Self-Explanation Principle
Overview
The self-explanation principle is one of the advanced principles of multimedia learning. To benefit from multimedia learning environments that combine multiple sources of information, students are needed to learn how to make connections between the sources of information, thereby mastering cognitively challenging concepts.[1]
One of the strategies encouraged by Ruth and Michelene[2] is self-explanation. Students make inferences from the learning materials by explaining themselves, identifying misconceptions, and repairing mental models in self-explanation, a productive and generative learning activity.
Evidence
A two-by-two design with self-explanation prompts or no instructional explanations is used in the experiment of Schworm and Renkl [3] (2006) with 47 students from low- and medium-track German schools and 33 from high-track German schools. Self-explanations were created by students by typing, and instructional explanations were provided on demand by clicking a button. Different versions of the program were compared to determine how they affected objective and subjective learning outcomes, perceived helpfulness, and learning time. Self-explanations were assessed as learning process data.
The immediate post-test showed that participants who had to self-explain but were not given instructional explanations performed the best, while those who did neither have to self-explain nor receive instruction explanations performed the worst. Those who received instructional explanations and were prompted to explain themselves did better than those who received no prompts or no explanations but did worse than those who received prompts without explanations[4]. Learning outcomes were positively affected by self-explanation prompts, whereas instructional explanations may reduce student teachers' self-explanation activities. It was therefore more effective to self-explain alone rather than with direct instruction to enhance learning. Therefore, the self-explanation principle is a positively effective principle of multimedia learning.
Design Implications
Challenges and/or Alternative theories
References
- ↑ Mayer, R. E. (Ed.). (2014). "Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning." Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Mayer, R. E. (Ed.). (2014). "Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning." Cambridge University Press.
- ↑ Schworm, S., & Renkl, A. (2006). Computer-supported example-based learning: When instructional explanations reduce self-explanations. Computers & Education , 46 (4), 426– 445.
- ↑ Mayer, R. E. (Ed.). (2014). "Cambridge handbook of multimedia learning." Cambridge University Press.