Effects of explaining a science lesson to others or to oneself: A cognitive neuroscience approach

Two generative learning activities aimed at improving students' learning are explaining learning materials to oneself or to others. Although these techniques have been shown to improve learning outcomes, there is less evidence concerning the role of brain activity during learning. This study explored the effects of these techniques on brain activation patterns (as measured by fNIRS) and learning outcomes (as measured by retention and transfer tests). Ninety-nine college students studied a text-based multimedia lesson about the Doppler Effect and then either explained the material to a real person (explain-to-others group, n = 33), explained the material to themselves (explain-to-oneself group, n = 34), or restudied the text (restudy group, n = 32). Students' brain activity during learning was recorded using fNIRS techniques and all students completed retention and transfer posttests and mental effort, presence, and anxiety surveys. Both the explain-to-others group and the explain-to-oneself group obtained higher scores on retention, mental effort, and state anxiety than the restudy group. The explain-to-others and explain-to-oneself groups also displayed greater activation of brain networks associated with attention, working memory, and metacognitive processing (i.e., the bilateral TPJ and the right OFC). The explain-to-others group outperformed the restudy group on transfer test, social presence ratings, and explanation quality. The explain-to-others group also displayed greater activation in brain networks associated with social processing (the left dlPFC and the left TPJ) compared to the explain-to-oneself group. This study extended generative learning theory and pointed out the advantage of learning-by-teaching based on neuroscience evidence.