Elaboration and Elaborative Interrogation

OVERVIEW

Elaboration involves making connections between new information and related information retrieved from prior learning

• used as a cognitive learning strategy to improve the storage and retrieval of new information

Elaborative interrogation (EI) is a questioning technique that requires learners to process information by asking “why?” questions

• An example of an elaborative learning strategy
• The evidence base for Elaborative Interrogation is described by Dunlosky et al (2013)

RATIONALE

Elaboration

• new information undergoes multistage cognitive processing in different memory stores, first passing through sensory channels, then entering working memory before becoming part of long-term memory
• decreases cognitive load by using schemas from long-term memory
• improves retention by incorporating new information into schemas in long-term memory
• generates more cues for ease of information retrieval
• leads to the development of more sophisticated metal models (schema) for the understanding of new information and application of knowledge and skills

Elaborative interrogation

• questions are used to prompt learners to generate explanations for explicitly stated facts
  • e.g. “why?”
  • e.g. “Why is this true?”
  • e.g. “Why does this make sense?”
  • e.g. “Why is is this true of X, but not true of Y?”

HOW TO USE EFFECTIVELY

Elaboration is more effective when the memories being encoded are “rich” and “distinctive”

• “Richness” is the number of interconnections between new information and related prior knowledge
  • e.g. ask: “how many different ways does this new information relate to your prior experience?”
• “Distinctive” encoding occurs when there the differences among the items of new information is actively processed
  • e.g. ask: “how do the different components of this new information fit together?”

Elaborative interrogation is more effective when:

• used for associative memory learning
• involves processing of similarities and differences
• elaborations are precise rather than imprecise
• prior knowledge is greater
• elaborations are self-generated rather than provided

ADVANTAGES

Elaborative interrogation can be used effectively for:

• incidental or intentional learning instructions
• individual learning, but benefits have also been shown for dyads and small groups
• different kinds of learners (e.g. evidence from upper elementary school through to undergraduates)
• a wide range of content domains (e.g. evidence from physiology, neuropsychology and various fields of science)
• associative memory tasks (most studies involve discrete factual statements)
  • cued recall (e.g. Which fact is true?)
  • matching (e.g. match facts on two lists that correspond)
  • fact recognition

Elaborative interrogation may have learning benefits for:

• generative tasks (e.g. free recall; the evidence is less consistent)
• comprehension and the application of factual information (mixed evidence)
• durable learning (however most studies have short-term outcomes, positive studies up to 180 days may have been contaminated by practice during previous tests)

Elaborative learning strategies are easy to implement

• Elaborative interrogation adds little time to study (about 15% longer in one study)
• Requires little or no training
• Can be self-performed

LIMITATIONS

Controversies remain:

• How important to the effectiveness of elaborative learning are:
  • prior knowledge?
  • the nature of the elaborative strategy? (self-generated versus teacher/author-generated?)
  • the nature of the material (e.g. text coherence, authenticity)
  • the quality of the elaboration? (e.g. precision, plausibility, and accuracy)
• How useful are elaborative strategies for:
  • more complex learning? (e.g. problem-solving in real world environments)
  • post-graduates and workplace learning?

It is unclear if Elaborative Interrogation is useful for:

• free recall
• comprehension
• learning from lengthier texts, rather than fact lists and shorter texts ( does effect may lesson if questions are asked infrequently)
• durable, sustained learning

Most studies are laboratory-based, limiting real world applicability

CONCLUSION

Elaborative learning strategies are considered among the more powerful learning strategies and should be used by learners

• Elaborative interrogation is a useful technique, described by Dunlosky et al (2013) as having ‘moderate utility’
• Easy to implement with few downsides
• concerns remain about applicability to more complex learning tasks (e.g. lengthier texts, problem-solving and devloping comprehension)

References and Links

Journal articles

• Wiesbauer F. Teaching Masterclass: The Psychology of Learning. Medmastery
• Dunlosky J, Rawson KA, Marsh EJ, Nathan MJ, Willingham DT. Improving Students’ Learning With Effective Learning Techniques: Promising Directions From Cognitive and Educational Psychology. Psychological science in the public interest : a journal of the American Psychological Society. 14(1):4-58. 2013. [pubmed]