Subgoal labeled expository instructions and worked examples
have been shown to positively impact student learning and
performance in computer science education. This study
examined whether problem solving performance differed
based on the order of expository instructions and worked
examples and the presence of subgoal labels within the
instructions for creating applications (Apps) for phones.
Participants were 132 undergraduates. A significant
interaction showed that when learners were presented with
the worked example followed by the expository instructions
containing subgoal labels, the learner was better at outlining
the procedure for creating an application. However, the
manipulations did not affect novel problem solving
performance or explanations of solutions,. These results
suggest that some limited benefit can be gained from
presenting a worked example before expository instructions
when subgoal labels are included.