This paper describes dissertation research using cognitive psychology in the design of museum exhibit labels in an effort to increase learning and memory in museum visitors. Three studies focused on factors affecting whether or not using a question (instead of a statement) as a title on a museum exhibit label would increase the visitor's memory of…

Discusses distributed cognition theory, a viable framework and methodology for examining interactions between individuals and artifacts, and how it relates to performance support. Highlights include knowledge representation; applications in learning and performance support; learning communities; collaborative learning; and computer technology and…

Explores some speculative hypotheses on states of knowing and learning, and how these states and processes might be applied to artificial intelligence and expert systems development. (JKP)

A cognitive or internal representation refers to an organized system of information which reflects certain, but not all, of the information about reality being represented. This paper considers various opinions, controversies, and debates about what representation is, how it comes about, and what forms of representation can be distinguished. The…

This book brings a philosophical perspective to the topic of children's thinking. It attempts to answer the questions of what it is to think and understand, and how children do so. The book provides an introduction to the philosophy of education as it relates to children's understanding, and is careful not to assume any previous philosophical…

Tests the effectiveness of CONTACT-2, a revision of CONTACT strategy, which uses continuous, computer-assisted activation of learner conceptions in text processing. CONTACT-2 was found to be more effective as a process-oriented instructional strategy. Student subjects in grades five and six with the CONTACT-2 condition constructed better…

The cognitive revolution began in the 1950s as researchers began to move away from the study of knowledge acquisition and behaviorism to the study of information and the way it is processed. Four factors are discussed in chapter 1 as contributing to the increase in popularity of the "cognitive revolution" (increasing enthusiasm for the…

The progression of qualified surgical nurses toward capable proficiency was examined in an ethnographic study during which 25 nurses, including 4 who transferred to other wards, were observed to determine whether social mediation affects the process of proficiency development. The nurses were observed for 18 months. Data were also gathered through…

Knowledge production and learning in engineering is a local, situated, negotiated, and thoroughly social process. Although engineering work entails the construal, production, and application of artifacts and technical devices belonging to the "object world," the process of designing is a process of achieving consensus among real or…