Examples first

This article is about a technique used in exposition; specifically, it is a learning technique that is used by explainers via embedding into their expositions, such as in-class explainer exposition, text exposition, or video exposition.
View list of exposition techniques | View summary table of learning techniques

Definition

Examples first is a (controversial) pedagogical principle that states that a discussion of a few relevant examples should precede the formal definition (and perhaps in some cases the formal definition is not needed at all). This is in contrast with the more common pedagogical approach of define then discuss, that starts with a definition, and then examples are presented or discussed to reinforce or clarify the definition.

See also

• Transfer of learning research suggests that learning transfers better from abstract ideas to concrete examples than the other way around; this finding is in tension with "examples first".
• Examples in mathematics
• Worked-example effect

External links

• My favourite pedagogical principle: examples first! by Tim Gowers
• Abstraction, intuition, and the “monad tutorial fallacy” by Brent Yorgey