CUE RECOGNITION AND CUE ELABORATION IN LEARNING FROM EXAMPLES

This paper describes the processes used by students to learn from work ed-out examples and by working through problems. Evidence is derived f rom protocols of students learning secondary school mathematics and ph ysics. The students acquired knowledge from the examples in the form o f productions (condition --> action): first discovering conditions und er which the actions are appropriate and then elaborating the conditio ns to enhance efficiency. Students devoted most of their attention to the condition side of the productions. Subsequently, they generalized the productions for broader application and acquired specialized produ ctions for special problem classes.