| Research has shown the effects of using fading procedure as a smooth transition from the worked-out examples to problem solving in the initial acquisition of cognitive skills. Two types of fading procedures, forward and backward, were compared with the example-problem pairs to find their effectiveness on near and far transfer learning. This study proposed a third type of fading procedure, simple-to-complex, to investigate its effectiveness and efficiency on cognitive skill learning.;The independent variable was the type of fading procedure, which included backward fading procedure and simple-to-complex fading procedure. The dependent variables were the students' learning time and the achievement on the posttest, which included near transfer and far transfer problems. The scores on the pretest were used as a covariate. A qualitative component, including an observation, questionnaire, think-aloud protocol, and interviews, was employed to provide greater depth to the findings for this study.;Thirty-eight elementary fifth graders were randomly assigned to either a backward or simple-to-complex fading group. Among 19 students from each group, 3 students were randomly chosen to participate in a think-aloud protocol. All participants were given a pretest, a computer-based learning program, posttest, and questionnaire.;No statistically significant differences were found between the two types of fading groups on solving near and far transfer problems and learning time. Attitude results showed that the difference between the two fading groups on answering the survey questions was not statistically significant. The think-aloud protocol did not provide more considerable depth of findings for this study. Interviews with elementary math teachers indicated that they all had positive attitudes towards this study and they also provided some background information about the participants. |
