Anuj Sadani / Field Guide

Learning & explanation · Teaching method

Worked examples

Study a complete solution with reasons before attempting a related problem.

Introductory · 3 drills · Reviewed 2026-10-24

See an examplePractise

What it helps you do

Give a novice a visible procedure and rationale rather than asking them to discover every step unaided.

Starting knowledge: No specialist knowledge is required.

  • Show the starting information, goal, and complete sequence.
  • Explain why each step follows.
  • Follow the example with a related problem that requires the learner to act.

The problem it came from

Worked examples have a long educational history. Sweller and Cooper’s 1985 algebra study is an influential primary investigation of learning from supplied solutions.

The teaching choice is how much of the process to show and when to fade support. Results from a particular learning task do not prove that examples always outperform independent practice.

Work through an example

STARTING POINT
Find 11 in the sorted list [2, 5, 8, 11, 14]. Answer: position 4.
APPLYING THE APPROACH
1. Inspect the middle item: 8.
2. Since 11 is greater than 8, discard the lower half including 8.
3. Inspect the remaining middle candidate: 11.
4. Report its position as 4 when counting from 1.
  • The explanation preserves the sorted-list prerequisite.
  • The discarded region follows a comparison, not a guess.
  • A different example is needed to practise an absent target.

Where it helps. Where it stops.

Use it when

  • Introducing an unfamiliar calculation, algorithm, or document technique.
  • A learner can imitate an answer but cannot explain the intermediate steps.

Potential benefits

  • An annotated solution makes usually hidden transitions inspectable.
  • A follow-up problem can expose whether the learner transferred the method.

Limits and common mistakes

  • Copying a solution can feel like understanding without producing it.
  • An expert may need less guidance; unnecessary detail can get in their way.
Applying it with AI

The prompt below asks for this structure. It does not guarantee accuracy, complete coverage, better learning, or conformance to a standard. Treat those outcomes as separate checks.

Practise the judgment

Try a choice, inspect a boundary, then explain a case yourself. Hints and answers are available whenever you need them.

DRILL 01 Not attempted

What is the best next activity after reading a solved example?

Choose one answer
Hint

Familiarity and independent performance differ.

Explained answer

Best answer for this case: Attempt a related problem and explain the steps

A related task gives evidence of transfer beyond recognition of the original solution.

Link to this drill
DRILL 02 Not attempted

Binary search is demonstrated without saying the list is sorted. What is missing?

Choose one answer
Hint

What makes elimination valid?

Explained answer

Best answer for this case: A prerequisite

The comparisons justify discarding a region only under the ordering assumption.

Link to this drill
DRILL 03 Not attempted

Create a follow-up task for the binary-search example.

Hint

Try an absent target instead of another obvious match.

Explained answer & self-review rubric

Search for 10 in [2, 5, 8, 11, 14]. Explain each retained interval and why the search ends without a match. This changes the outcome while retaining the method.

  • Use a different case
  • Require reasons
  • Include a checkable final outcome
Link to this drill

Take it into your own work

Manual template

Use this structure yourself, with a colleague, or in your preferred writing tool.

# Worked example
Prerequisites:
Starting information:
Goal:
Step | action | reason:
Result and verification:
Related problem for the learner:
What changes in the new problem?
Download template (.md)

Review the result

  • Is every step justified?
  • Are prerequisite assumptions explicit?
  • Can the learner solve a related case without copying?
Use this approach with your own AI tool
Help me apply Worked examples to the material below.
Reader and existing knowledge: [describe]
Task and desired outcome: [describe]
Use these principles: Show the starting information, goal, and complete sequence.; Explain why each step follows.; Follow the example with a related problem that requires the learner to act..
Preserve source facts, identifiers, quantities, conditions, exceptions, and uncertainty.
Separate supplied facts from assumptions. Ask for missing information instead of inventing it.
Explain your representation choices and provide a review checklist. Do not claim formal compliance or correctness from formatting alone.
Material: [paste only information you are permitted to share]
Download prompt

Go to the source

History and the underlying approach are grounded in these references. Examples, prompts, and practice cases here are original educational adaptations. Edition-specific details should be checked against the referenced publication.

Last editorial review: 2026-10-24. An overview is not certification, and this guide is not a reproduction of a standard.