Comparing static fading with adaptive fading to independent problem solving: The impact on the achievement and attitudes of high school students learning electrical circuit analysis

This study compared conventional static fading, where the problem solving responsibility of the learner increases at a fixed sequence, with a novel adaptive fading design in which the learner assumes more problem solving responsibility only if her or his previous solution attempt is successful. This study was conducted in the engineering knowledge domain of introductory electrical circuit analysis with high school students. A 2 (static or adaptive fading) X 2 (lower or higher academic ability) Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) yielded a significant main effect on retention and transfer performance: with adaptive fading the participants scored significantly higher on retention and transfer than with static fading, while not requiring more learning time or learning material.