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- Vol 2 RE: Chapters 3, 8
productive failureproductive successtransfer-oriented assessmentdelayed learning outcomesinstructional sequencingsolution generationJournal article Evidence summaryAt a glance
Kapur separates performance during an initial learning activity from learning demonstrated later and uses that distinction to describe four instructional possibilities. Productive success combines strong initial performance with later learning; productive failure combines weak initial performance with later learning; unproductive failure yields neither; and unproductive success produces apparent immediate success without durable understanding or transfer.
Key ideas
Direct instruction may be productive relative to unguided discovery yet unproductive relative to better sequenced designs. Productive-failure approaches typically ask learners to generate and compare solutions to a carefully designed problem before explicit instruction. This process can activate prior knowledge, reveal gaps, draw attention to deep features, and prepare learners to understand canonical methods during consolidation. Failure is not valuable by itself: problems must be accessible yet challenging, learners need space to explore multiple representations, and subsequent instruction must connect their attempts with target concepts.
Why it matters
The framework expands the design space beyond a discovery-versus-instruction dichotomy and warns against evaluating learning from fluency or correctness during acquisition alone. Delayed, transfer-oriented assessments are needed to distinguish genuinely productive designs from superficially successful ones.
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- TE
- Teacher Edition
- PE
- Practice Edition
- RE
- Research Edition
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