Discusses research dealing with the cognitive aspects of formal systems of knowledge representation. Highlights include the origins and theoretical foundations of the cognitive viewpoint; cognition and information science; cognitivism, mentalism, and subjective individualism; categorization; mental models; and sociocognitive approaches to indexing…

Seeks to identify some of the issues associated with the role of models in scientific explanations. Develops a typology of explanations and explores the notion of appropriateness in scientific explanations. Investigates the nature of models and their contribution to explanations. (DDR)

Discusses the basic elements of a global cognitive theory for information retrieval (IR) interaction from a cognitive point of view. Within this framework are outlined the principles underlying the concept of polyrepresentation applied simultaneously to the user's cognitive space and the information space of IR systems. Contains 95 references.…

Participants acquired spatial knowledge of a fictitious island by studying either (a) a complete physical map, (b) a sequence of part maps each showing the outline of the island and a subset of the landmarks, or (c) a sequence of sentences each describing a part map. During test, they verified the direction between 2 landmarks. Spatial knowledge…

Wernicke (1900, as cited in G. H. Eggert, 1977) suggested that semantic knowledge arises from the interaction of perceptual representations of objects and words. The authors present a parallel distributed processing implementation of this theory, in which semantic representations emerge from mechanisms that acquire the mappings between visual…

An empirically-based theory is proposed that relates media's most essential modes of presentation--their symbol systems--to modes of cognitive representation and to the acquisition of knowledge. This book draws upon scholarship in such areas as the study of symbol systems, cognition, cognitive development, psycholinguistics, and mass…

Discusses the results of a study that explored first year university students' ideas about measurement in the physics laboratory. Uses the 'point' and 'set' paradigms as a model to analyze responses to written probes. (Contains 21 references.) (DDR)

What kind of influence does the structure of an educational hypermedia system have on the way its users understand its contents and organize the knowledge they acquire through its browsing? In this article, this already much discussed question, situated at the boundary between semiotics and cognitive science, is revisited in the light of results…

This paper covers an experiment designed to investigate the relationship between the didactical setting and learning effects with animations. We investigated whether the cognitive load imposed by animations could be reduced when the students could control the flow of the animation. We did not find an effect due to the fact that the students did…

One problem in the field of conceptual change theory is that disparities occur with respect to the meanings of the terms "conflict,""disequilibrium," and "dissonance." As the strategies aimed at conceptual change have evolved, the same terms have taken on new meaning. This paper aims to present a brief review of the evolution of conceptual change…

The field of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Education has traditionally a technology-based focus, looking at the ways in which AI can be used in building intelligent educational software. In addition AI can also provide an excellent methodology for learning and reasoning from the human experiences. This paper presents the potential role of AI in…

Explores the effectiveness of intervention discussion sections for a college general chemistry course designed to apply research on student preconceptions, knowledge integration, and student explanations. Describes the testing of two interventions on bond energy and spontaneity. (Contains 44 references.) (DDR)

Introduces a framework for comparing and evaluating knowledge representation schemes based on the requirements for "good" representation discussed in extant literature. Comparative analysis and evaluation of four popular knowledge representation schemes--Logic, Production Rules, Semantic Nets and Frames--are discussed in support of validity and…

Examines four working steps from an empirical model where an expert abstractor discovers what a paper is about and drafts a topic sentence; a simulation system is developed using this model. Discusses knowledge processing activities of professional summarizing. Results indicate that a small simulation model of professional summarizing is feasible.…

Asks whether theories of knowledge representation provide a basis for the development of theories of knowledge structuring in instruction. Discusses codes of knowledge, surface versus deep structures, semantic networks, and multiple memory systems. Reviews research on teaching, external representation of cognitive structures, hierarchical…