Promoting knowledge revision through refutation texts and interspersed tasks: A sequential learning study on chemical bonding

This study investigates how expository and refutation texts on metallic, ionic, and covalent bonding, combined with consolidation tasks, influence secondary students’ text comprehension across a sequential learning episode. Persistent misconceptions about chemical bonds make this an ideal context to examine how text structure and task strategies jointly support knowledge revision. While prior research typically examines text features and tasks in isolation, little is known about whether refutation effects generalise across related topics or how they interact with consolidation tasks when students learn multiple bonding types in succession. A sample of 247 tenth-grade students participated in a two-session study covering three bonding types. Learners processed three consecutive text-task cycles featuring either an expository or refutation text, followed by a consolidation task. Learning outcomes were assessed via pretest and delayed posttest, and analysed using Bayesian multilevel modelling. Results indicated significant learning gains across the learning episode. Refutation texts showed a small advantage over expository texts that was credible for metallic bonding and directionally consistent, though weaker, for ionic and covalent bonding. This advantage did not compound with multiple refutation texts. Reading skill and chemistry grade were positively associated with performance. Among consolidation tasks, only self-explanation performance was positively associated with learning outcomes, a pattern inseparable from the task's topic and position. The findings suggest that refutation texts support knowledge revision in chemical bonding, though their effect is small and selective rather than cumulative. The contribution of consolidation tasks depends on their cognitive demands, specific bonding topic, and position within the learning episode.