This article reports the results of research on the effects of detailed feedback on problem solving. In this study, 54 undergraduate college students were randomly assigned to one of six feedback conditions. Each student worked through two problem tasks within a computer-based electrical circuit board simulation. Feedback was given between problems and varied according to 1) the model from which it was generated and 2) the amount and nature of verbal commentary. Results indicated that highest performance was associated with feedback based on an expert model supplemented with provided textual commentary, suggesting that under some circumstances expert-model based feedback messaging may be more effective at facilitating student performance gains.
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