The Effects of Student-Generated Elaboration during Acquisition of Concepts in Science.

摘要

A lesson in electrochemistry was used in this study of cognitive strategies for acquisition and retention of concepts in science. The most effective strategy for facilitating acquisition consisted of experimenter-supplied, interactive graphic analogies that supplemented verbal description, in comparison to additional verbal explanation. Two explanations for these positive effects would be that these graphic analogies captured the students' attention more effectively, and that they provided an overall structure, by which individual concepts could be interrelated, serving as a type of organizer. Student-supplied elaboration, in the form of paraphrasing, drawing illustrations, or thinking of verbal analogies for verbally described concepts in the lesson, was less effective during initial acquisition than the experimenter-supplied graphic analogies, and no more effective than using the same amount of time to go through the lesson twice. However, drawing illustrations of concepts in the lesson was the most effective of these elaboration strategies for students with little or no prior knowledge of the subject matter.