Journal for Educational Research Online (JERO): Issue 2/2024, 16. Volume Comparing Contrasting Cases in Problem-Solving First Activities:

In educational research, there are promising findings which suggest it is useful to have students work on a task before instruction takes place. This also involves using task formats that follow the principle of comparison with and without predefined categories. To date, few studies have evaluated the learning processes induced by comparing contrasting cases before instruction takes place. As comparing requires further analytic cognitive processes, such as recognizing, differentiating, and organizing, a construct based on analytic competence was developed to evaluate 149 student teachers’ task solutions using qualitative content analysis. One experimental group compared cases using self-generated categories (invention activity); the other group was given categories to compare the cases (worked solution). After comparing the cases, the students were introduced to classroom management, a topic that is relevant for prospective teachers. The purpose of this task was to acquire knowledge about and develop a professional vision of classroom management. In addition, to evaluating participants’ task solutions, a standardized questionnaire was used to collect data on the extrinsic and intrinsic cognitive load of the students. Students in the worked solution condition achieved significantly higher analytic solution quality and experienced significantly lower intrinsic cognitive load than students in the invention activity condition. Both experimental groups perceived an average low extrinsic cognitive load.

Keywords
analytical solution quality, invention activities, worked solutions, cognitive load, professional vision