Drawing construction as a strategy for learning from text.

Abstract

Classroom use of student-generated drawings has been encouraged for a number of purposes (e.g., R. Hubbard & K. Ernst, 1996). The present study examined the use of drawing as a learning strategy for 5thand 6th-grade students reading science text. Three experimental drawing conditions and a reading control tested the hypothesis that drawing is effective only when students are supported during the construction process. Drawing (draw) participants constructed drawings only, whereas illustration comparison participants compared drawings with a provided illustration. Prompted illustration comparison (PIC) participants answered prompting questions to guide this comparison process. Dependent measures included a free-recall and recognition posttest, drawing accuracy, on-line self-monitoring behaviors, and time on task. PIC participants constructed the most accurate drawings and also scored significantly higher on the free-recall posttest. No differences were found on recognition posttest items. Although all drawing conditions spent significantly more time on task, these participants also engaged in significantly more self-monitoring events than did reading control participants. PIC participants also engaged in more events than did draw participants. Revision

The Promise and Practice of Learner-Generated Drawing: Literature Review and Synthesis

“…Conversely, fourth grade drawing participants did not score higher relative to nondrawing control participants regardless of the level of support. Although the performance of the fourth grade participants warrants further investigation, on balance, the findings from both Van Meter studies (Van Meter, 2001;Van Meter et al, in press) support the hypothesis that providing support increases the effectiveness of learning-generated drawing.…”

“…An experimental test of these competing hypotheses is found in a study by Van Meter (2001). In this study, fifth and sixth grade participants read to learn about the central nervous system.…”

“…The positive correlations between drawing accuracy and performance are found when constructed drawings serve as either a memory aid (e.g., Butler et al, 1995) or a study strategy (e.g., Lesgold et al, 1975;Van Meter, 2001). Greene (1989), for example, demonstrated that participants performed better on posttests when drawings accurately depicted text Greene (1989) permitted participants to use the drawn representation at the time of the posttest, these positive correlations are not surprising.…”

“…As such, learner-generated drawing is similar to other strategies such as summarization, self-questioning, or prior knowledge activation. As a strategic process, the behavior of producing a drawn, external representation is believed to direct underlying cognitive processes responsible for task performance (Van Meter, 2001). Because these internal processes play a critical role in both the definition of drawing and the literature reviewed in this article, these processes are outlined briefly in the following paragraphs.…”

“…The empirical literature is clear, however. Lesgold et al (1975Lesgold et al ( , 1977 and Van Meter (2001) demonstrate the importance of drawing accuracy when designing classroom implementations that use drawing as a comprehension or learning strategy.…”