Worked examples, and the art of removing them

Every tutor has met this: you solve the problem on the board, clearly, step by step. Heads nod. Ten minutes later, the same problem with different numbers, and half the group cannot start. Nobody was lying about following. Following is genuinely easier than doing, and watching a solution unfold feels almost identical to being able to produce one.

Why the gap exists

When you work through a problem, the hard part is invisible. Students see the steps; they do not see the decision that selected each step. Your choice of what to try first is the entire skill, and it is exactly the part that never makes it onto the board.

Fading: the sequence that closes it

Instead of full example then independent practice, use four rungs:

• Fully worked. You do all of it, out loud, including the false start you would normally hide. "I tried this first and it did not work" is more instructive than a clean solution.
• Completion problem. The first three steps are given; the student finishes it. This is the rung most tutors skip, and it is the one that does the work.
• First step only. You supply the decision that starts it; they do the rest.
• Nothing. Independent.

Four rungs on the same problem type in one session is far more effective than one example and eight independent attempts, most of which are spent stuck.

Say the decision out loud

While working an example, narrate the choice, not just the operation: "there are two things I could do here, and I am picking this one because the other leaves me with a fraction." Students copy what they can see. If all they can see is arithmetic, arithmetic is what they will learn.

When to stop using examples

The moment a student can already do it, an additional worked example is worse than useless: it takes time and reduces the retrieval practice that would have strengthened the skill. Fading is not a courtesy; the removal is the mechanism.

Sources

• What Works Clearinghouse — Educator Practice Guides (US Dept. of Education)
• UNESCO — Education