Effects of studying sequences of process-oriented and product-oriented worked examples on troubleshooting transfer efficiency Tamara van Gog a, * , Fred Paas a,b , Jeroen J.G. van Merrie ¨nboer a a Educational Technology Expertise Center, Open University of The Netherlands, P.O. Box 2960, 6401 DL Heerlen, The Netherlands b Psychology Department, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands Received 16 June 2006; revised 14 January 2007; accepted 14 March 2007 Abstract Whereas product-oriented worked examples only present a problem solution, process-oriented worked examples additionally explain the rationale behind the presented solution. Given the importance of understanding this rationale for attaining transfer, process-oriented worked examples would be expected to result in more efficient transfer. However, a previous study in the domain of electrical circuits troubleshooting suggested an expertise-reversal effect: Process information might initially impose an effective cognitive load and lead to higher efficiency but may become redundant and impose an ineffective load when training progresses, which hampers efficiency. The present study confirmed this hypothesis. The results are discussed in terms of theoretical and prac- tical implications for the design of optimal training sequences for complex cognitive tasks. Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. Keywords: Worked examples; Problem solving; Transfer; Cognitive load 1. Introduction A large body of research has demonstrated that for novices, engaging in problem solving is not an effective way to acquire problem-solving skills. Studying worked examples in the initial phases of cognitive skill acquisition is more effective than solving problems. This consistent finding is referred to as the ‘‘worked example effect’’ (for overviews, see Atkinson, Derry, Renkl, & Wortham, 2000; Sweller, van Merrie ¨nboer, & Paas, 1998). Cognitive load theory (Swel- ler, 1988; Sweller et al., 1998; van Merrie ¨nboer & Sweller, 2005) explains the worked example effect in terms of re- duced extraneous, or ineffective working memory load, which allows for better schema construction and automation. * Corresponding author. Tel.: þ31 45 5762276; fax: þ31 45 5762907. E-mail address: tamara.vangog@ou.nl (T. van Gog). 0959-4752/$ - see front matter Ó 2007 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved. doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.03.003 ARTICLE IN PRESS www.elsevier.com/locate/learninstruc Learning and Instruction xx (2007) 1e12 + MODEL Please cite this article in press as: van Gog, T. et al., Effects of studying sequences of process-oriented and product-oriented worked examples on troubleshooting transfer efficiency, Learning and Instruction (2007), doi:10.1016/j.learninstruc.2007.03.003