The Role of Self-Explanation in Adapting as Well as Transferring a Solution Procedure

Robert S. Ryan

Paper presented at the annual Pitt-CMU Conference on Cognition, June 14, 1996

Abstract

All transfer is not created equal. Problem solving transfer is especially difficult when it requires not just retrieving and mapping a solution procedure to an isomorphic problem, but also adapting it to a problem which uses the same principles, but has a different structure. Adaptation requires inferring the existence of a new solution element and is believed to rely on accessing prior knowledge. Self-explanations (comments about examples which go beyond what is presented in the example) improve learning and understanding (and may improve procedural transfer), but their effects on adaptation have not been examined. Some self-explanations integrate what is encoded about a problem with prior knowledge. Therefore, two experiments examined whether self-explanations that access the appropriate prior knowledge facilitate transfer requiring adaptation. In Experiment 1 subjects who engaged in a verbal self-explanation task which entailed drawing on the appropriate knowledge were superior at adaptation to subjects who practiced solving problems. In Experiment 2 subjects who engaged in a task that entailed accessing the prior knowledge, but without verbalizing, were superior at adaptation to subjects who verbally self- explained, but without accessing the prior knowledge. These results imply that it is important to consider not only what kinds of prior knowledge support transfer, but also what tasks entail accessing and integrating that knowledge.