virtual Experiments or Worked Examples? How to Learn the Control-of-Variable Strategy

• In Event: Instructional Systems and the Construction of Knowledge

Abstract

The present research investigates how two learning devices, worked examples and virtual experiments, can influence students’ acquisition of the control-of-variable strategy (CVS). Sixty-nine seventh-grade students participated in this study. There were three experimental conditions where students learn CVS from either worked examples or virtual experiments or both. It was found that while worked examples are effective instructional devices to assist learning, due to students’ limited self-explanation skills, virtual experiments are needed to elicit more metacognitive efforts when studying the examples. At the same time, worked examples provide direct guidance that can promote learning through virtual experiments. This work extends previous work on worked examples to authentic classrooms and provides important implications for classroom teaching and learning of scientific reasoning skills.

Authors

• Shiyu Liu, The Pennsylvania State University - University Park

• Keisha Varma, University of Minnesota