Anique de Bruin

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Metacognition and cognitive load
The effect of self-explanation when learning to
play chess

• Anique de Bruin
• Erasmus University Rotterdam

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Goal present studies

• Initial framework
• ? Expertise development
• Deliberate practice (Ericsson et al., 1993)
• metacognitive activities crucial for expertise
  development
• Rehearsal and correction of errors

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Metacognitive strategies

• Self-explanations
• Process more deliberately
• Recognizing inconsistencies
• Stimulate integration new information
• ? Enhances accuracy metacognition

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Metacognition in skill acquisition

• To what extent do metacognitive activities foster
  learning in skill domains (chess)?
• non-verbal nature of material
• no explicit information provided
• novices

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Self-explanations in chess

• Three groups (N 15 per group)
• Observation only (O)
• Predict next move (PO)
• Predict and self-explain next move (PSE)

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Procedure

• Three phases
• Basic rules
• Learning phase
• Predict and self-explain
• Prediction only
• Observation
• Test phase play against computer

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Discover chess principles

• Chess rules too little information to play
  endgame
• Chess principles necessary
• King checkmated at the edge of the board
• Rook minimizes space of the King
• What instruction fosters development of
  principled understanding most?

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Results learning phase
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Self-explanations

• Three categories
• Basic chess rules
• Partial explanation of principles
• Complete explanation of principles

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Results self-explanations

• Median split on number of SEs
• High-explainers gt51 (mean95.1)
• Low-explainers lt51 (mean32.4)
• ? Compare differences in SE and chess performance
  between high- and low-explainers

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Chess rule explanations
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Partial principle explanations
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Complete principle explanations
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Results self-explanations

• Test exercises high-expl more checkmate than
  low-expl
• However No difference in time needed to
  self-explain

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Results test phase
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Cognitive load

• From CL perspective surprising
• Despite low prior knowledge, prediction
  self-explanation foster learning ? better
  principled understanding
• What (meta)cognitive mechanisms
• explain SE effect in novices?

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Conclusions I

• More explanation of basic chess rules ? better
  discovery of principles
• Rehearsing basic rules frees up processing
  resources for principle discovery

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Conclusions II

• Verbalization of self-explanations crucial No
  effect in PO condition
• Meaningful self-explanations
• Wording of the SE instruction Explain why the
  computer would make that move
• No re-reads (as in text learning) possible
• Verbalized (partial) discoveries of principles
  receive more activation in WM

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Future research

• Examine covert self-explanation in PO condition
• Test effect SE only
• Manipulate rehearsal of basic chess rules to test
  effect on principle discovery

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Thank you
Questions?