@inproceedings{388a7d6f2e634a7088b1221ed919cae2,
title = "Reducing Cognitive Load through the Worked Example Effect within a Serious Game Environment",
abstract = "Novices often struggle to represent problems mentally; the unfamiliar process can exhaust their cognitive resources, creating frustration that deters them from learning. By improving novices' mental representation of problems, worked examples improve both problem-solving skills and transfer performance. Programming requires both skills. In programming, it is not sufficient to simply understand how Stackoverflow examples work; programmers have to be able to adapt the principles and apply them to their own programs. This paper shows evidence in support of the theory that worked examples are the most efficient mode of instruction for novices. In the present study, 42 students were asked to solve the tutorial The Magic Word, a game especially for girls created with the Catrobat programming environment. While the experimental group was presented with a series of worked examples of code, the control groups were instructed through theoretical text examples. The final task was a transfer question. While the average score was not significantly better in the worked example condition, the fact that participants in this experimental group finished significantly faster than the control group suggests that their overall performance was better than that of their counterparts. ",
keywords = "cognitive load, games for education, gender, problem-solving, programming, worked examples",
author = "Bernadette Spieler and Naomi Pfaff and Wolfgang Slany",
year = "2020",
month = jun,
doi = "10.23919/iLRN47897.2020.9155187",
language = "English",
series = "Proceedings of 6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network, iLRN 2020",
publisher = "Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers",
pages = "1--8",
editor = "Daphne Economou and Alexander Klippel and Heather Dodds and Anasol Pena-Rios and Lee, {Mark J. W.} and Dennis Beck and Johanna Pirker and Andreas Dengel and Peres, {Tiago M.} and Jonathon Richter",
booktitle = "Proceedings of 6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network, iLRN 2020",
address = "United States",
note = "6th International Conference of the Immersive Learning Research Network, iLRN 2020 ; Conference date: 21-06-2020 Through 25-06-2020",
}