Effective Use of Elaborative Interrogation to Improve Academic Performance

[EN]Study techniques most commonly used by students are usually the least effective for learning. Therefore, a sample of undergraduate students was trained in the use of Elaborative Interrogation (EI), a more powerful strategy. However, there are no clear guidelines on how to implement this techniqu...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Jáñez González, Álvaro, Parra Domínguez, Javier, Gajate Bajo, María, Guzmán Ordaz, Raquel
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2025
Country:España
Institution:Universidad de Salamanca (USAL)
Repository:GREDOS. Repositorio Institucional de la Universidad de Salamanca
OAI Identifier:oai:gredos.usal.es:10366/170343
Online Access:http://hdl.handle.net/10366/170343
Access Level:Embargoed access
Keyword:Elaborative Interrogation
Education
5312.04 Educación
5801.07 Métodos Pedagógicos
Description
Summary:[EN]Study techniques most commonly used by students are usually the least effective for learning. Therefore, a sample of undergraduate students was trained in the use of Elaborative Interrogation (EI), a more powerful strategy. However, there are no clear guidelines on how to implement this technique, and there are contrasting results on its effectiveness. The present study aimed at analyzing the effectiveness of EI in undergraduate students performance. A pre-test post-test design was used with 3 within-participants conditions: control, self-generated EI, and externally-generated EI. The effects that training and type and quality of EI implementation had on students’ comprehension (at textbase and situation model levels) were investigated. Results suggest that the EI technique may be useful to improve undergraduates learning, but only in very specific situations. Otherwise, it may even hinder performance compared to traditional study techniques. Some insights are offered to better understand how the EI strategy works.