The Impact of Prior Knowledge in Narrative-Based Learning on Understanding Biological Concepts in Higher Education
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Author / Producer
Date
2022
Publication Type
Conference Paper
ETH Bibliography
yes
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Abstract
Fundamental concepts in biology are often challenging to understand. More strikingly, studies also report incorrect or incomplete understanding of such concepts for undergraduate natural science students even after instruction. Recent research suggests that embedding conceptual information in a narrative could support students’ learning process and facilitate conceptual change. Therefore, we designed learning materials covering complex concepts in biology either in the form of a narrative presenting the to-be-learned concepts in a historical context or as an expository text as control. We then assessed conceptual understanding and potential learning mechanisms. Results indicate that students learned from narrative texts and expository texts to a similar extent. However, if the prior knowledge was higher, the effect on learning was bigger in the narrative group than in the expository group. Moreover, the narrative led to better enjoyment and a higher germane cognitive load than the expository text material.
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Publication status
published
External links
Book title
Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society
Volume
44
Pages / Article No.
2030 - 2036
Publisher
Cognitive Science Society
Event
44th Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society (Cogsci 2022)
Edition / version
Methods
Software
Geographic location
Date collected
Date created
Subject
Narrative; Conceptual understanding; Biology; Higher education; Prior knowledge; University
Organisational unit
09590 - Kapur, Manu / Kapur, Manu