Campbell Bego

Background In exploratory learning, students first explore a new topic with an activity and then receive instruction. This inversion of the traditional tell‐then‐practice order typically benefits conceptual knowledge and transfer, but not always. Aims The current work examines the impact of including contrasting cases in an exploration activity, which can enhance student perception of novel problem features. Samples Undergraduate physics students (Experiment 1, N = 129; Experiment 2, N = 92) participated as part of their regular classroom instruction. Methods Students completed an activity either before or after instruction (explore‐first or instruct‐first conditions). In Experiment 1, the activity included contrasting cases; in Experiment 2, the activity instead included a rich dataset. Students completed a post‐test assessing procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge and transfer. Results In Experiment 1, students in the explore‐first condition demonstrated similar procedural knowledge, higher conceptual knowledge and higher transfer than students in the instruct‐first condition. In Experiment 2, there were no significant differences in learning outcomes between explore‐first and instruct‐first conditions. In both experiments, students in the explore‐first and instruct‐first conditions reported similar cognitive load and interest and enjoyment after the activity. Conclusions Contrasting cases may be important when designing exploratory learning activities, helping to improve both conceptual understanding and transfer to new topics.