Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society

Traditional education is instructor-centered. Providing exploratory learning activities before instruction typically engages students and improves learning. However, the design of exploratory learning activities can impact learning processes. This study investigated whether using tables or graphs in a statistics activity impacted exploratory learning processes and outcomes. Undergraduate students (N=252) in classroom and lab settings were taught about standard deviation. In instruct-first conditions, students received instruction, then an activity including either graphs or tables. In explore-first conditions, students explored either activity before instruction. After exploring, participants in the explore-first condition reported greater knowledge gaps and curiosity than the instruct-first condition. Graphical materials reduced cognitive load compared to tabular. However, instructional order and activity design did not impact learning outcomes (procedural knowledge, conceptual knowledge, representational transfer). Conceptual understanding was highest if students attempted multiple solutions while exploring graphical materials. Depth of exploration may affect conceptual benefits, especially when using graphical materials.