The Effect of Imagination and Learner-Generated Drawing in Comprehending a Science Text

• In Event: 26.081 - Poster Session 3
  In Poster Session: 26.081-2 - Creating Science and Literacy Connections

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to investigate the effects of two instructional strategies—imagination and learner-generated drawing— on comprehension, learning time, mental effort, and eye movements in studying a science text, and whether the effects of these two strategies differed between low-prior-knowledge learners and high-prior-knowledge learners. A total of 63 undergraduate students were randomly assigned to one of the three conditions: learner-generated drawing condition, imagination condition, and the reading condition (control condition). The results revealed that low-prior-knowledge learners had better comprehension when they were instructed to generate drawings. Also, learners in the imagination condition spent significantly longer time reading the text after imagination. These results are discussed within the cognitive load theory framework.

Authors

• Lijia Lin, East China Normal University

• Chee Ha Lee, University of New South Wales

• Slava Kalyuga, University of New South Wales