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Abstract
This study investigated how learner-generated explanations and drawings foster knowledge building during learning by teaching. College students (n = 120) were randomly assigned to teach a lesson on human respiration by explaining, drawing, or explaining and drawing simultaneously on video. A control group of students did not teach and instead restudied the lesson. All students then completed learning outcome measures one week later. Students who explained and drew simultaneously were expected to produce higher quality explanations (compared to the explain-only group) and perform best on the learning outcome measures. Results indicated all teaching groups outperformed the restudy group and the explain-and-draw group outperformed the explain-only group. As predicted, the explain-and-draw group produced more elaborations in their explanations than the explain-only group, and elaborations partially mediated the relationship between teaching method and learning. These findings suggest that learner-generated drawings can be used to support knowledge building in learning by teaching.