Effects of instructional preparation strategies on problem solving in a Web-based learning environment

Abstract

This study reports the effects of different types of instructional preparation strategies on the problem solving performance of college students taking an introductory physics class. Students were divided into four equally skilled groups and solved the same physics problems after receiving different instructional preparations (engaging in interactive tutorials, solving similar problems or reading worked examples) in a web-based learning environment. Problem solving characteristics of the students, such as problem completion time and number of incorrect answers, were then analyzed to investigate the effects of different preparation approaches employed. The analysis results suggest that interactive tutorials could be more beneficial than other types of preparation strategies by providing just-in-time scaffolding and reducing the cognitive load of acquiring schemas when the target knowledge under study is difficult and complicated.