Traditional knowledge-component models describe students' content knowledge (e.g., their ability to carry out problem-solving procedures or their ability to reason about a concept). In many STEM domains, instruction uses multiple visual representations such as graphs, figures, and diagrams. The use of visual representations implies a…

Abstract electronics concepts are difficult to develop because the phenomena of interest cannot be readily observed. Visualisation skills support learning about electronics and can be applied at different levels of representation and understanding (observable, symbolic and abstract). Providing learners with opportunities to make transitions…

Pedagogic approaches to TVET offer a limited range of teaching strategies which make use of experimental learning. Thus experiments were developed for teachers of structural engineering and timber processing technologies and were subject to empirical evaluation by a researcher at the Otto-von-Guericke-University Magdeburg and Kassel University.…

Mental models are basic cognitive constructs that are central for understanding phenomena of the world and predicting future events. Our comparison of two analysis approaches, SMD and QFCA, for measuring externalized mental models reveals different levels of abstraction and different perspectives. The advantages of the SMD include possibilities…

An important element of adaptive expertise involves stepping away from a routine to retool one's knowledge or environment. The current study investigated two forms of this adaptive pattern: fault-driven adaptations, which are reactions to a difficulty, and prospective adaptations, which are proactive reformulations. Graduate and undergraduate…

We present an inference algorithm for perturbation models based on Poisson regression. The algorithm is designed to handle unclassified input with multiple errors described by independent mal-rules. This knowledge representation provides an intelligent tutoring system with local and global information about a student, such as error classification…

The theory of "ba" or "space" offers a prescription for fostering the conversion of particular kinds of knowledge (tacit-to-explicit, tacit-to-tacit, etc.). Three corporate groups were observed as they collaborated to develop instructional, Web-based stories intended to capture their tacit organizational understandings. A…

Compares the indexing structure of icons with principles used for traditional indexing. A sample of 15 library homepages was drawn from the total population of the United States library homepages. Semiotics theory was used to study the icons. Analysis and results are outlined. (AEF)

Compares dyads of secondary school physics students working on a collaborative modeling task using a text-based model representation, in which correct equations are required to make the model run, with others using a graphical representation, in which the model is build by qualitatively linking variables. (MES)

A concept map is a graph in which the nodes represent concepts, the lines between the nodes represent relations, and the labels on the lines represent the nature of the relations. Concept maps have been used to assess students' knowledge structures, especially in science education. Two concept mapping techniques, constructing a map and filling in…

An alternative method of measuring the knowledge of students is to use mental models, and specifically concept maps. Concept maps provide a visual representation of conceptual and relationship knowledge within a particular domain. This study builds on previous studies and attempts to reduce their methodological weaknesses. Students in several…

Describes a study of undergraduates that examined the potential trade-off in study efficiency and breadth of learning for hypertexts studied by selecting units from a content map. Compares study strategies and text recall with a more- and less-segmented hypertext and discusses text representations, study times, knowledge representation, and…

Presents a broad view of information access, drawing from philosophy and semiology in constructing a framework for comparative discussion that is used to examine the information representations that underlie four approaches to information access--information retrieval, workflow, collaborative filtering, and the path model. Contains 32 references.…

Two findings serve as the hallmark for hemispheric specialization during lateralized lexical decision. First is an overall word advantage, with words being recognized more quickly and accurately than non-words (the effect being stronger in response latency). Second, a right visual field advantage is observed for words, with little or no…

Presents criteria for an effective syntagmatic relator system and describes how conceptual syntagmatic relationships are expressed in natural language, commenting on the adequacy of such expressions for document retrieval systems. Only one type of expression, a gestalt structure, represented as a frame, conforms to the criteria. (Author/JKP)