ABSTRACT
“Faded” examples are example problems that provide a solution, but first require students to generate a portion of the solution themselves. Empirical studies have shown that such examples can be more effective teaching aids than completely worked examples that require no work from the student. Cascade is a model of problem-solving skill acquisition that was originally developed to explain other empirical regularities associated with human problem solving and learning, most notably the self-explanation effect. Past research demonstrated that Cascade might also explain the mechanisms underlying the effectiveness of example fading. This paper analyzes new protocol data, and finds that it is consistent with predictions derived from Cascade.
