ERIC Number: ED618186
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2019
Pages: 5
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: EISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Self-Explanation Prompts Explained
McGinn, Kelly; Young, Laura; Booth, Julie
Grantee Submission, Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom (APMC) v24 n4 p18-22 2019
Research shows that students benefit when they explain their mathematical reasoning (e.g., Booth et al., 2015); however, not all students will do this on their own without being prompted (Berthold, Eysink, & Renkl, 2009). Self-explanation prompts are questions posed to a student that encourage the student to explain what they have learned (Rittle-Johnson, Loehr, & Durkin, 2017). While self-explanation prompts can be used in a variety of ways in the classroom, this article will focus on the use of these prompts conjoined with worked-examples; in such cases, students are asked to study a worked-example--an example of a potential solution to a mathematics problem that is already completed--and are then prompted to explain the reasoning behind the procedure used to solve the problem (see Figure 1 for an example). These worked-examples and self-explanation prompts are presented to students in the form of a worksheet, with the expectation that students will explain the reasoning of others through their writing. This task is suggested as an alternative type of classroom activity that teachers could use rather than a string of traditional practice problems. This article provides instructions for creating and revising your own self-explanation prompts for your students. It then describes how these prompts are aligned with the Australian Curriculum: Mathematics (Australian Curriculum, Assessment & Reporting Authority [ACARA], n.d.), the benefits of using self-explanation prompts paired with worked-examples, and teachers' perspectives on using this tool. [This article was published in "Australian Primary Mathematics Classroom" (EJ1288974).]
Publication Type: Journal Articles; Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: Elementary Education
Audience: Teachers
Language: English
Sponsor: Institute of Education Sciences (ED)
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Australia
IES Funded: Yes
Grant or Contract Numbers: R305A150456