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Related Experiment Video

Updated: Nov 30, 2025

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Problem-Solving Before Instruction PS-I: A Protocol for Assessment and Intervention in Students with Different Abilities

Published on: September 11, 2021

Exploring why we learn from productive failure: insights from the cognitive and learning sciences.

Naomi Steenhof^1,2,3, Nicole N Woods^4,5,6, Maria Mylopoulos^4,5,6

¹Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy, University of Toronto, 144 College Street, Toronto, ON, M5S 3M2, Canada. naomi.steenhof@utoronto.ca.

Advances in Health Sciences Education : Theory and Practice

|November 12, 2020

Summary

Generating solutions before instruction, known as productive failure, significantly enhances learning and preparation for future knowledge acquisition in health professions students. This approach is more effective than learning from others' mistakes.

Keywords:

Adaptive expertise Desirable difficulties Instructional design Pharmacy education Preparation for future learning Productive failure

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Area of Science:

Health Professions Education
Cognitive Science in Learning

Background:

Advances in Health Sciences Education (AHSE) has pioneered cognitive research in health professions education.
Productive failure, a teaching strategy, involves learners attempting problem-solving before formal instruction.

Purpose of the Study:

To compare the effectiveness of productive failure against indirect failure.
To further characterize the cognitive mechanisms underlying productive failure.

Main Methods:

42 first-year pharmacy students were randomized into productive failure or indirect failure groups.
Participants estimated renal function using serum creatinine, either generating a solution or analyzing incorrect ones.
Assessments measured acquisition, application, and preparation for future learning (PFL) immediately and after a 1-week delay.

Main Results:

Students in the productive failure group showed superior performance on immediate and delayed PFL assessments.
This indicates that active generation of solutions enhances learning outcomes.

Conclusions:

Personal struggle and failure, through active generation, deepen conceptual understanding.
Generating solutions prior to instruction is more effective for novice learners' preparation for future learning than analyzing others' errors.