Speak Up and Listen! Understanding Instructional Animations Through Explanations

Abstract

This study investigated learning from an instructional animation when learners are required to construct mental representations from an animation’s functional relations through self-explaining or via instructional explanations (i.e. narration). In addition, it is investigated whether or not these explanations need to be supported by cues that guide learners’ attention. Psychology undergraduates studied a cued or an uncued animation of the cardiovascular system with or without accompanying narration and while self-explaining or not. Subsequently, participants were given retention, inference, and transfer tests. Results showed better learning outcomes with cued than with uncued animations. Furthermore, higher inference scores were observed when narrations accompanied the animation, but no differences were found between the self-explaining and narration conditions on retention and transfer. It is concluded that combining cues with explanations is required for improving learning from animations, irrespective of whether or not the explanations are self-generated.