The conditions under which explicit instruction in checking, combined with worked examples, may be beneficial in learning how to translate sentences into algebraic equations was examined from the perspective of cognitive load theory. In two experiments it was shown that Grade 8 and 9 students were initially disadvantaged by the inclusion of a…

A study was developed to evaluate the effectiveness of a preinstruction retention index (designed to maximize recall of mathematical concepts by predicting the idiosyncratic number of examples per mathematical concept required by each student). Subjects, 27 female and 26 male eighth grade students, were administered a retention measure through…