In statistical problems, the differential effects on training performance, transfer performance, and cognitive load were studied for 3 computer-based training strategies. The conventional, worked, and completion conditions emphasized, respectively, the solving of conventional problems, the study of worked-out problems, and the completion of partly worked-out problems. The relation between practice-problem type and transfer was expected to be mediated by cognitive load. It was hypothesized that practice with conventional problems would require more time and more effort during training and result in lower and more effort-demanding transfer performance than practice with worked-out or partly worked-out problems. With the exception of time and effort during training, the results supported the hypotheses. The completion strategy and, in particular, the worked strategy proved to be superior to the conventional strategy for attaining transfer.
The CAUSE Research Group is supported in part by a member initiative grant from the American Statistical Association’s Section on Statistics and Data Science Education