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Abstract This study explored how different formats of instructional visuals affect the accuracy of students' metacognitive judgments. Undergraduates (n = 133) studied a series of five biology texts and made judgments of learning. Students were assigned randomly to study the texts only (text only), study the texts with provided visuals (provided visuals group), study the texts and generate their own visuals (learner‐generated visuals group), or study the texts and observe animations of instructor‐generated visuals (instructor‐generated visuals group). After studying the texts and making judgments of learning, all students completed multiple‐choice comprehension tests on each text. The learner‐generated and instructor‐generated visuals groups exhibited significantly higher relative judgment accuracy than the text only and provided visuals groups, though this effect was relatively small. The learner‐generated visuals group also required more study time and was more likely to report the use of visual cues when making their judgments of learning.
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Fostering knowledge building in learning by teaching: A test of the drawing‐facilitates‐explaining hypothesis
Abstract Undergraduates (n = 132) learned about the human respiratory system and then taught what they learned by explaining aloud on video. Following a 2 × 2 design, students either generated their own words or visuals on paper while explaining aloud, or they viewed instructor‐provided words or visuals while explaining aloud. One week after teaching, students completed explanation, drawing, and transfer tests. Teaching with provided or generated visualizations resulted in significantly higher transfer test performance than teaching with provided or generated words. Furthermore, teaching with provided visuals led to significantly higher drawing test performance than teaching with generated visuals. Finally, the number of elaborations in students' explanations during teaching did not significantly differ across groups but was significantly associated with subsequent explanation and transfer test performance. Overall, the findings partially support the hypothesis that visuals facilitate learning by explaining, yet the benefits appeared stronger for instructor‐provided visuals than learner‐generated drawings.
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- Award ID(s):
- 2055117
- PAR ID:
- 10442033
- Publisher / Repository:
- Wiley Blackwell (John Wiley & Sons)
- Date Published:
- Journal Name:
- Applied Cognitive Psychology
- Volume:
- 37
- Issue:
- 5
- ISSN:
- 0888-4080
- Page Range / eLocation ID:
- p. 1124-1138
- Format(s):
- Medium: X
- Sponsoring Org:
- National Science Foundation
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