Discusses the impact of drawing as a study strategy in learning biology. Presented at the Graduate School of Education Day at UC Berkeley for the spring semester of 2013 and at the 2014 Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research Conference at the University of Minnesota.

1. RESEARCH POSTER PRESENTATION DESIGN © 2012
www.PosterPresentations.com
This study investigates the role of learner-generated
representations (drawing) while trying to learn from a biology
text. Participants were asked to draw figures while reading ten
passages about the cardiovascular system. A coding scheme was
developed to analyze two drawings (corresponding two passages)
from each participant, to measure aspects of content and meta-
representation. Preliminary analyses reveal correlations between
post-test scores and 1) the number of images and labels that
participants generate 2) the number of inaccurate representations
that participants generate, and 3) whether or not participants used
a legend in their drawing. We hope future analyses will provide
students with guidelines for drawing while learning from text to
improve understanding.
Abstract(
The coding schematic used for this project included content
“knowledge elements” and “meta-representational aspects.” Due to
time constraints, our analysis only covers passage 3 of the data, which
details the valve system in the heart and the overall process of
oxygenation/deoxygenation in the body.
Knowledge Elements
Knowledge elements were coded on a 0-1 (not present/present)
scale, based on 3 categories:
Meta-Representational Aspects:
Also coded on a 0-1 scale (not present/present). Categories
included: anthropomorphism, metaphor, mneumonic devices, image
and organizational abstraction and more; however, many of these
aspects did not appear in drawings for passage 3. Therefore, for the
purposes of this poster, we are only focusing on legend.
Analyses(
The following tables show correlations between gain and
retention scores and the number of labels, images, and errors
students made, and whether or not they included a legend in their
drawings. Assessment responses were divided into understanding of
the structures within the cardiovascular system, pathway that blood
takes through the system, and function of structures as components
of the system.
Findings(
• Between groups: Participants in the Drawing Group tended to
include more information (i.e. labels and images) and legends in
their drawings while studying. We hypothesize that this
difference exists because participants participants in the
Combined Group, who self-explain before they draw, may think
it unnecessary to reiterate information that they have already said
aloud.
• Drawing and learning: Overall, participants (regardless of
condition) who drew more information and used a legend while
studying tended to learn more about structures in the
cardiovascular system. This might be because drawing focuses on
discrete pieces of the system, which is instrumental in learning
about structure. Whereas, those who drew less (perhaps because
they also self-explained) did not learn as much about structure
because self-explanation may focus more on how elements work
together in the system.
• Retention: These correlations, however, do not exist for
measurements of Retention; therefore, drawing may not be as
beneficial for long-term memory as self-explanation. This might
be because some of the short-term learning attributed to drawing
was related to motor memory, and without practice over the two
weeks between the post-test and delayed-test, those who only
drew while studying did retained relatively less of the
information. Additionally, we hypothesize that the additional self-
explanation of the combined group, may have facilitated drawing
connections to previous knowledge, which would help with
retention of the information.
This study, conducted as a part of a larger research project,
examines the drawings of participants during an independent study
session where they are asked to either draw, or self-explain and then
draw as they read from a text about the cardiovascular system.
As seen above, students were…
• Given a Pre-Test (to measure prior knowledge)
• Assigned a condition—either the “Drawing” group or the
“Combined” group—and trained according to the respective
learning strategies they were assigned
• Completed an independent study session where they (self-explained
and) drew diagrams for each of 11 passages they read about the
cardiovascular system
• Given a Post-Test (to measure short-term learning)
• Given a Delayed Test and Figure Interpretation Test (to measure
long-term learning/retention)
Elizabeth Sabiniano, Echo Lu, Diane P. Lam
Hypotheses for How Drawing as a Study Strategy May Impact Learning from Text
The legend in example above explains that red represents
oxygenated blood and blue represents oxygenated blood.
Examples:
Example of Drawings of Passage 3
GAIN(by(QuesBon(Type
Structure Pathway Func/on
Label 0.36* 0.19 0.06
Image 0.29* 0.28* 0.33*
Error L0.46* L0.14 L0.18
Legend 0.19 0.25 0.15
This study shows that drawing is beneficial for understanding
structure but learners who focus solely on drawing retain less
information in the long-term. Self-explanation, on the other hand,
is shown to be more beneficial for long-term retention of
information about function, but not of structure or pathways.
Perhaps, if the training process for the Combined Group were
improved, the benefits of the short-term learning gains seen in the
Drawing Group could be optimized, without losing the long-term
retention associated with self-explaining. In other words, students
could self-explain, and draw with an emphasis on using labels,
images, and legends. A combination of these learning strategies is
likely to maximize learning.
• Label:&Words&used&to&describe&or&iden/fy&a&knowledge&element.&
Labels&for&processes,&such&as&diffusion,&only&count&when&verbs&or&
preposi/ons&are&included.&
• Image:&A&realis/c&or&geometric&representa/on&of&a&knowledge&
element&(including&processes,&organs,&arrows&indica/ng&flow&
• Error:&Incorrectly&placed&or&defined&label&or&image&&
Methods(
Discussion(
Conclusion(
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The results of this study suggest that the Drawing Group
tended to include more labels and images than the Combined
Group, and they also showed higher performance on the Post-
Tests. This may suggest that drawing is more beneficial for short-
term understanding of structure than a combination
of drawing and self-explanation.
Though this study has yielded many interesting correlations, it
was only based on a portion of the data that we have collected. It
would be instrumental to analyze other passages in the booklets to
see if the same patterns persist. Furthermore, many of the meta-
representational aspects that were analyzed, were also not
commonly used in passage 3; hence, we were unable to accurately
measure their influence on a participant’s learning. We anticipate
that meta-representational knowledge is likely to effect learning and
retention.
Future(DirecBons(
• Biology educational research on external representations has had
a heavy focus on learners interpreting figures created by a more
knowledgeable person (e.g. Bowen & Roth, 2002; Kindfield &
Singer-Gabella, 2010)
• While interpreting and generating representations are equally
important to learning biology, research on learners generating
their own representations for learning has been less prominent
(e.g. Cox & Brna, 1995; Parnafes, 2012)
• A few studies have shown that drawing can be more beneficial for
learning compared to reading or summarizing (Gobert & Clement,
1999; Van Meter 2001).
• This study investigates how drawing may influence learning by
examining what learners draw and how their different types of
drawings may influence their learning.
IntroducBon(
RETENTION(by(QuesBon(Type
Structure Pathway Func/on
Label L0.20& 0.07& L0.18&
Image 0.00& L0.07& L0.16&
Error L0.13& 0.00& L0.05&
Legend L0.26& L0.14& L0.22&
3. Error: AV valves
incorrectly placed,
oxygenated blood loop
incorrect
2. Image: Lungs
1. Label: “Tricuspid valve”
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*&p<0.05&
Based on correlational analyses, we found weak to moderate
relationships between the types of information participants were
including in their drawings and their improvement on certain types
of assessment questions from pre- to post-test. Including more
images in their representations of passage 3 may influence
understanding across all three types of understanding, while labels
help mainly with understanding of structures within the system.
We found no significant relationship between drawings and
retention.
This research is partially supported by the National Science
Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship Program
University of California, Berkeley
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