| Sumario: | Background: Museum learning is an important approach to facilitating cross‐disciplinary knowledge integration. To expand the accessibility of museum education and to enhance learning efficiency, virtual museums are aiming to overcome the constraints of time, crowds, and the limited resources of physical venues by providing a more flexible and immersive digital learning environment. Objective: Scholars have suggested using the 4C elements (i.e., context, construction, conversation, collaboration) based on the constructivist framework to facilitate knowledge co‐construction. On the other hand, scholars have also pointed out that, in the 4C learning context, students often lack experience and the ability to think deeply, hence leading to disappointing outcomes. Several previous studies have reported the problems faced in team work, such as the free‐rider effect among members, which can negatively affect collaborative tendencies and the collective efficacy of the team. Method: To address these issues, this study proposed a self‐explanation‐guided virtual museum learning (SE‐VML) model, which guides individual learners to link new knowledge with their existing cognitive models, and to construct and modify their own mental models to enhance collaborative effectiveness. To test the effectiveness of this approach, a true experimental design was conducted by randomly assigning 56 sixth‐grade students to an experimental group using the SE‐VML model and a control group using the conventional virtual museum learning (C‐VML) model. Results and Conclusions: Results showed that, compared with the control group, the experimental group obtained significantly higher post‐test scores in learning achievement, critical thinking tendency, collaboration tendency, and metacognition. In addition, behavioural sequence analysis indicated that students in the experimental group showed more frequent rereading behaviours and more goal‐oriented exploration. Interview findings further suggested more favourable perceptions of the learning experience among experimental group students. Practitioner Notes: What is Already Known About This Topic: Virtual museums can overcome the temporal and spatial constraints of physical museums, providing a more flexible and immersive learning environment.Scholars have indicated the importance of using the constructivist framework (e.g., the 4C elements) to guide knowledge construction.In collaborative learning, the 'free‐rider effect' often occurs due to a lack of individual deep thinking, negatively affecting the effectiveness of teamwork. What This Paper Adds: A self‐explanation‐guided virtual museum learning (SE‐VML) model is proposed, which incorporates self‐explanation as a preparatory activity before collaborative tasks.Based on the constructivist framework, this model uses structured guiding questions to prompt students' self‐explanation to deepen their individual understanding.A randomized control study verified that the SE‐VML model, compared to the conventional approach, more effectively improves students' learning achievement, critical thinking tendency, collaboration tendency, and metacognition. Implications for Practice and/or Policy: Incorporating guided self‐explanation activities before group collaboration can effectively enhance students' learning achievement, critical thinking tendency, collaboration tendency, and metacognition.This approach helps ensure that students are better prepared for teamwork, thus promoting a more effective and equitable collaborative process.It is recommended that this approach be applied to other courses and learning contexts.
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