Drawing facilitates children's reports of factual and narrative information: implications for educational contexts

Abstract

AbstractIn the present study, we examined the effect of drawing on children's reports of an educational event. Five‐ and 6‐year‐old children visited a local museum and were interviewed either 1–2 days or 7 months later. After each delay, half of the children were asked to tell about what they had learned during their visit to the museum and the other half were given the opportunity to draw while telling. All children were also given a standard comprehension test, covering material that the museum staff considered to be most relevant to the visit. When tested after a short delay, children who drew while talking reported more factual and more narrative information than children who did not draw. When tested after a long delay, drawing only enhanced children's reports of narrative information. After both delays, children's verbal descriptions of the event exceeded their scores on the comprehension test. These data have important practical implications for the educational value of museum visits and suggest a new method of assessing children's learning in educational contexts. Copyright © 2008 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.