My worked example project was designed to give my learners a lesson on how to choose the proper amount of paint to buy. Essentially, I have designed this lesson to go along with my Art and Design 101 Series. Specifically, this lesson will teach the learners how to determine how much paint they will need when painting a room. In this worked example, I am using the segmenting principle to break my larger series into bite-size segments such as this one on how much paint to buy. Because this design series goes over many different aspects of art and design, it should be broken up into different small segments. Researchers Clark and Mayer state, “you can help the learner manage the complexity by breaking the lesson into manageable segments- parts that convey just one or two or three steps in the process or procedure or describe just one or two or three major relations among the elements,” (Clark & Mayer, 2008, p. 209). In other words, this particular lesson conveys just one aspect of art and design and the steps it takes from the larger unit.
In my lesson on how much paint to buy, I provide a worked example on how to determine the answer to this question. In short, this can be determined by simple mathematical equations. Therefore, I chose to focus, “on relatively straight forward tasks that illustrated the steps to solve a well-structured mathematical problem,” (Clark & Mayer, 2008, p. 226). In fact, I show the learners how to determine how much paint they will need using the square footage of the room. Furthermore, this is made more accurate by subtracting the square feet of the windows and doors. This worked example will be beneficial to the learners because research has shown that learning is more efficient with a greater initial reliance on worked examples when learners are first learning how to do something (Clark & Mayer, 2008, p. 227). Overall, I believe this lesson will help my learners retain important information.
Clark, R. C., & Mayer, R. E. (2008). E-Learning and the science of instruction: Proven guidelines for consumers and designers of multimedia learning. San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass/Pfeiffer.