LEARNING BY EXPLAINING - WHAT IF QUESTION S WERE ASKED

This study investigated to what extent <<what-if>>-questions to person s who learned by explaining affected motivation and learning gains. To this end, two groups, each consisting of 22 students of education, le arned probability calculation from worked-out examples under two exper imental conditions. In the control group, the learners explained probl em solutions to a dummy who was passive and did not ask any questions. In the experimental group, in contrast, the dummy asked semi-standard ized questions. The time-on-task was kept constant for both groups. Th e questions did not have a main effect on learnig gains and motivation (anxiety, intrinsic motivation). However, an aptitude-treatment inter action was found. <<What-if>>-questions fostered the success of learne rs with low intrinsic motivation. Furthermore, correct answers to thes e questions were associated with high learning gains.