Aptitude by treatment interaction

Aptitude by treatment interaction (ATI), which is a general phenomenon in which instructional media, learning environments, teaching methods, teaching styles etcthat have positive effects for one type of person have neutral or even negative effects for another type of person.

Expertise reversal effect
The expertise reversal effect is a specific example of an Aptitude by treatment interaction The primary recommendation that stems from the expertise reversal effect is that instructional methods often need to be adjusted as learners acquire more knowledge in a specific domain. Importantly, expertise reversal effects often occur when instructional methods differ in the amount of guidance provided. For example, Slava Kalyuga, one of the leading researchers in this area, writes, “instructional guidance, which may be essential for novices, may have negative consequences for more experienced learners.” Thus, for low-knowledge learners well-guided instruction often results in better performance than reduced guidance. But, for higher-knowledge learners, the reverse is true, such that reduced guidance often results in better performance than well-guided instruction.