Skip to main content Accessibility help
×
Hostname: page-component-78c5997874-fbnjt Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-09T19:54:30.419Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

17 - The Self-Explanation Principle in Multimedia Learning

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

Marguerite Roy
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Michelene T. H. Chi
Affiliation:
University of Pittsburgh
Richard Mayer
Affiliation:
University of California, Santa Barbara
Get access

Summary

Abstract

Learning in multimedia environments is hard because it requires learners to actively comprehend and integrate information across diverse sources and modalities. Self-explanation is an effective learning strategy that helps learners develop deep understanding of complex phenomena and could be used to support learning from multimedia. Researchers have established the benefits of self-explaining across many domains for a range of ages and learning contexts (including multimedia situations). This research demonstrates that some learners are natural self-explainers and also indicates that learners can be trained to self-explain. However, even when trained, there remain large individual differences in effective self-explaining. Additional support, which may be afforded by multimedia environments, appears to be needed for engaging some learners in this activity. This chapter reviews related literature and explores the relationship between multimedia learning and self-explaining.

Introduction

Multimedia learning environments have the potential to substantially improve student learning compared to single media (Mayer & Moreno, 2002; Najjar, 1996). Controlled studies that compare multimedia (e.g, combinations of text and illustrations or narration and animation) with single media resources have found that students learn better from a combination of media, provided that the materials are well-designed (Goldman, 2003; Mayer, 1993; Mayer & Anderson, 1991; Mayer & Gallini, 1990; Mayer, Heiser, & Lonn, 2001).

Type
Chapter
Information
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2005

