Alfieri et al. (2013)

Learning Through Case Comparisons: A Meta-Analytic Review

Educational Psychologist, 48(2), 87-113

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Reference

Alfieri, L., Nokes-Malach, T. J., & Schunn, C. D. (2013). Learning Through Case Comparisons: A Meta-Analytic Review. Educational Psychologist, 48(2), 87-113. https://doi.org/10.1080/00461520.2013.775712

What Rests on This

1 mechanism cites this source. Each finding below is quoted as it appears on that mechanism's own page.

Schema Formation Representational Structures

Measured in humans

A meta-analysis of 57 experiments (336 tests) found that comparing multiple cases, which promotes abstraction of their shared structure, improved learning over studying single or sequential cases, d = 0.50, 95% CI [0.44, 0.56]
Measured in humans

Gains were larger when learners were asked to find similarities between cases, when a principle was given after the comparison, with perceptual content, and when testing was immediate