The Role of Elaborations in Learning a Skill from an Instructional Text.
Abstract
This paper examines the role of elaborations in learning a skill from an instructional text. Two sources of elaborations are compared: those provided by th author and those generated by the learners while reading. In two studies, we tested the effectiveness of author-elaborated and unelaborated versions of a manual in terms of how well they helped subjects acquire and perform a cognitive skill (learning to use a personal computer). In addition to manipulating the availability of author-generated elaborations, we also manipulated how effectively subjects could generate elaborations. Some subjects were given advance information about the tasks they would have to perform so that they would generate more specific, task-related elaborations while reading. Elaborations facilitated performance, regardless of whether they were author- or reader-generated. One source was sufficient, however; author-provided elaborations helped only when subjects had no advance information about the tasks. Indeed, subjects with both sources of elaborations performed worse on skill-performance tasks than subjects with only one. We explain this performance deficit in terms of ineffective strategies for coping with an increased cognitive load within a limited study time. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Aug 01, 1984
- Accession Number
- ADA145797
Entities
People
- D. H. Charney
- K. I. Morgan
- L. M. Reder
Organizations
- Carnegie Mellon University