On the Design, Implementation, and Outcomes of Using Contrasts in Learning

Session Submission Type: Symposium

Abstract

The benefits of contrasts to learning have long been known. Comparing and contrasting examples help students notice key elements and extract general rules. Yet, learning from contrasts, especially in ill-defined tasks prior to receiving instruction, is a complex task. This symposium focuses on identifying needs of students and teachers for support while learning from contrasts. The presentations address critical features in the design of contrasts; motivational and cognitive factors in learning from contrasts; teachers’ use of contrasts in the classroom; and facilitating contrasts between given examples, solutions, and reasoning processes. Loyal to the theme of the session, contrasting the different presentations helps develop a more integrative understanding of the use of contrasts in learning.

Sub Unit

• SIG-Learning Sciences

Chair

• Ido Roll, The University of British Columbia

Papers

• Learning Scientific Principles With Contrasting Cases: Key Ingredients of Effective Contrast-Focused Instruction - Catherine C. Chase, Carnegie Mellon University; Jonathan Todd Shemwell, University of Maine

• How Mastery-Approach Goal Motivations Interact With Discovery by Contrasting Cases to Facilitate Transfer - Daniel M. Belenky, Carnegie Mellon University; Timothy James Nokes-Malach, University of Pittsburgh

• Coevolution of Qualitative and Symbolic Reasoning in Invention Activities - Ido Roll, The University of British Columbia

• Teacher Epistemologies of Comparing and Contrasting - Lindsey E. Richland, University of Chicago; Katerina Schenke, University of California - Irvine; Keara Osborne, University of California - Irvine

Discussant

• Daniel L. Schwartz, Stanford University