Self-explanation substantially increases time on task, raising questions about its efficiency¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study · review r3 · q2
Currency · newest study 2013 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person

Subclaims¶

q2 i? Self-paced self-explanation studies reported 30–100% increases in learning time relative to other conditions, and results when time on task is equated are mixed. → Dunlosky 2013

Evidence¶

Dunlosky 2013¶

Dunlosky, J., Rawson, K. A., Marsh, E. J., Nathan, M. J., & Willingham, D. T. (2013). Improving Students' Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological Science in the Public Interest, 14(1), 4–58. https://doi.org/10.1177/1529100612453266

q2 · i? · review · r3

The monograph's implementation-issues review of time-on-task evidence across self-explanation studies. It reports 30–100% time increases, notes Chi et al. (1994) doubled study time (125 vs. 66 minutes), and states that when time was equated, results were somewhat mixed.

"self-paced administration usu- ally yielded nontrivial increases (30–100%) in the amount of time spent learning in the self-explanation condition relative to other conditions"

Discussion¶

Learner Variables¶

• Time and Continuity — outcome: instruction changes it

Related Claims¶

• Self-explanation beats unguided studying for equal time, but instructional explanations, problem solving and retrieval practice can be equally or more effective — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Prompting learners to self-explain improves understanding and problem solving on immediate tests by a moderate average amount, with little evidence yet on delayed or classroom gains. — the general claim this finding bears on, with the studies behind it

• Prompting learners to self-explain, one generative strategy, improves learning by a moderate average amount; other generative activities are not tested by the evidence recorded here — related
• Active processing of instructional explanation prompts increase coverage of main content items — related
• Letting learners pace instruction helped on complex material in one experiment, while learner control in general showed almost no effect across 18 studies — related
• Learner control substantially increases time-on-task in animated multimedia instruction — related