Poster #1 - Benefits of Direct Instruction Are Immediate but Not Long Lasting When Compared to Exploratory Learning

• In Event: 21.063 - MTCC Poster Session Three
  In Poster Session: 21.063-1 - Research in Science Teaching and Learning Poster Session 2

Abstract

Physics students often fail to transfer their knowledge between problem types. Instructional approaches emphasizing flexible knowledge development can improve students’ ability to make connections between topics. In this study, undergraduates in introductory physics studied a new topic. Order of instruction varied between conditions: Two experimental groups explored the concept before hearing a lecture about it; a control group followed the typical instructional sequence. Within the experimental condition, one group explored analogous problems (analogous-exploration); the other group explored only the new problem with a prompt to utilize prior knowledge (framed-exploration). A direct-instruction group heard the lecture before practicing problems on the concept. The direct-instruction condition outperformed the analogous-exploration condition on an immediate posttest, but not when tested again two weeks later.

Authors

• Joanna Perry Weaver, University at Albany - SUNY

• Raymond Chastain, University of Louisville

• Marci S. DeCaro, Vanderbilt University