How is Abstract, Generative Knowledge Acquired? A Comparison of Three Learning Scenarios

Several theories of learning have been proposed to account for the acquisition of abstract, generative knowledge including schema theory, analogical learning and implicit learning. However, past research has not compared these three theories directly. In the present studies we instantiated each theory as a learning scenario (i.e., direct instruction, analogy training and implicit training) and then tested all three training groups on a common problem. Results show that the analogy training groups and one of the direct instruction groups performed significantly better than the other groups on problem solving performance. The findings are interpreted in terms of opportunity to practice generating a response of the relevant