Definitions of related concepts (e.g., "genotype-phenotype") are prevalent in introductory classes. Consequently, it is important that educators and students know which strategy(s) work best for learning them. This study showed that a new comparative elaboration strategy, called differential-associative processing, was better for learning…

The purpose of two experiments was to contrast instructions to generate drawings with two text-focused strategies--main idea selection (Exp. 1) and summarization (Exp. 2)--and to examine whether these strategies could help students learn from a chemistry science text. Both experiments followed a 2 x 2 design, with drawing strategy instructions…

For self-regulated learning to be effective, students need to be able to accurately assess their own performance on a learning task and use this assessment for the selection of a new learning task. Evidence suggests, however, that students have difficulties with accurate self-assessment and task selection, which may explain the poor learning…

The fading of instructional scripts can be regarded as necessary for allowing learners to take over control of their cognitive activities during the acquisition of skills such as argumentation. There is, however, the danger that learners might relapse into novice strategies after script prompts are faded. One possible solution could be monitoring…

The purpose of the experiment was to examine whether students better understand a science text when they are asked to self-generate summaries or to study predefined summaries. Furthermore, we tested the effects of verbal and pictorial summaries. The experiment followed a 2 x 2 design with representation mode (verbal vs. pictorial) and learning…

The acquisition of addition facts was investigated in a practice study. Participants were 103 Grade 1 children who practiced simple addition problems with three different methods: (a) writing down the answer, (b) choosing between two alternative answers, and (c) filling in the second missing addend. On a test with simple addition problems,…

This article discusses the characteristics of the indirect addition strategy (IA) in the domain of multi-digit subtraction. In two studies, adults' use of IA on three-digit subtractions with a small, medium, or large difference between the integers was analysed using the choice/no-choice method. Results from both studies indicate that adults…

The aim of the present study was to investigate the relationships between the three dimensions of transactive memory (coordination, credibility, and specialization) and performance of collaborating students. A total of 113 students, distributed into groups of two or three, participated in the study. They were required to complete a series of…

The present cross-sectional research examined a process underlying the positive association between holding an extended future time perspective (FTP) and learning outcomes through the lens of self-determination theory. High school students and university students (N = 275) participated in the study. It was found that students with an extended FTP…

Learning protocols are a self-guided way of writing that allows for elaboration and reflection on learning content. In an experimental study (N = 103), we supported protocol writing with prompts to elicit important strategies as postulated by a cyclical model of self-regulated learning. Students received either (a) no prompts, (b) cognitive…

Students (N=302) in Chinese elementary schools were assessed regarding their academic delay of gratification (ADOG) and reported the time they devoted to non-school study and playtime during an extended interval prior to taking a high-stakes final exam. Students high compared those low in ADOG were more likely to spend time studying and less time…

Based on current theories of multimedia learning, we propose a strategy for learning from animations. Two different experimental studies were conducted in order to evaluate the strategy. In the first study, 22 sixth graders learned from an animation without the strategy while 21 students were encouraged to make use of the proposed strategy during…

English spelling, as well as in many other languages, consists of three elements: morphology, etymology and phonology. Spelling instruction, however, focuses primarily on phonology and there is a dearth of intervention studies that examine the effect of explicitly teaching all three elements to children. We report two studies, which examined 5- to…

This study investigated the relations between teachers' pedagogical beliefs and students' self-reported engagement in learning from texts with instructional pictures. Participants were the biology, geography, and German teachers of 46 classes (Grades 5-8) and their students. Teachers' instructional behaviors and students' engagement in learning…

According to the modality effect in multimedia, a text accompanying a picture should be auditorily presented instead of visually in order to avoid split of attention. In two experimental studies (34 and 78 participants, respectively), the impact and possible compensatory effects of two aptitude variables, that is, memory strategy skills and…