Discusses possible theoretical underpinnings of proposed courses in teaching and learning for higher education teachers. Proposes a model which draws upon the disciplinary perspectives of academics and conceives of three kinds of knowledge in dynamic relationship: public knowledge, personal knowledge, and knowledge derived from present…

Discussion of abstracting systems focuses on the paradigm concept and identifies and explains four paradigms: communicational, or information theory; physical, including information retrieval; cognitive, including information processing and artificial intelligence; and systemic, including quality management. Emphasizes multidimensionality and…

Discussion of relevance in information retrieval focuses on manifestations of relevance within a system of relevance. Discusses intention, context, inference, and interaction; explains the concepts of affective, motivational, situational, and socio-cognitive relevance; and proposes a consolidated model of relevance manifestations. (Author/LRW)

Reports on research into children's understanding of mountainous landscapes and mountain genesis as revealed in their drawing and modeling representations and in subsequent interviews. Compares younger and older children aged 7-11 from United Kingdom inner city schools. Concludes that the interpretation of children's pictures is problematic and…

Describes a four-stage model based on cognitive appraisal theory that attempts to specify the precise links between cognitive evaluations of events and resultant discrete emotions. Presents a case study with multicultural group members, which suggests that use of the model may be particularly constructive with these groups. By identifying linkages…

Reports on a preliminary project that uses a phenomenographic approach to explore the ways in which a small number of fundamental ideas are conceptualized by students who are judged to have mastered quantum mechanics material. (DDR)

Investigates the mental models that people construct about magnetic phenomena. Involves students, physics teachers, engineers, and practitioners. Proposes five models following a progression from simple description to a field model. Contains 28 references. (DDR)

Seeks to identify some of the issues associated with the role of models in scientific explanations. Discusses factors which may influence the way that those explanations are understood and the judgment of their appropriateness by the various audiences involved. Contains 55 references. (DDR)

Describes a theory of a topology of awareness, in which higher levels organize reality through dialectical logic, whereas lower levels construct reality based on Aristotelian logic, binary oppositions, and experiencing entities as discreet and independent. Argues that metaphor, poetry, and narrative are linguistic tools that enable clients to…

Examines comprehension of causal text sequences (in simulation) using construction-integration analysis. States that 16 preliminary simulations, applied to 2 text frames each, influenced decisions concerning 4 simulation choice points. Reveals good qualitative fit between the construction-integration activation of the probe questions and their…

Explores the information-seeking practices of career counselors during career interviews. Outlines sensitive areas for career guidance counselors, and describes a research project that examined the types of information career counselors found pertinent. The findings, although based on very limited research, raise some issues of relevance to the…

Two experiments involving 137 undergraduates tested the premise that the underlying stereotyping processes used by blacks and whites are similar. Findings suggest that the race of the perceiver may moderate the predictions of the complexity-extremity, assumed-characteristics, and expectancy-violation models. (SLD)

Analyzes fifth grade students' diagrams and explanations for the spatial, causal, and dynamic processes inside the earth. Identifies and characterizes the different types of student models for the inside of the earth, and characterizes the reasoning associated with these models. (Contains 74 references.) (Author/YDS)

From an ecological psychology perspective, a full analysis of any learning context must acknowledge the complex nonlinear dynamics that unfold as an intentionally-driven learner interacts with a technology-based purposefully designed learning environment. A full situation model would need to incorporate constraints from the environment and also…

Suggests a model for the development of mental representation. Explores empiricist and constructivist models and maintains that the constructivist model provides a better ground for theory building. Evaluates Piaget's constructivist account of the emergence of mental representation. Proposes that his account is insufficient and suggests a…