"The effect of worked examples on student learning and error anticipation in algebra"

​Alumnus Kreshnik Nasi Begolli published an article in Instructional Science exploring the effectiveness of prompts in math textbooks.

​The title of the article is “The effect of worked examples on student learning and error anticipation in algebra.”
 
Co-authors are Assistant Professor Christina A. Barbieri (University of Delaware), Head of Faculty Julie Booth (Temple University), and Nicholas Mccann.
 
Begolli is a research scientist in UCI's School of Education. He received his Ph.D. from UCI Irvine in 2015, specializing in Learning, Cognition, and Development. From 2015 to 2017, he was a postdoctoral fellow at the Institute of Education Sciences (IES), Temple University. His research investigates two interwoven strands of questions that feed off each other. How do children learn higher order thinking skills? How can educators improve teaching and learning of higher order thinking skills?

Kreshnik Begolli

Abstract

​The present study examines the effectiveness of incorporating worked examples with prompts for self-explanation into a middle school math textbook. Algebra 1 students (N = 75) completed an equation-solving unit with textbooks either containing the original practice problems or in which a portion of those problems were converted into a combination of correct, incorrect, and incomplete examples. Students completed pre- and posttest measures of algebraic feature knowledge, equation-solving skills, and error anticipation. Example-based textbook assignments increased students’ equation-solving skills and their ability to anticipate errors one might make when solving problems. Differences in students’ anticipation of various types of errors are also examined. Error anticipation, a particular form of negative knowledge, is a potentially important skill that relates to algebraic feature knowledge and equation-solving skills.