MEDIUM AND PROMPTS AS STRATEGY ACTIVATORS IN NON-INTERACTIVE LEARNING BY EXPLAINING

Background:Non-interactive learning by explaining can foster comprehension. However, meta-analytic evidence reveals wide variability in its effectiveness. A key assumption is that explaining supports learning only when the task activates essential cognitive strategies. Two potential “strategy activators” are instructional support (detached activators) and the medium (embedded activator), yet their roles remain insufficiently understood.Aims:This study examined how prompts and the explanation medium (oral vs. written) jointly influence learning outcomes in non-interactive explaining. We further investigated whether cognitive strategy use mediates these effects.Sample(s):Participants were 168 German secondary school students (M_age = 17.60, SD = 0.70).Methods:Students watched a 25-minute lecture on cognitive load theory and were randomly assigned to produce an oral or written explanation with or without prompts to a fictitious peer, or to a restudy condition. Cognitive strategies in explanations were rated holistically. Comprehension and retention were assessed one day and seven days later.Results:Prompts did not significantly improve comprehension or retention. Oral explanations led to higher comprehension and retention than written explanations. Mediation analyses showed that medium effects on comprehension and retention were significantly mediated by cognitive strategy use.Conclusions:The explanation medium functions as a powerful embedded strategy activator, whereas prompts alone do not reliably support strategy activation in secondary school students. Oral explaining may facilitate deeper processing by more extensive use of cognitive learning strategies due to lowering production and formulation costs, highlighting the importance of medium choice in designing explanation-based learning activities.