Specificity and Abstraction of Examples: Opposite Effects on Fixation for Creative Ideation

Fixation is one of the major obstacles that individuals face in creative idea generation contexts. Several studies have shown that individuals unintentionally tend to fixate to the examples they are shown in a creative ideation task, even when instructed to avoid them. Most of these studies used examples formulated with high level of specificity. However, no study has examined individuals’ creative performance under an instruction to diverge from given examples, when these examples are formulated with a high level of abstraction. In the present study, we show that (a) instructing participants to avoid using common examples when formulated with a high level of specificity increases fixation; whereas (b) instructing participants to avoid such examples while using a more abstract level for stating these common examples—such as a categorization of these examples—mitigates fixation and doubles the number of creative ideas generated. These findings give new insights on the key role of categorization in creative ideation contexts.     

Individual differences in the preference for worked examples: Lessons from an application of dispositional learning analytics

Worked-examples have been established as an effective instructional format in problem-solving practices. However, less is known about variations in the use of worked examples across individuals at different stages in their learning process in student-centred learning contexts. This study investigates different profiles of students' learning behaviours based on clustering learning dispositions, prior knowledge, and the choice of feedback strategies in a naturalistic setting. The study was conducted on 1,072 students over an 8-week long introductory mathematics course in a blended instructional format. While practising exercises in a digital learning environment, students can opt for tutored problem solving, untutored problem solving, or call worked examples. The results indicated six distinct profiles of learners regarding their feedback preferences in different learning phases. Finally, we investigated antecedents and consequences of these profiles and investigated the adequacy of used feedback strategies concerning ‘help-abuse’. This research indicates that the use of instructional scaffolds as worked-examples or hints and the efficiency of that use differs from student to student, making the attempt to find patterns at an overall level a hazardous endeavour.     

Moral Responsibility and the Irrelevance of Physics: Fischer’s Semi-compatibilism vs. Anti-fundamentalism

The paper argues that it is possible for an incompatibilist to accept John Martin Fischer’s plausible insistence that the question whether we are morally responsible agents ought not to depend on whether the laws of physics turn out to be deterministic or merely probabilistic. The incompatibilist should do so by rejecting the fundamentalism which entails that the question whether determinism is true is a question merely about the nature of the basic physical laws. It is argued that this is a better option for ensuring the irrelevance of physics than the embrace of semi-compatibilism, since there are reasons for supposing that alternate possibilities are necessary for moral responsibility, despite Fischer’s claims to the contrary. There are two distinct reasons for supposing that alternate possibilities might be necessary for moral responsibility—one of which is to do with fairness, the other to do with agency itself. It is suggested that if one focuses on the second of these reasons, Fischer’s arguments for supposing that alternate possibilities are unnecessary for moral responsibility can be met by the incompatibilist. Some possible reasons for denying that alternate possibilities are necessary for the existence of agency are then raised and rejected.

Alternative Possibilities, Luck, and Moral Responsibility

I first question whether genuinealternatives are necessary for moralresponsibility by assessing the assumption thataccessibility to such alternatives is vital tohaving the kind of control required forresponsibility. I next suggest that theavailability of genuine alternatives courtsproblems of responsibility-subverting luck foran important class of libertarian theories. Isummarize one such problem and respond torecent replies it has elicited. I then proposethat if this ``luck objection' against theidentified class of libertarian theories ispersuasive, a similar objection appears toafflict compatibilist theories as well.Finally, I show that reflections on luck maywell take some bite out of variousFrankfurt-type examples. These are examplesdesigned to establish that an agent can bemorally responsible for an action despiteacting with libertarian free will in theabsence of genuine or pertinent alternatives.     

样例学习研究的发展及问题

样例学习是教育心理学古老的研究课题,受到认识和教育心理学家的高度重视。章主要介绍了20世纪80年代以来对样例内特征、样例间特征以及自我解释效应的研究成果,指出了样例学习研究尚待进一步解决的问题,为将来进一步探讨样例学习提供了新的参考框架。     

样例和练习在促进解题迁移能力中的作用

通过一个2×2×2的因素实验,对96名初一学生在解题迁移能力中受样例和练习的影响进行了研究。结果表明,结合样例进行的练习促进了技能的熟练和解题能力的迁移;练习本身并不总能保证促进技能的熟练和解题能力的迁移,它至少要受三方面因素的影响第一,与在练习中是否有来自外部的指导和反馈有关;第二,与练习的任务性质有关;第三,与参与练习的个体智力和认知水平有关。     

算术应用题二重变异样例学习的迁移效果

设计并运用了三种表面特征变异的二重样例和三种结构特征变异的二重样例,对二年级小学生解决算术应用题的迁移效果进行了实验研究。结果表明：一个原样例的学习就能明显促进了二年级小学生解决与原样例表面特征不同而结构特征相同的近迁移问题;学习三种表面特征变异的二重样例后没有产生明显的远迁移效果;而学习了三种结构特征变异的二重样例后产生了不同程度的远迁移效果,其中,规则平行组合二重样例学习的远迁移效果最好,其次是规则变异二重样例学习的远迁移效果,规则镶嵌组合变异二重样例学习的远迁移效果最差     

样例和问题的联结方式对迁移作用的实验研究

研究了样例和问题的联结方式对学习迁移的影响。实验 1探讨了渐减提示法对学习迁移的作用 ;实验 2进一步检验了渐减提示法对诱发学习者进行自我解释的作用 ;实验 3探讨了“渐减提示 +子目标”这种联结样例和问题的方式对迁移的效果。进行重复测量设计的方差分析 ,实验结果表明 :渐减提示法是动态的联结样例和问题解决的有效形式 ,符合认知技能获得的四阶段模型和建构主义学习观的基本要求 ;渐减提示法有助于促进学习者对样例问题进行高质量的自我解释和产生心理预期 ;用“渐减提示 +子目标引导”来联结样例和问题有助于减轻认知负荷 ,有助于产生高质量的自我解释 ,对原理图式的获得有着重要作用     

自由目标效应与样例效应对学生写作成绩影响

“自由目标效应”和“样例效应”是认知负荷理论为解决学习者的认知资源限制而提出的两个重要的教学设计原则。通过两个实验,研究“自由目标效应”和“样例效应”对不同写作水平学生写作成绩的影响。被试为406名初中一年级学生。结果表明,“自由目标效应”和“样例效应”受学生写作水平的影响。“自由目标效应”对高水平写作者有促进作用,但会降低低水平写作者的成绩;“样例效应”对低水平写作者有促进作用,但对高水平写作者的写作成绩无显著影响。