Questions about Teaching with Worked Examples

Some teachers think that there’s little to say about teaching with examples – after all, everyone uses them. But here are just some of the questions you might have about teaching with worked examples:

How do we introduce an example?

What do we ask students to do when studying a solution?

Should a solution be presented all at once or revealed step-by-step?

After we study an example, what comes next?

Does it matter if the solution is presented as if from a fictional student, a real student in class, or from the teacher?

How do we help students move from understanding someone else’s ideas towards using it on their own to solve problems?

How do we write a solution in a clear way, that students can learn from?

When is a good time to offer a worked example? When is it better to let students try a problem?

Are worked examples more useful for some mathematical content than others?

This book will answer all of these questions. In some cases, research offers answers. Other questions represent gaps in the research literature and the book offers solutions arrived at through experience and trial-and-error and the author’s own process of classroom problem solving.

Welcome to the world of teaching with examples!