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Ainsworth, S. (1999). The function of multiple representations. Computers and Education, 33, 131–152CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ainsworth, S., Bibby, P., & Wood, D. (2002). Examining the effects of different multiple representational systems in learning primary mathematics. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 11, 25–61CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Ainsworth, S., & Loizou, A. (2003). The effects of self-explaining when learning with text or diagrams. Cognitive Science, 27, 669–681CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aleven, V., & Koedinger, K. (2002). An effective metacognitive strategy: Learning by doing and explaining with a computer-based cognitive tutor. Cognitive Science, 26, 147–179CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bielaczyc, K., Pirolli, P. L., & Brown, A. L. (1995). Training in self-explanation and self-regulation strategies: Investigating the effects of knowledge acquisition activities on problem solving. Cognition and Instruction, 13, 221–252CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Brna, P., Cox, R., & Good, J. (2001). Learning to think and communicate with diagrams: 14 questions to consider. Artificial Intelligence Review, 15, 115–134CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chandler, P., & Sweller, J. (1991). Cognitive load theory and the format of instruction. Cognition and Instruction, 8, 293–332CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chi, M. T. H. (2000). Self-explaining expository texts: The dual processes of generating inferences and repairing mental models. In Glaser, R. (Ed.), Advances in instructional psychology (pp. 161–238). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erbaum AssociatesGoogle Scholar
Chi, M. T. H., & Bassok, M. (1989). Learning from examples via self-explanations. In Resnick, L. B. (Ed.), Knowing, learning, and instruction: Essays in honor of Robert Glaser (pp. 251–282). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesGoogle Scholar
Chi, M. T. H., Bassok, M., Lewis, M., Reimann, P., & Glaser, R. (1989). Self-explanations: How students study and use examples in learning to solve problems. Cognitive Science, 13, 145–182CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chi, M. T. H., Leeuw, N., Chiu, M. H., & Lavancher, C. (1994). Eliciting self-expla-nations improves understanding. Cognitive Science, 18, 439–477Google Scholar
Chung, S., Severance, C., & Chung, M. (2003). Design of support tools for knowledge building in a virtual university course. Interactive Learning Environments, 11(10), 41–57CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conati, C., & Lehn, K. (2000). Toward computer-based support of metacognitive skills: A computational framework to coach self-explanation. International Journal of Artificial Intelligence in Education, 11, 389–415Google Scholar
Cox, R. (1999). Representation constructing, externalized cognition and individual differences. Learning and Instruction, 9, 343–363CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Crowder, E. M. (1996). Gestures at work in sense-making: Science talk. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 5, 173–208CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Fergusson-Hessler, M., & Jong, T. (1990). Studying physics texts: Differences in study processes between good and poor performers. Cognition and Instruction, 7, 41–54CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Glenberg, A., & Langston, W. E. (1992). Comprehension of illustrated text: Pictures help to build mental models. Journal of Memory and Language, 31, 129–151CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goldman, S. R. (2003). Learning in complex domains: When and why do multiple representations help?Learning and Instruction, 13, 239–244CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Guri-Rozenblit, S. (1989). Effects of tree diagrams on students' comprehension of main ideas in multi-thematic expository text. Reading Research Quarterly, 24, 236–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hausmann, R. G. M., & Chi, M. T. H. (2002). Can a computer interface support self-explaining?International Journal of Cognitive Technology, 7, 4–14Google Scholar
Hegarty, M., & Just, M. A. (1993). Constructing mental models of machines from text and diagrams. Journal of Memory and Language, 32, 717–742CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Koschmann, T., & LeBaron, C. (2002). Learner articulation as interactional achievement: Studying the conversation of gesture. Cognition and Instruction, 20, 249–282CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kozma, R. B. (1994). Will media influence learning? Reframing the debate. Educational Technology Research and Development, 42, 7–19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (1993). Illustrations that instruct. In Glaser, R. (Ed.), Advances in instructional psychology (Vol. 4), (pp. 253–284). Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum AssociatesGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (1997). Multimedia learning: Are we asking the right questions?Educational Psychologist, 32, 1–19CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E. (2003). The promise of multimedia learning: Using the same instructional design methods across different media. Learning and Instruction, 13, 125–139CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Anderson, R. B. (1991). Animations need narration: An experimental test of a dual-coding hypothesis. Journal of Educational Psychology, 83, 484–490CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., Dow, G. T., & Mayer, S. (2003). Multimedia leaning in an interactive self-explaining environment: What works in the design of agent-based microworlds?Journal of Educational Psychology, 95, 806–813CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Gallini, J. K. (1990). When is an illustration worth ten thousand words?Journal of Educational Psychology, 82, 715–726CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., Heiser, J., & Lonn, S. (2001). Cognitive constraints on multimedia learning: When presenting more material results in less understanding. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 187–198CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mayer, R. E., & Moreno, R. (2002). Aids to computer-based multimedia leaning. Learning and Instruction, 12, 107–119CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McNamara, D. S. (in press). SERT: Self-explanation reading training. Discourse ProcessesGoogle Scholar
Mwangi, W., & Sweller, J. (1998). Learning to solve compare word problems: The effect of example format and generating self-explanations. Cognition and Instruction, 16, 173–199CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Najjar, L. J. (1996). Multimedia information and learning. Journal of Educational Multimedia and Hypermedia, 5, 129–150Google Scholar
Neuman, Y., Leibowitz, L., & Schwarz, B. (2000). Patterns of verbal mediation during problem solving: A sequential analysis of self-explanation. Journal of Experimental Education, 68, 197–213CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Neuman, Y., & Schwarz, B. (2000). Substituting one mystery for another: The role of self-explanations in solving algebra word-problems. Learning and Instruction, 10, 203–220CrossRefGoogle Scholar
O'Reilly, T., Symons, S., & MacLatchy-Gaudet, H. (1998). A comparison of self-explanation and elaborative interrogation. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23, 434–445CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Palinscar, A. S., & Brown, A. L. (1984). Reciprocal teaching of comprehension-fostering and monitoring activities. Cognition and Instruction, 1, 117–175CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Pirolli, P., & Recker, M. M. (1994). Learning strategies and transfer in the domain of programming. Cognition and Instruction, 12, 235–275CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Recker, M. M., & Pirolli, P. (1995). Modeling individual differences in students' learning strategies. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 4, 1–38CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Reinking, D., Hayes, D. A., & McEneaney, J. E. (1988). Good and poor readers use of explicitly cued graphic aids. Journal of Reading Behavior, 20, 229–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renkl, A. (1997). Learning from worked-out examples: A study on individual differences. Cognitive Science, 21, 1–29CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Renkl, A., Stark, R., Gruber, H., & Mandl, H. (1998). Learning from worked-out examples: The effects of example variability and elicited self-explanations. Contemporary Educational Psychology, 23, 90–108CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roscoe, R. D., & Chi, M. T. H. (2003). Learning from self-directed and other-directed explaining. Paper presented at the 84th Annual Meeting of the American Education Research Association, Chicago, IL
Scevak, J. J., Moore, P. J., & Kirby, J. R. (1993). Training students to use maps to increase text recall. Contemporary Eductional Psychology, 18, 401–413CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Schnotz, W., & Bannert, M. (2003). Construction and interference in learning from multiple representation. Learning and Instruction, 13, 141–156CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Siegler, R. S. (2002). Microgenetic studies of self-explanation. In Granott, N. & Parziale, J. (Eds.), Microdevelopment: Transition processes in development and learning (pp. 31–58). New York: Cambridge University PressCrossRefGoogle Scholar
Teasley, S. D. (1995). The role of talk in children's peer collaborations. Developmental Psychology, 31, 207–220CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Meter, P. (2001). Drawing construction as a strategy for learning from text. Journal of Educational Psychology, 93, 129–140CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Winn, W. (1991). Learning from maps and diagrams. Educational Psychology Review, 3, 211–247CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wong, R. M. F., Lawson, M. J., & Keeves, J. (2002). The effects of self-explanation training on students' problem solving in high school mathematics. Learning and Instruction, 12, 233–262CrossRefGoogle Scholar

Save book to Kindle

To save this book to your Kindle, first ensure [email protected] is added to your Approved Personal Document E-mail List under your Personal Document Settings on the Manage Your Content and Devices page of your Amazon account. Then enter the ‘name’ part of your Kindle email address below. Find out more about saving to your Kindle.

Note you can select to save to either the @free.kindle.com or @kindle.com variations. ‘@free.kindle.com’ emails are free but can only be saved to your device when it is connected to wi-fi. ‘@kindle.com’ emails can be delivered even when you are not connected to wi-fi, but note that service fees apply.

Find out more about the Kindle Personal Document Service.

Available formats
×

Save book to Dropbox

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Dropbox.

Available formats
×

Save book to Google Drive

To save content items to your account, please confirm that you agree to abide by our usage policies. If this is the first time you use this feature, you will be asked to authorise Cambridge Core to connect with your account. Find out more about saving content to Google Drive.

Available formats
×