The subgoal learning model: Creating better examples so that students can solve novel problems

Learners have great difficulty solving problems requiring changes to solutions demonstrated in examples. However, if the solution procedures learners form are organized by subgoals, then they are more successful. Subgoal learning is hypothesized to be aided by cues in example solutions that indicate that certain steps go together. These cues may induce a learner to attempt to self-explain the purpose of the steps, resulting in the formation of a subgoal. Across 4 experiments it was found that a label for a group of steps in examples helped participants form subgoals as assessed by measures such as problem-solving performance and talk aloud protocols. Abstract labels were more likely than superficial labels to lead participants to form subgoals with fewer ties to surface features. Subgoals guide problem solving by helping learners focus on the steps to modify in novel problems that involve the same subgoals but require new steps to achieve them.