Historically subjects such as mathematics and science have been taught using the following general technique:
Step 1 :Introduce a new topic. Present background knowledge, principles and rules.
Step 2 :Demonstrate, using a few worked examples, how to apply the principles and rules.
Step 3 :Have the students "practice" how to apply the principles and rules by solving many , conventional, goal specific problems.
described how the use of means-ends analysis to solve conventional problems imposes high levels of cognitive load, and thus impedes learning. It is therefore likely that the emphasis given to "practice problems" described above will not result in efficient learning.
While the use of goal free problems provides an effective alternative to conventional problem solving its application is limited to situations where the problem space is "small". As the size of the problem space becomes "large" the increasing number of alternatives faced at each step in a solution render the technique impractical for teaching purposes.
An alternative technique may be found in reconsidering the nature and purpose of worked examples. Worked examples are presented to students to show them directly, step by step, the procedures required to solve different problem types. Worked examples contain explicit information that equates to schemas and automation.