Learning and transfer: A general role for analogical encoding.

Teaching by examples and cases is widely used to promote learning, but it varies widely in its effectiveness. The authors test an adaptation to case-based learning that facilitates abstracting problem-solving schemas from examples and using them to solve further problems: analogical encoding, or learning by drawing a comparison across examples. In 3 studies, the authors examined schema abstrac-tion and transfer among novices learning negotiation strategies. Experiment 1 showed a benefit for analogical learning relative to no case study. Experiment 2 showed a marked advantage for comparing two cases over studying the 2 cases separately. Experiment 3 showed that increasing the degree of comparison support increased the rate of transfer in a face-to-face dynamic negotiation exercise. Learning Negotiation Contract Schemas by Analogical Encoding The use of examples and specific cases in teaching new con-cepts and problem-solving strategies is a mainstay of educational methodology. Examples are important in all levels of instruction, from elementary to advanced education. For example, in case-based instruction, a method widely used in business, law, and medicine, the principles of a domain are taught through discus-sions of rich concrete examples that embody key points. The idea is that people can readily learn specific examples, which then can serve as models or analogies for future situations (e.g., Dunbar,