Role of Generated and Provided Visuals in Supporting Learning from Scientific Text

This study explored the role of learner-generated and instructor-provided visuals in learning from scientific text. 134 college students studied a lesson on the human circulatory system and then completed recall and transfer tests. Across two consecutive study periods, students were randomly assigned to either view a provided illustration twice (provided-provided), generate a drawing from the text and then revise their drawing (generated-revised), view a provided illustration and then generate a drawing (provided-generated), or generate a drawing and then view a provided illustration (generated-provided). Results indicated a group by learning outcome interaction: the generated-provided and provided-generated groups performed higher on the transfer test and lower on the recall test compared to the provided-provided group. Furthermore, spatial ability was positively associated with learning outcomes among students who generated drawings but not among students in the provided-provided group. Finally, the relationship between spatial ability and learning outcomes among students who generated drawings was mediated by drawing quality. These findings suggest that provided and generated visuals have unique effects on different learning outcomes, and spatial ability plays an important role in supporting learner-generated visuals.
Source: Contemporary Educational Psychology - Category: Child Development Source Type: research