Locus of difficulty in multistage mathematics problems  

Oleh:

Sweller, John ; Ayres, Paul

Jenis: Article from Journal - ilmiah internasional
Dalam koleksi: The American Journal of Psychology vol. 103 no. 2 (1990), page 168.
Topik: Mathematics; Multistage Mathematics Problem; Difficulty
Fulltext: 1423141.pdf (2.41MB)

Isi artikel

Previous studies have suggested that the use of a means-ends problem- solving strategy imposes a heavy cognitive load which interferes with learning. In this article, we discuss some of the contributing factors. A computational model was used to suggest that cognitive load is at a maximum when subgoals are manipulated and calculated. This allowed us to predict that on two-move problems, most errors should occur during the calculation of the subgoal rather than the goal (labeled the stage effect).E xperiment 1 supported this hypothesis using two-move geometry problems. Experiment 2 found that the presentation of unfamiliar problems tended to lead to the use of a meansends strategy, and this strategy, in turn, increased the likelihood of the stage effect. Experiment 3 revealed that if the problem-solving environment was altered to reduce the likelihood of a means-ends strategy being used, error location became random. Experiment 4, using three-move problems, found that most errors were located at the subgoal immediately preceding the goal. Protocol analysis in Experiment 5 indicated that means-ends analysis also was most likely to be used at the subgoal immediatley preceding the goal. It was concluded that means-ends analysis imposes a heavy cognitive load during the calculation of subgoal stages and this may explain the detrimental effect of the strategy on learning.

Opini Anda

Klik untuk menuliskan opini Anda tentang koleksi ini!

Kembali