Effects of creating video-based modeling examples on learning and transfer

•Two experiments examined the effects of acting as a peer model in a video example.•This entailed studying with the intention to explain to others and then explaining on video.•For adolescents (Experiment 1) there was no effect of study intention on learning.•An effect of study intention on learning was found for university students (Experiment 2).•In both Experiments only acting as a model (explaining on video) fostered transfer.

Two experiments investigated whether acting as a peer model for a video-based modeling example, which entails studying a text with the intention to explain it to others and then actually explaining it on video, would foster learning and transfer. In both experiments, novices were instructed to study a text, either with the intention of being able to complete a test (condition A), or being able to explain the content to others (condition B and C). Moreover, students in condition C actually had to explain the text by creating a webcam-video. In Experiment 1 (N = 76 secondary education students) there was no effect of study intention on learning (A = B), but explaining during video creation significantly fostered transfer performance (C > B; C > A). In Experiment 2 (N = 95 university students), study intention did have an effect on learning (C > A; B > A), but only actual video creation significantly fostered transfer performance (C > A).