Learning Science · Examples, guidance and growing independence
Completion tasks and useful prompts
Use partially completed solutions and targeted prompts to practise the decision that currently needs learning.
Use the examples to connect this lesson with the earlier topics. No specialist equipment is needed.
Back to the chapterAfter reading, you can
- Design a completion gap with a clear learning purpose.
- Choose the smallest useful prompt and check independent execution.
A gap can focus the thinking
A completion task provides part of a solution and asks the learner to supply what is missing. Instead of managing every demand at once, a beginner can concentrate on a particular decision or operation. A missing step in an equation solution might target preserving equality; a missing explanation might target why a chosen method applies.
The gap should matter to the learning goal. Removing arbitrary words can create a guessing puzzle. Leaving only routine arithmetic blank may give practice in arithmetic while the difficult strategic choices remain supplied. Decide what the learner should learn to do, then remove the part that requires that thinking.
Prompts can direct attention without giving the answer
A prompt is a cue that helps the learner find a relevant step. "What quantity is the percentage taken of?" directs attention to the whole. "Multiply 80 by 0.15" supplies the operation and values. Both can be useful at different moments, but they provide different evidence about what the learner can choose.
Use a prompt sequence when appropriate: first ask about the goal, then identify a relevant principle, then show a specific step if needed. Do not turn this into a rigid rule to withhold help until frustration occurs. If a prerequisite is absent, explain it. The smallest useful prompt is the one that makes meaningful progress possible for this learner.
For this authored price comparison, the drinks have the same contents and there is no extra fee. The calculation compares equal volumes; a personal purchase can also depend on quantity needed or waste.
| Support | Still required from the learner |
|---|---|
| No hint | Select the comparison unit and calculate |
| How many half-litres make a litre? | Use the unit relationship and calculate |
| Multiply the half-litre price by 2 | Execute the named operation |
| The answer is 6 per litre | Inspect/reconstruct; selection has been supplied |
Check the supplied context too
A learner can fill a blank by imitating nearby notation without understanding the provided steps. Ask them to explain a supplied transition or complete a second example with a different arrangement. Completion success is evidence about the gap under the given support, rather than proof of mastery of the whole problem.
Research on transitions from worked examples proposes gradually integrating problem-solving demands. The practical implication is to manage the size and meaning of gaps, then check what happens as support is removed. Completion tasks are one stage in a learning sequence, not a permanent substitute for selecting and carrying out a complete method.
Worked example
A completion task for a fair comparison
What thinking remains when the half-litre conversion is supplied?
- An invented worksheet shows two drink prices: 3 currency units for 500 millilitres and 5 for 1 litre. It supplies the conversion that 500 millilitres is 0.5 litres, then leaves the first price per litre blank. The learner must calculate 3 ÷ 0.5 = 6 and compare it with 5 per litre.
- If the learner stalls, ask, "How many half-litres make one litre?" This prompt supports the unit relationship without stating the final comparison. Next give different container sizes without the conversion supplied. The new task checks whether the learner can choose a common unit as well as fill the original gap.
The learner still calculates 6 per litre and compares it with 5. A later case without the supplied conversion checks the unit decision too.
Try it yourself
Think through each question before opening the answer.
Why is leaving the final numerical answer blank sometimes too weak a task?
Show the answer and reasoning
All strategic choices may already be supplied.
The blank then tests execution or copying while leaving method selection unpractised.
What evidence does a prompt-supported answer provide?
Show the answer and reasoning
It shows success with that prompt.
Record the support and later test whether the same decision can be made without it.
A learner cannot interpret the units in the problem. Should the next prompt merely become more cryptic?
Show the answer and reasoning
No.
Explain or review the unit relationship, then return to a manageable completion task. Difficulty without a usable entry point is uninformative.
What to carry forward
- Choose gaps that require the intended thinking.
- Record support and check the decision again with less help.
References
Sources supporting the explanations and learning checks in this lesson.