Abstract
Cognitive load theory’s incorporation of evolutionary perspectives has generated several instructional designs based on movement, including the tracing effect, occurring when learners benefit from explicit instructions to trace out specific elements of lesson materials with the index finger. Historical descriptions of children’s tracing behaviours while learning with Montessori’s “sandpaper letters” suggest some children would sequence their own learning with sandpaper letters by first tracing the lesson materials with eyes open, then with eyes closed. This description resonates with another cognitive load theory effect — the imagination effect — whereby students with sufficient prior knowledge benefit from imagining rather than studying lesson materials. Across two experiments, we replicated and extended the tracing effect by comparing a no-tracing control condition and a tracing condition to a condition where students traced elements of worked examples initially with eyes open, then with eyes closed. The majority of hypotheses were confirmed via effects on self-reported intrinsic motivation, cognitive load, and/or problem-solving test performance. We conclude with considerations for instructional designers, educators, and researchers.
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Wang, B., Ginns, P. & Mockler, N. Sequencing Tracing with Imagination. Educ Psychol Rev 34, 421–449 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09625-6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10648-021-09625-6