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The acquisition of problem-solving skills in mathematics: How animations can aid understanding of structural problem features and solution procedures

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Abstract

In this paper the augmentation of worked examples with animations for teaching problem-solving skills in mathematics is advocated as an effective instructional method. First, in a cognitive task analysis different knowledge prerequisites are identified for solving mathematical word problems. Second, it is argued that so called hybrid animations would be most effective for acquiring these prerequisites, because they show the continuous transition from a concrete, but superficial problem representation to a more abstract, mathematical problem model that forms a basis for solving a problem. An experiment was conducted, where N = 32 pupils from a German high school studied either only text-based worked examples explaining different problem categories from the domain of algebra or worked examples augmented with hybrid animations. Learners with hybrid animations showed superior problem-solving performance for problems of different transfer distance relative to those in the text-only condition.

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Notes

  1. Cohen’s f is reported as a measure of effect size, where .10, .25, and .40 correspond to small, medium and large effect sizes, respectively (Cohen 1988).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Knowledge Media Research Center, Konrad-Adenauer Strasse 40, 72072, Tübingen, Germany

    Katharina Scheiter & Peter Gerjets

  2. University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany

    Julia Schuh

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  1. Katharina Scheiter
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  2. Peter Gerjets
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  3. Julia Schuh
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Correspondence to Katharina Scheiter.

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Scheiter, K., Gerjets, P. & Schuh, J. The acquisition of problem-solving skills in mathematics: How animations can aid understanding of structural problem features and solution procedures. Instr Sci 38, 487–502 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-009-9114-9

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11251-009-9114-9

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