This edited volume brings together large-scale research as well as case studies from a range of geographical contexts and represents a variety of educational settings involving second language learners and users. Its aim is to explore the interrelated issues of psychology and technology use in second language learning settings as well as in more…

This paper provides an historical and empirical critique of the claim that learning to program will promote the development of general higher mental functions. A developmental perspective on learning to program is provided which incorporates cognitive science studies of mental activities involved in programming, and highlights the importance of…

Reviews instructional design research and theory and relates it to the design of computer-based instructional materials. Instructional design guidelines are offered to aid software developers in making design decisions on three macrolevel and four microlevel of instruction. (Author/LRW)

Arguing that goal knowledge is as important to intelligent machine activity as it is to human activity, and that it also must be well understood and explicitly represented in an instructional system if that system is to be successful in fostering learning, this report presents an architecture for intelligent tutors that explicitly represents…

This technical report describes a generic architecture for building intelligent tutoring systems which is developed around objects that represent the knowledge elements to be taught by the tutor. Each of these knowledge elements, called "bites," inherits both a knowledge organization describing the kind of knowledge represented and…

Computer based instruction (CBI) is composed of individual frames viewed one at a time. Compared to a typical textbook, CBI restricts the adult learner's capacity to access information from different parts of the lesson and to view complex presentations. Designers of CBI must compensate for these limitations by making a concerted effort to…

Examines spatial concepts required by young children for the understanding and manipulation of turn commands in Logo, and reviews the literature on children's Logo learning and the psychological-cognitive development of spatial concepts. Geometric concepts, alternative frames of reference, and the use of Turtle graphics are also discussed. (39…

The question of whether human thinking can come to simulate computer intelligence--i.e., AI in reverse--is addressed in this paper. Examples are given of three computer tools which perform several functions that constitute an intellectual partnership between student and tool. Such functions include: (1) assuming part of the intellectual burden in…

This final report summarizes work done to formulate and test some cognitively-based principles useful for designing instruction in scientific or engineering fields. These principles stress the coherence and interpretability of the knowledge acquired by students. The principles were specifically applied to: (1) analyze the underlying knowledge and…

This paper examines the possibility of developing a conceptual framework on which future research on the application of electroencephalography (EEG) to computer-assisted instruction (CAI) could be based. Consistent associations between EEG and cognitive functions for learning and instruction have the potential for bringing cognitivism into the…

The goal of the programmatic research program for the Minnesota Adaptive Instructional System (MAIS), an intelligent computer-assisted instruction system, is to empirically investigate generalizable instructional variables and conditions that improve learning through the use of adaptive instructional strategies. Research has been initiated in the…

This paper summarizes research in modern cognitive theory that relates to the role of computer drill and practice programs in learning and describes a prototype program that exemplifies recommended characteristics. Focus is on four major issues that are relevant to the design and optimization of computer drills: interference, spaced practice,…

Two questions about the effects of microcomputer-based laboratory (MBL) activities on graphing skills were addressed in this study: (1) the extent to which activities help students link their concrete experiences with motion with graphic representations of these experiences; and (2) the degree of importance of the real-time aspect of the MBL in…

Surveys research on programmed instruction, questions, and feedback in instruction to identify guidelines for developing computer assisted instruction. The most important guidelines identified are those related to use of questions as attention, coding, and rehearsal devices, and those related to corrective feedback. (MBR)

This research was designed to investigate several primary questions in comparing the Logo floor turtle to the Logo screen turtle: (1) Do young children gain different geometric concepts from experiences with the floor turtle than they do with the screen turtle? (2) Do young children learn to use the four basic Logo commands more efficiently with…