Student Explanation Strategies in Postsecondary Mathematics and Statistics Education: A Scoping Review

Abstract

This scoping review examines the use of student explanation strategies in postsecondary mathematics and statistics education. We analyzed 46 peer-reviewed articles published between 2014 and 2024, categorizing student explanations into three main types: self-explanation, peer explanation and explanation to fictitious others. The review synthesizes the theoretical underpinnings of these strategies, drawing on the retrieval practice hypothesis, generative learning hypothesis, and social presence hypothesis. Our findings indicate that while self-explanation and explaining to fictitious others foster individual cognitive processes enhancing generative thinking, peer explanation have the potential to combine these benefits with collaborative learning. However, explanation to fictitious others have the potential to mitigate some of the negative impacts that may occur in peer explanation, such as more knowledgeable students dominating peer discussions. The efficacy of the methods varies based on implementation, duration, and context. This scoping review contributes to the growing body of literature on generative learning strategies in postsecondary education and provides insights for optimizing the integration of student explanation techniques in mathematics and statistics.