Hint, instruction, and practice: The necessary components for promoting spontaneous diagram use in students’ written work?

Abstract

This study investigated the efficacy of providing a hint, instruction, and practice in promoting spontaneous diagram use in the written work of 21 students undertaking an undergraduate course in education. The course required the students to regularly produce for homework a one-page explanation of what they had learned. In the first few weeks of the course, they rarely included diagrams in their explanations. Following a hint to use diagrams (provided as comment/feedback on their homework), diagram use significantly increased. When instruction in effective use of diagrams was provided, the level of diagram use maintained but did not increase. However, when practice in using diagrams was additionally provided, further significant increases in diagram use followed, which maintained over the ensuing weeks of the course. These findings suggest that to spontaneously use diagrams in their written work, students need to be provided a combination of advice, instruction, and practice in such use.