Learning from errors versus explicit instruction in preparation for a test that counts.

Background: Although the generation of errors has been thought, traditionally, to impair learning, recent studies indicate that, under particular feedback conditions, the commission of errors may have a beneficial effect.

Aims: This study investigates the teaching strategies that facilitate learning from errors.

Materials And Methods: This 2-year study, involving two cohorts of ~88 students each, contrasted a learning-from-errors (LFE) with an explicit instruction (EI) teaching strategy in a multi-session implementation directed at improving student performance on the high-stakes New York State Algebra 1 Regents examination.