When imagining information is effective
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文摘
This paper investigates interactions between levels of prior knowledge, the complexity of teaching material, and levels of learning from imagination versus conventional study strategies. In the first experiment, we hypothesised that low prior knowledge levels, combined with complex material, would favour students who studied worked examples over those who imagined them. This hypothesis was reversed in the second and third studies, where we predicted that adequate prior knowledge and less complex materials would support higher levels of learning when imagining rather than studying. These hypotheses were supported in each study. The results have broad applications for effective sequencing of these instructional strategies, but development of an accurate metric for mental practice “readiness” is required to advance theory and practice.