The Effects of Nonexamples on Procedure Learning

Abstract

Research has shown that nonexamples are an effective strategy in teaching concepts. The purpose of this study was to explore the use of common errors (CE) as an effective strategy in teaching a procedure (i.e., a set of steps that one follows to achieve a goal). A total of fifty-six sophomore students were randomly assigned to an experimental and a control condition in their regular classrooms. The experimental design was pretest-posttest. Materials and task involved two sets of identical slide projectors and tape recorders to teach the procedure for color correction of color transparencies. The experimental group received instruction on an extra sample of colors most commonly confused with each of the six colors of the standard color wheel. Results indicated that application-level learning of procedures was significantly facilitated by the presentation of common errors (CE) in addition to examples. In conclusion the use of common errors of great divergence is beneficial. The use of common errors is more effective when they are made apparent, or when a clear distinction between a correct and incorrect response is taught.