Non Example Examples: 10 Evidence-Based Coaching Practices
Describe almost anything you are working through and IX Coach finds the practices whose real-world fit is closest. For Non Example Examples, these are the strongest matches in the current practice library.
About 2 minutes
Try it here: write an example and a non-example
Pick an idea you are learning. Write one example of it and one non-example, and say why the non-example does not fit.
Write an example and a non-example of one idea, and say why they differ.
Practices that may help
- Label what each example is an example of
Explicitly tag every example with the concept it illustrates to prevent "inert knowledge."
Concrete Examples: How to Make Abstract Ideas Stick - Use multiple varied examples to map the concept’s true shape
Three different examples reveal what one example hides — the edges of the concept.
Concrete Examples: How to Make Abstract Ideas Stick - The Worked Examples Effect: Learn Faster by Studying Solutions First
The worked examples effect is a well-replicated finding in instructional science: novice learners acquire skills faster and more deeply when they study fully solved examples before attempting independent problem-solving. The mechanism is cognitive load — unsupported problem-solving by novices consumes working memory on search rather than on understanding, so little schema formation occurs. Worked examples redirect that capacity toward learning. - Check whether you’ve moved past the novice stage before continuing with examples
Periodically test whether you can solve problems from scratch — if you can, examples are now slowing you down.
The Worked Examples Effect: Learn Faster by Studying Solutions First - Concrete Examples: How to Make Abstract Ideas Stick
Concrete examples anchor abstract concepts to real, retrievable memory traces, dramatically improving comprehension and recall. The learning-science evidence for example-based encoding is strong — the challenge is using varied, high-quality examples rather than relying on one familiar case that misleads more than it teaches. - Compare two examples side-by-side to extract the underlying principle
Place two worked examples next to each other and find exactly what is the same, structurally, beneath the surface differences.
The Worked Examples Effect: Learn Faster by Studying Solutions First - Use non-examples to sharpen concept boundaries
Study what a concept is not — cases that almost fit — to prevent over-generalization.
Concrete Examples: How to Make Abstract Ideas Stick - Fade gradually from full examples toward independent problem-solving
Transition from full examples to partial completions to independent problems as competence grows, rather than switching abruptly.
The Worked Examples Effect: Learn Faster by Studying Solutions First - Study multiple varied examples of the same principle before generalizing
Comparing examples that share a deep principle but differ on surface features builds transferable knowledge faster than repetition of similar examples.
The Worked Examples Effect: Learn Faster by Studying Solutions First - Generate your own examples for every concept
For each concept, produce your own real-life example before the text shows you one.
The Generation Effect: Why Making It Yourself Makes It Stick
Does this sound like the set of challenges you might be facing?
- I collect great examples and remember the stories, but in the moment I actually need the idea, none of them come to mind
- I learn something from one example and feel sure I understand it, then the moment it shows up looking even slightly different I don’t recognize it
- I’ve been comfortably reading through examples for a while and it feels productive, but I’m starting to wonder if I’m past needing them and just hiding in the easy part
- I sense two of these examples are really doing the same thing underneath, but I can’t quite put my finger on what
- I keep calling things by this concept that turn out not to be it at all
Related concerns
- Non Example
Explicitly tag every example with the concept it illustrates to prevent "inert knowledge."
Label what each example is an example of
- Examples And Nonexamples
Three different examples reveal what one example hides — the edges of the concept.
Use multiple varied examples to map the concept’s true shape
- Example And Non Example
Three different examples reveal what one example hides — the edges of the concept.
- Example Non Example
Three different examples reveal what one example hides — the edges of the concept.
- Example Of A Non Example
Study what a concept is not — cases that almost fit — to prevent over-generalization.
Use non-examples to sharpen concept boundaries
- Examples Of Non Examples
Study what a concept is not — cases that almost fit — to prevent over-generalization.
Describe your situation in your own words to search the complete practice library.