Analysing The Impact of Erroneous Examples on Third-Grade Students’ Problem-Solving Proficiency

Abstract

The potential benefits of introducing errors in problem solving has awakened interest in research into this understudied field. Here, we report the results of a quasi-experimental study with 85 third-grade students which examines whether erroneous examples might enhance students' problem-solving proficiency more effectively than worked ones. In the study, two conditions were established: a worked-example condition, where correct examples were presented before the students solved word problems, and an erroneous-example condition, where erroneous examples preceded word-problem solving. Our results demonstrate that post-test scores, after controlling the students’ prior level, are significantly greater for the erroneous-example condition than the worked-example condition. Therefore, the erroneous-example approach seems to be more effective in developing a learner’s problem-solving proficiency compared to a worked-example approach.