Generic preparation for upcoming explanations: intra- and inter-domain effects of a digital training intervention

Learning from instructional explanations is one of the most established, prevalent, and obvious ways of learning—but it carries the risk of shallow processing. Unlike previous research that focused on providing digital just-in-time support measures for learning with explanations, we strived to prepare learners on how to make the most of upcoming explanations. We thus developed a short-term computer-based training intervention on the focused processing of instructional explanations. In two experiments (N1 = 47, N2 = 42), we tested its effects on learning processes and outcomes of a subsequent learning phase. Our results revealed that the training intervention fostered domain-general knowledge about explanations. Furthermore, it enabled learners to benefit from future instructional explanations in other domains (inter-domain transfer for university students, Experiment 1) or at least on other topics (intra-domain transfer for primary school fourth graders, Experiment 2). The digital training intervention did not trigger more cognitive load in the subsequent learning phase. All in all, we describe an initial promising step toward a generic training effect that has the potential advantage of enhancing learning from explanations without altering the actual learning material.