Role of failure in the construction of case libraries
Abstract
[ACCESS RESTRICTED TO THE UNIVERSITY OF MISSOURI AT AUTHOR'S REQUEST.] One means by which to better support problem-solving and indoctrinate individuals is to employ case-based reasoning (CBR) in education. Instructional designers can support this form of learning by providing case libraries that embed domain-specific principles in the form of stories. The cases not only serve to portray experiences of practitioners, but serve as problem-solving narratives by which an individual can learn from and can acquire meaning. The current study investigated the effects of different case-types (success, failures) on analogical transfer. A group of undergraduate sales hiring and selection students (N=36) were provided learning environments that detailed ill-structured sales recruitment problems. In the first week, students were randomly assigned to different case library treatments (success, failure) and asked to construct a multifaceted argument (initial argument, counterargument, rebuttal) to resolve a decision-making hiring problem. In the following week, students constructed an argument to solve a novel case without the support of the case library. Data analysis revealed significantly significant differences for the failure-based case library condition on measurements of counterarguments and overall holistic argumentation scores. A discussion of the implications for pedagogy and instructional design are also presented.
Degree
Ph. D.
Thesis Department
Rights
Access is limited to the campus of the University of Missouri--Columbia.