Self-Explanation of an Answer Choice Is Beneficial to Student Performance

My name isDarcey N. Powell from West Virginia Universityand I presented my research at the APS 23rd Annual Convention in Washington DC.

Requiring students to explain their answers to multiple-choice homework questions improved their performance on the assignment, suggesting that these explanations facilitate a deeper understanding of the concepts. Female students scored higher than male students, but explanations were only associated with significantly higher scores for the male students.