Beyond prior knowledge: The predictive role of knowledge-building in Tutor Learning

TL;DR

This study explores how knowledge-building activities, facilitated by teachable agents, promote a bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual learning, leading to improved post-test scores regardless of prior knowledge levels.

Contribution

It demonstrates that knowledge-building mediates the bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual knowledge, enhancing learning outcomes in tutor learning environments.

Findings

Knowledge-building fosters a stable bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual knowledge.

Students engaging in knowledge-building achieve higher post-test scores.

Knowledge-building benefits students with varying levels of prior knowledge.

Abstract

When adopting the role of a teacher in learning-by-teaching environments, students often struggle to engage in knowledge-building activities, such as providing explanations and addressing misconceptions. Instead, they frequently default to knowledge-telling behaviors, where they simply dictate what they already know or what to do without deeper reflection, thereby limiting learning. Teachable agents, particularly those capable of posing persistent follow-up questions, have been shown to encourage students (tutors) to shift from knowledge-telling to knowledge-building and enhance tutor learning. Tutor learning encompasses two interrelated types of knowledge: conceptual and procedural knowledge. Research has established a bidirectional relationship between these knowledge types, where improvements in one reinforce the other. This study investigates the role of knowledge-building in mediating the bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual learning. Our findings revealed a stable bidirectional relationship between procedural and conceptual knowledge, with higher post-test scores observed among students who engaged in knowledge-building, regardless of their procedural and conceptual pre-test performance. This suggests that knowledge-building serves as a crucial mechanism bridging the gap between students with low prior knowledge and higher conceptual and procedural learning gain.