Optimizing the number of steps in learning tasks for complex skills
Open accessAbstract
Background. Carrying out whole tasks is often too difficult for novice learners attempting to acquire complex skills. The common solution is to split up the tasks into a number of smaller steps. The number of steps must be optimized for efficient and effective learning. Aim. The aim of the study is to investigate the relation between the number of steps provided to learners and the quality of their learning of complex skills. It is hypothesized that students receiving an optimized number of steps will learn better than those receiving either the whole task in only one step or those receiving a large number of steps. Sample. Participants were 35 sophomore law students studying at Dutch universities, mean age = 22.8 years ( SD =3.5), 63% were female. Method. Participants were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 computer‐delivered versions of a multimedia programme on how to prepare and carry out a law plea. The versions differed only in the number of learning steps provided. Videotaped plea‐performance results were determined, various related learning measures were acquired and all computer actions were logged and analyzed. Results. Participants exposed to an intermediate (i.e. optimized) number of steps outperformed all others on the compulsory learning task. No differences in performance on a transfer task were found. A high number of steps proved to be less efficient for carrying out the learning task. Conclusions. An intermediate number of steps is the most effective, proving that the number of steps can be optimized for improving learning.
Integrity signals
Registry
Cites
Statistics
Claims the paper makes
Claims other papers make about this one
Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?
The availability of a process worksheet had positive effects on learning task performance, indicated by a higher coherence and more accurate content of the legal case being developed.
“Nadolski, Kirschner, and van Merriënboer (2005), for example, studied the effects of process worksheets with law students and found that the availability of a process worksheet had positive effects on learning task performance, indicated by a higher coherence and more accurate content of the legal case being developed.”
From Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching (2006) · cites this paper as Nadolski, Kirschner, & van Merriënboer, 2005
Learners receiving guidance through process worksheets outperformed learners left to discover the appropriate procedures themselves.
“Learners receiving guidance through process worksheets outperformed learners left to discover the appropriate procedures themselves.”
From Why Minimal Guidance During Instruction Does Not Work: An Analysis of the Failure of Constructivist, Discovery, Problem-Based, Experiential, and Inquiry-Based Teaching (2006) · cites this paper as Nadolski, Kirschner, & van Merriënboer, 2005
Cites
Situated Cognition and the Culture of Learning
Brown, J. S., Collins, A., & Duguid, P. (1989) · Educational Researcher · doi:10.3102/0013189x018001032 · Cited by 13,645 · see citing works
Paas, F. G. W. C., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. G. (1994) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/0022-0663.86.1.122 · Cited by 1,198 · cited 2× · see citing works
“In our study, effort is determined by measuring task motivation (Bonner, 1994; Maynard & Hakel, 1997), subjectively experienced cognitive load (Paas & van Merriënboer, 1994), and time-on-task (Karweit, 1984).”
BackgroundMethodSelf-citationvan Merriënboer, J. J. G., Schuurman, J. G., de Croock, M. B. M., & Paas, F. G. W. C. (2002) · Learning and Instruction · doi:10.1016/s0959-4752(01)00020-2 · Cited by 298 · see citing works
Self-citation
Flagged first, then by citations
Cited by
Sorted by citations
Kirschner, P. A., Sweller, J., & Clark, R. E. (2006) · Educational Psychologist · doi:10.1207/s15326985ep4102_1 · Cited by 6,887 · see citing works
Self-citationCognitive Load Theory and Complex Learning: Recent Developments and Future Directions
van Merriënboer, J. J. G., & Sweller, J. (2005) · Educational Psychology Review · doi:10.1007/s10648-005-3951-0 · Cited by 2,206 · see citing works
Self-citationDoes discovery-based instruction enhance learning?
Alfieri, L., Brooks, P. J., Aldrich, N. J., & Tenenbaum, H. R. (2011) · Journal of Educational Psychology · doi:10.1037/a0021017 · Cited by 1,338 · see citing works
Wickens, C. D., Hutchins, S., Carolan, T., & Cumming, J. (2013) · Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society · doi:10.1177/0018720812451994 · Cited by 129 · see citing works
- Authors
- Nadolski, R. J., Kirschner, P. A., & Van Merriënboer, J. J. G.
- Affiliations
- Open University of the Netherlands (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Nadolski, Rob J.
- Venue
- British Journal of Educational Psychology
- Publisher
- Wiley
- Published
- 2005-06
- Volume
- 75
- Issue
- 2
- Pages
- 223-237
- ISSN
- 0007-0998 (ISSN-L)
- 2044-8279
- OpenAlex
- W2109816554
- Cited by
- 70
- References
- 3
- Citations by year
- 2026: 1 · 2025: 6 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 2 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 2 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 1 · 2015: 3 · 2014: 7 · 2013: 3 · 2012: 8
- FWCI
- 5.17
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- research.ou.nl
- Licence
- Locations
- British Journal of Educational Psychology (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DSpace (Open University in the Netherlands) (publishedVersion, other-oa)
- DSpace (Open University in the Netherlands) (submittedVersion)
- DSpace (Open University in the Netherlands) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Visual and Cognitive Learning Processes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Innovative Teaching and Learning Methods
- Physical Sciences › Computer Science › Artificial Intelligence › Intelligent Tutoring Systems and Adaptive Learning
- Keywords
- task decomposition, novice learners, multimedia learning, transfer of learning, learning efficiency, law students
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Computer-Assisted Instruction, Educational Measurement, Female, Humans, Learning, Male, Netherlands, Practice, Psychological, Students, Task Performance and Analysis, Teaching, Universities
About these checks
Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.
Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.
Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.
What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›
Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review
